15When the company of prophets who were at Jericho saw him at a distance, they declared, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
The name that is transliterated as “Elisha” in English means “God the Savior,” “to whom God is salvation,” “God of salvation,” “God is Savior.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “help + prophet.” (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
The Hebrew that is translated as “bow to the ground” or similar in English is translated in Kwere as “bowing knees and face touching the ground.” (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The name that is transliterated as “Elijah” in English means “God-LORD,” “strength of the LORD,” “my God is YHWH.” “the LORD God.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 2:15:
Kupsabiny: “When those trainees who came from Jericho saw what had happened, they said, ‘Elisha has received the power which Elijah had.’ Those people went to where Elisha was and knelt before him touching the ground with their faces.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Seeing him, the prophets who had come from Jericho said, "The spirit of Elijah has come down upon Elisha." And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When the group of the prophets who came-from Jerico saw what happened, they said, ‘The power of Elias is with Elisha.’ So they came-to-met-with Elisha and they knelt-down in respect to him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “When the group of prophets from Jericho saw what happened, they exclaimed, ‘Elisha now has the power that Elijah had!’ They walked over to him and bowed down in front of him.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):
Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ebira: ọnịsẹ, a neologism that combines the prefix ọn for “a person” with ịsẹ for “prediction” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 49)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho: See verse 3 for the sons of the prophets. Some interpreters suggest that the two Hebrew words translated who were at Jericho were not part of the original text but were added in order to identify these prophets with those in verse 5 (so New Jerusalem Bible). However, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the reading of the Hebrew text. In some cases it may be wise to translate in such a way as to make it clear that this is a reference to the fifty members of the prophetic guild who had followed Elijah and Elisha from Jericho (verse 7). The translation should not give the misleading impression that they were at Jericho (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version) or “in Jericho” (New American Bible) at this point in the story. They were rather “from Jericho” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible). It is possible therefore to translate “the other [fifty] prophets from Jericho” or “the other members of the group of prophets who had come from Jericho.”
Over against them: This reflects the same Hebrew word as found in verse 7, where it is left untranslated in Revised Standard Version (just before “at some distance”). Here this word has been the source of much speculation by biblical scholars. The most obvious meaning seems to be “on the other side of the Jordan River.” New American Bible translates “who were on the other side,” and American Bible has “from the other side.” Yet New Revised Standard Version reads “at a distance,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “from a distance.” Perhaps the meaning is “who were watching” (New International Version, Revised English Bible) as in verse 7. The Hebrew literally means “on the other side,” but since the following words state that these prophets came to meet him, they must have been at least a short distance away, so the context allows any of these translations.
They said: The members of the group of prophets were in all likelihood saying this to each other and not to Elisha or to any bystanders. In those languages where an object is required, the following model may be helpful: “they said to each other” (Contemporary English Version). Most likely, the prophets were excited, and did not calmly speak to one another. Good News Translation, therefore, uses an exclamation point at the end of their quotation to indicate the excitement with which they probably spoke. Nueva Versión Internacional says “They exclaimed.”
The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha: In making this statement, the other members of the prophetic band acknowledge that Elisha is indeed the successor of Elijah because he obviously has the same miraculous powers. Contemporary English Version translates “Elisha now has Elijah’s power,” and Nouvelle Bible Segond says “The breath of Elijah rests on Elisha.” See the comments on spirit in verse 9 and also on “the Spirit of the LORD” in the next verse.
They came to meet him: It should be clear in translation that these other prophets did not meet Elisha in the middle of the river. They merely approached him where he was standing after having crossed the Jordan.
Bowed to the ground before him: See the comments on 1 Kgs 1.16, 23.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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