leprosy, leprous

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The Greek and Hebrew terms that are often translated as “leprosy (or: defiling/skin disease)” or “leprous (person)” in English is translated in Mairasi as “the bad sickness,” since “leprosy is very common in the Mairasi area” (source: Enggavoter 2004).

Following are various other translations:

  • Shilluk: “disease of animals”
  • San Mateo Del Mar Huave: “devil sore” (this and the above are indigenous expressions)
  • Inupiaq: “decaying sores”
  • Kaqchikel: “skin-rotting disease” (source for this and three above: Eugene Nida in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 34f. )
  • Noongar: “bad skin disease” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Usila Chinantec “sickness like mal de pinta” (a skin disease involving discoloration by loss of pigment) (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Hiligaynon: “dangerous skin disease” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “fearful skin disease” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “terrible rotting” (source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Targumim (or: Targums) are translations of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic. They were translated and used when Jewish congregations increasingly could not understand the biblical Hebrew anymore. Targum Onqelos (also: Onkelos) is the name of the Aramaic translation of the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) probably composed in Israel/Palestine in the 1st or 2nd century CE and later edited in Babylon in the 4th or 5th century, making it reflect Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. It is the most famous Aramaic translation and was widely used throughout the Jewish communities. In Leviticus 13 and 14 it translates tzaraat as a “quarantining affliction” — focusing “on what occurs to individuals after they suffer the affliction; the person is isolated from the community.” (Source: Israel Drazin in this article ). Similarly, the English Jewish Orthodox ArtScroll Tanach translation (publ. 2011) transliterates it as tzaraat affliction.

See also stricken and leprosy healed.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Leprosy (Word Study) and Bible Translations Are for People .

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 7:8

These lepers came to the edge of the camp: Verses 6-7 interrupted the flow of the story to tell why the Syrian army had fled its camp. In this verse the author returns to the story about these lepers, that is, the four diseased men who had decided to leave their position between the city and the enemy army. In certain languages it will be more natural to say “Those lepers” (Revised English Bible) or simply “the lepers” (New American Bible).

As in verse 5, the edge of the camp may be translated “the first tent of the camp” or something similar. But it will be translated only once in certain languages where a more radical restructuring is followed (see the comments on verse 6). This refers to the same event as in verse 5. But further details are now provided.

They went into a tent … and entered another tent: According to the Hebrew text, these lepers entered two tents only. Perhaps the intended sense is “they went into one tent after another” (so New Living Translation), but nearly all translations follow the form of the Hebrew in indicating that they entered only two tents.

Ate and drank: These initial actions of the desperate men were designed to satisfy their immediate need for nourishment since they had been on the point of starvation. In some languages it will be necessary to say what they ate and drank, even though the Hebrew does not say. Some languages will render ate as “ate something.” New Living Translation translates drank as “drinking wine,” and such an interpretation is acceptable. For ate and drank, NET Bible says “had a meal.”

They carried off silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them …: These next actions occurred repeatedly and were a selfish hoarding of wealth by people who had previously been among the poorest of the poor. The Hebrew verb translated carried off has also been rendered “looted” (Revised English Bible) and “grabbed” (Good News Translation). The context seems to require something similar.

Silver, gold, and clothing represented wealth and could be hidden relatively easily.

Hid them … carried off things from it, and went and hid them is literally “they hid … they carried off from there and they went and they hid.” Revised Standard Version has added the words them and things as the sense requires in English.

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 .