four-footed creatures and reptiles

The Greek that is translated as “four-footed creatures and reptiles” or similar in English is translated in Matumbi as “four-footed creatures and snakes,” since lizard-like creatures are already included in four-footed. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

See also reptiles / creeping things.

birds of the air

The Greek and Hebrew phrases that are often translated as “birds of the air” in English “refer to the undomesticated song birds or wild birds, to be distinguished in a number of languages from domesticated fowl. In Tzeltal these former are ‘field birds’.” (source: Bratcher / Nida)

Q’anjob’al also uses an established term for non-domesticated birds. Newberry and Kittie Cox (in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. ) explain: “Qʼanjobʼal has two distinct terms, one to identify domesticated birds and the other non-domesticated birds. The additional descriptive phrase ‘of the air’ seemed entirely misleading, for Qʼanjobʼal speakers had never heard of such creatures. Actually, of course, all that was necessary was the term for non-domesticated birds, for that is precisely the meaning of the Biblical expression.”

In Elhomwe they are just translated as “birds” or “birds of the bush” (i.e., wild birds) to “not give the impression that these are special type of birds.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also birds of the air / fish of the sea and birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

creeping things / reptiles

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “reptiles” or “creeping things” or similar is translated as “those which crawl along upon their stomach” in San Mateo del Mar Huave, “those that crawl the way they travel” in Chichimeca-Jonaz, and “animals that crawl on the ground” in Lalana Chinantec. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In Nyamwezi it is translated as as vitundwa vya ku’yu’mba or “creatures that move.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature and four-footed creatures and reptiles.

 

The Hebrew words zachal and remes literally mean “creeping [things]” or “crawling [things]”, which is the Hebrew way of referring to small unclean creatures, reptiles in particular. The Greek word herpeton is also a general word for reptile; it includes snakes and lizards. All of the Hebrew, Greek, and Latin words usually exclude fish.

The Hebrew words carry the connotation of uncleanness.

In languages which have a word meaning “reptile”, this will fit most contexts. In languages which do not, phrases such as “snakes and lizards”, “wriggling things”, and so forth could be used.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Acts 10:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 10:12:

  • Uma: “Inside the blanket being lowered, there were all kinds of animals: those with four feet, those that slithered, with birds also.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Inside that blanket there were various kinds of animals that walked, those that crawled and birds.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And inside of that there were all kinds of legged creatures such as animals, and reptiles, and birds.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Its contents were all that are seen of large-animals, crawling/slithering-things and flying-things, which are forbidden to the Jews to eat.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Its contents were all kinds of animals. Crawlers, walkers and fliers, they were there. There were many which the Jews didn’t eat for they tabooed them.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 10:12

All kinds of must be taken in the sense of “some of every kind or species.” The threefold division of the animal world is based on Genesis 6.20 (see also Genesis 1.24). Animals includes all animals, both domesticated and wild; and wild birds (see An American Translation* and Moffatt) translates “birds of air,” in which “of the air” is taken as the equivalent of wild, as opposed to domesticated. These classifications of animals, reptiles and wild birds should not be understood in any special technical sense. The most general terms which correspond roughly to these three categories are fully satisfactory, and in most languages there are terms which more or less correspond.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .