Peter

Following is a Armenian Orthodox icon of Peter (found in the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shusha, Azerbaijan).

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 is a hand colored stencil print on momigami of Peter by Sadao Watanabe (1970):

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “key” (referring to Matthew 16:19). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Peter” or “Cephas” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “rock,” referring to the meaning of the Greek word for “Peter.”


“Peter” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Peter – rock.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Peter .

circumcise, circumcision

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The Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “circumcise” or “circumcision” in English (originally meaning of English term: “to cut around”) are (back-) translated in various ways:

  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “cut the flesh”
  • San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, Navajo (Dinė): “cut around”
  • Javanese: “clip-away”
  • Uab Meto: “pinch and cut” (usually shortened to “cut”)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun, Western Highland Purepecha: “put the mark”
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “put the mark in the body showing that they belong to God” (or: “that they have a covenant with God”)
  • Indonesian: disunat — “undergo sunat” (sunat is derived from Arabic “sunnah (سنة)” — “(religious) way (of life)”)
  • Ekari: “cut the end of the member for which one fears shame” (in Gen. 17:10) (but typically: “the cutting custom”) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Hiri Motu: “cut the skin” (source: Deibler / Taylor 1977, p. 1079)
  • Garifuna: “cut off part of that which covers where one urinates”
  • Bribri: “cut the soft” (source for this and the one above: Ronald Ross)
  • Amele: deweg cagu qoc — “cut the body” (source: John Roberts)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cut the flesh of the sons like Moses taught” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Newari: “put the sign in one’s body” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Central Mazahua: “sign in his flesh”
  • Hopi: “being cut in a circle in his body” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Mandarin Chinese: gēlǐ (割礼 / 割禮) or “rite of cutting” (Protestant); gēsǔn (割损 / 割損) or “cut + loss” (Catholic) (Source: Zetzsche)
  • Tibetan: mdun lpags gcod (མདུན་​ལྤགས་​གཅོད།), lit. “fore + skin + cut” (source: gSungrab website )
  • Kutu: “enter the cloth (=undergarments)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Circumcision .

complete verse (Acts 11:2)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 11:2:

  • Uma: “That is why when Petrus arrived in Yerusalem, several of the Yahudi believers in Yesus found-fault with him,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When Petros returned to Awrusalam, there were some Yahudi who trusted in Isa who argued with him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Peter went up going home to Jerusalem, there were Jewish believers who scolded him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When Pedro returned to Jerusalem, the believers who were strict/insistent in following the customs of the Jews, they criticized him saying,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “That’s why when Pedro had returned to Jerusalem, he was challenged by those Jewish believers who weren’t in agreement with it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 11:2

The use of the expression went up in referring to going to Jerusalem (and, conversely, “going down” when going away from Jerusalem) reflects, of course, the geographical position of Jerusalem which was higher than most of the surrounding area. In translating such expressions as “going up” and “going down” it is not wise to use terms which suggest that Jerusalem is on top of some very high mountain, only that it is at the top of a ridge of hills. In many languages, however, the most natural and accurate equivalent is simply “went to.”

Those who were in favor of circumcising Gentiles translates “those of circumcision,” a phrase which is taken by many as a reference to Jewish Christians (see Barclay “Jewish Christians”), while other translations understand it to refer solely to “the Jews” (so Jerusalem Bible). Most translations are ambiguous and do not indicate specifically whether Jewish Christians or Jews are meant (see Moffatt, Revised Standard Version, Phillips “the circumcision party,” and An American Translation* “the advocates of circumcision”). The total context, however, and the evident concern of Peter to justify what he had done, would seem to point to the fact that those who were criticizing Peter constituted a group of Christians who still held to a belief in the necessity of circumcision.

Criticized, reflecting in Greek a verb which is sometimes used as a legal technical term meaning “to enter into legal controversy (with someone)” (see Septuagint of Ezekiel 20.35), is represented by Barclay as “questioned his action” and by New English Bible as “raised the question with him.” It is obvious that in the present context it does not have the force of a technical legal term.

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 .