1The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.
The term that is transliterated as “Barnabas” in English means “son of exhortation,” “son of prophecy,” “son of consolation.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997)
In American Sign Language it is translated with a combination of the signs for the letter B and “encourage” (referring to Acts 11:23). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Barnabas” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The term that is transliterated as “Paul” in English means “little.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies the many letters he wrote. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Paul” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting putting away a sword, referring to his conversion from a persecutor of Christians to a Christian leader. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that is based on contemporary depictions and refers to the presumed baldness of the top of his head. The description originates from the 2nd-century apocryphal text titled Acts of Paul and Thecla , which represents the earliest and most detailed physical characterization of the apostle in Christian tradition (see also the icon below). (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Paul” in Hungarian Sign Language — note that only the first part refers to “Paul,” the second part refers to “apostle” (source )
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 )
Down below you’ll see an ivory carving that is located in the Musée national du Moyen-âge in Paris from the Byzantine empire of the 6th or early 7th century:
The following is a contemporary stained glass window from the Messiah Episcopal Church in St. Paul, Minnesota by Peter Dohmen. Individual glass pieces were made in Germany in accordance with Dohmen’s design, using a technique first developed by Irish monks in the 9th and 10th centuries.
“This window is dedicated to St. Paul, the great apostle and missionary, for whom our city is named. At the top of the window is a ship which symbolizes the many missionary journeys of Paul — the Church is our ship, which carries us over the way of life. In the lower section we see Paul on the road to Damascus when he saw a great light and heard our Lord’s voice, which called him to discipleship.”
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Paul (source: Bible Lands 2012)
In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).
Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Germandas Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”
Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans, don’t make that distinction include:
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog )
Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:
“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.
“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.
“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”
Here are some examples:
Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
Navajo (Dinė): “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 14:1:
Uma: “What happened in the town of Antiokhia the other day, that also was what happened in Ikonium. Paulus and Barnabas went to the Yahudi house of prayer and they announced the Good News to the people gathered there, with the result that many Yahudi people and those not Yahudi people believed in Yesus.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “There in the place Ikoni the same thing happened. Paul and Barnabas went into the Yahudi prayer-house to proclaim the word/message of God. They explained God’s word/message very powerfully therefore very many Yahudi and non-Yahudi trusted in Isa.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for that which happened at Antioch, it was just the same there in Iconium, for Paul and Barnabas went into the church of the Jews, and their causing people to understand the word of God was very strong. Therefore, there were many Jews and many not Jews who believed in Jesus.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “At Iconium also, plural Pablo went to the synagogue of the Jews to teach. And what they taught, it had an effect, because many Jews and Gentiles believed.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When Pablo and Bernabe arrived at Iconio, what they did was indeed like what they had done at Antioquia, which was that they went into the worship-place and taught. Their words really pierced the mind/inner-being of the ones listening, therefore really very many believed, Jews and not Jews too.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
The name that is transliterated as “Iconium” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines “small image” (the meaning of the name) and “flight” (because Paul and his companions fled Iconium — see Acts 14:6). (Source: Missão Kophós )
The same thing happened translates a phrase (literally “it happened according to the same”) that some take in the sense of “together” (see Revised Standard Version); but though the exact meaning is not clear, it is difficult to see why Luke was concerned to point out that Paul and Barnabas entered the synagogue together. On the contrary, one can easily see why he was concerned to indicate that the same thing happened in Iconium as had taken place in Antioch.
The translation of the clause the same thing happened in Iconium is not easy in some languages, since one may not have a convenient substitute such as thing to refer to an event. In some languages the closest equivalent is “in Iconium Paul and Barnabas had the same kind of experience as they had in Antioch of Pisidia.”
The subject of went is not explicit in the Greek, but since a new section is introduced, it is possible that the English reader may have difficulty in identifying “they” as a reference to Paul and Barnabas; for this reason the Good News Translation has made the subject explicit. Something similar has been done in verse 3 where “they” is rendered apostles.
The word which the Good News Translation has translated Gentiles literally means “Greeks.” Either Luke intended this word to be taken as a synonym for Gentiles, or else he intended to differentiate the Greeks from the other Gentiles. The first of these possibilities seems more likely, in light of the observation that he mentions only two groups and one of them is Jews.
The phrase Jewish synagogue may be rendered as “synagogue where Jews met” or as in many languages, “meeting house of Jews” or even “worship house of Jews.”
In most languages there is a general equivalent of a great number. This is often a term such as “many” and it differs in actual number depending upon the content. In some languages, however, there are several words for “many” and therefore one must indicate whether it is a matter of a few dozen, a few hundred, or several thousand people. It is probable that in this type of circumstance several hundred would be an appropriate equivalent, although it may very well be that even fewer believers would cause a considerable reaction.
The phrase became believers may need to be made more specific in some languages, “came to believe in Jesus” or “came to believe in the Lord.”
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 .
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