The term that is transliterated as “Barnabas” in English is translated in American Sign Language 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 is translated in American Sign Language 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)
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 )
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 )
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 14:12:
Uma: “They called Barnabas Zeus, and Paulus they called Hermes, because Paulus was the main speaker.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They called them by the names of their gods. Barnabas they called Seus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the one always speaking.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they said that Barnabas was their god named Zeus, and that Paul, he was their god named Hermes because he was the one who knew how to cause people to understand.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And they named them with the names of their gods. Barnabas, they named Zeus, and Pablo, they named Hermes, because he was the one who spoke.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And then they named Bernabe Zeus, and Pablo Hermes, because he was the one who was always/often teaching.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Zeus was the chief god of the Greek and Hermes was the messenger of the gods. A writer of the fourth century A.D. refers to Hermes as “the leader of the words,” almost exactly the same expression which appears in the Good News Translation as one who did the speaking. There was a local legend to the effect that an elderly and pious couple by the name of Philemon and Baucis had entertained Jupiter (= Zeus) and Mercury (= Hermes) without knowing that they were gods.
In many languages it is important to add some kind of note at this point to indicate that Zeus was regarded as the chief god of the Greeks and that Hermes was the messenger of the gods. In some instances, however, a kind of classifier may be used for both Zeus and Hermes and one may have in the text a rendering such as “they called Barnabas by the name of the god Zeus and Paul by the name of the god Hermes.” However, the use of such a classifier to identify who Zeus and Hermes were is not really adequate to provide all of the necessary cultural background which may be required if people are to understand adequately this kind of context.
The names Zeus and Hermes should be transliterated on the basis of pronunciation and adjusted to the pronunciation of the dominant language in the area, unless the receptor language has its own tradition for dealing with such terms.
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 .
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
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