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 15:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 15:5:

  • Uma: “But there were also several Parisi people who believed in the Lord Yesus. Those Parisi stood up, they said: ‘Those non-Yahudi people, it is not enough if they just believe in Yesus. They must also be circumcised, and ordered to follow the Laws of Musa.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But there were Pariseo trusting in Isa who stood there and spoke. They said, ‘Those trusters in Isa from other tribes should first be circumcised and should also follow/obey the law of Musa.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And then some believers who were members of the Pharisee group said, ‘Those believers who are not Jews, they must be circumcized, and it is still necessary that we make them carry out the law that Moses left.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “But there were brothers who belonged to the party/group of Pharisees, and they stood-up saying, ‘It is necessary that we instruct the Gentiles to get-circumcised and also obey the other laws of Moses.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But, when some heard who belonged to the Pariseo, who had now believed in the Lord, they said, ‘Even though those people who aren’t Jews have now believed, it’s necessary that they are indeed circumcized and told to obey the laws of Moises.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Pharisee

The Greek that is a transliteration of the Hebrew Pərūšīm and is typically transliterated into English as “Pharisee” is transliterated in Mandarin Chinese as Fǎlìsài (法利賽 / 法利赛) (Protestant) or Fǎlìsāi (法利塞) (Catholic). In Chinese, transliterations can typically be done with a great number of different and identical-sounding characters. Often the meaning of the characters are not relevant, unless they are chosen carefully as in these cases. The Protestant Fǎlìsài can mean something like “Competition for the profit of the law” and the Catholic Fǎlìsāi “Stuffed by/with the profit of the law.” (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 51)

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “prayer shawl”. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Pharisee” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

In British Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts “pointing out the law.” (Source: Anna Smith)


“Pharisee” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts the box of the phylacteries attached to the forehead:


“Pharisees” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as Observant. He explains (p. 302): “Pharisee has become a public, universal pejorative term for a hypocrite. Pharisees were observant of the interpretation of the Covenant Code called the ‘tradition of the elders.’ They conformed their behaviors to the interpretation. Among the various groups of Jews at the time of Jesus, they were perhaps closest to Jesus in their overall concern to make a radical commitment to the will of God (as they understood it).”

See also Nicodemus.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pharisees .

law

The Greek that is translated in English as “Law” or “law” is translated in Mairasi as oro nasinggiei or “prohibited things” (source: Enggavoter 2004) and in Noongar with a capitalized form of the term for “words” (Warrinya) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Yucateco the phrase that is used for “law” is “ordered-word” (for “commandment,” it is “spoken-word”) (source: Nida 1947, p. 198) and in Central Tarahumara it is “writing-command.” (wsource: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)

See also teaching / law (of God) (Japanese honorifics).

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

Even at the time of his translation, Jerome likely was not the only one making that decision as this article alludes to (see also Moses as Pharaoh’s Equal — Horns and All ).

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


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

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

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 Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Translation commentary on Acts 15:5

The Pharisees comprised one of the major groups within Judaism, and not a “sect” (King James Version). Luke does not state that these believers “formerly” belonged to the party of the Pharisees. His account suggests that for the earliest Christians there was no distinction between being a Jew and a Christian believer; to be a Christian meant that one had accepted the fulfillment of one’s Jewish faith and could thus still maintain his ties with his religious party within Judaism. With them (v. 4) in the same phrase that appears in 14.27. It is important to avoid in a term for party an expression which would imply a political entity. In some languages the appropriate expression would be “belonged to a group called the Pharisees” or “were members of a group called Pharisees.” The term Pharisee is best rendered as a transliterated proper name, but with supplementary information being supplied in a glossary.

The passive expression indicating obligation have to be circumcised may be rendered in some languages as “must undergo circumcision” (the term “undergo” followed by a noun is a kind of substitute passive). One can, however, make an active expression out of this, as “someone must circumcise them.” Similarly, the passive expression told to obey may be made active by saying “you must tell them that they must obey the Law of Moses.”

Though in many languages there is a perfectly satisfactory collective singular which can be used in an expression such as the Law of Moses, in some languages this must be plural since it involves a number of ordinances; therefore “the laws of Moses” or “the laws that came to the people through Moses.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Acts 15:5

15:5a

But: There is contrast between the believers accepting Paul and Barnabas (15:4b) and the believing Pharisees challenging their belief and practice about circumcision (15:5). The Berean Standard Bible indicates this contrast by translating the Greek conjunction here as But.

However, this would not be considered contrast in some languages. For example:

And then

some believers from the party of the Pharisees: This refers to men who were Pharisees or had been Pharisees. More recently they had believed in Jesus. But they still believed many of the things that the Pharisees believed. Other ways to translate this phrase are:

some people from/of the group of the Pharisees who had believed
-or-
certain members of the Pharisees’ party who had become believers (New Jerusalem Bible)

the party of the Pharisees: The word party refers to a group within a larger group. The Pharisees were a group of Jews who believed certain things that were different from other Jews. The word here does not imply that Luke thinks such a party is wrong. Do not use a word that will be understood primarily as a political party. Another way to translate this word is:

a/the group called the Pharisees

See how you translated the word party in 5:17.

Pharisees: The Pharisees were one group within the Jewish religion. They were very careful to follow all the Jewish traditions, as well as obeying the laws that God had given to Moses. See how you translated this word in 5:34.

15:5b–c

The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses: In Greek, this clause is literally: “It is necessary to circumcise them and to command (them) to obey the law of Moses.” Here the phrase “It is necessary” refers to something that is required to be done. These Pharisee believers in Jesus thought that God still required anyone who followed him to follow all the Old Testament laws. Other ways to translate this clause are:

It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses. (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-

⌊God⌋ requires that the non-Jewish believers be circumcised and be commanded to obey Moses’ laws.

15:5b

The Gentiles must be circumcised: The Greek verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as be circumcised is active. It is literally “It is necessary to circumcise them,” as in the Revised Standard Version. Other ways to translate this clause are:

It is necessary for them to be circumcised (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-

⌊someone⌋ must circumcise them

The Gentiles: In this context, this refers to non-Jews who believe in Jesus. In some languages it will be helpful to make this clear. For example:

The Gentile converts (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
non-Jewish believers (New Century Version)

15:5c

the law of Moses: This phrase refers to the laws that God told Moses. They are in first five books of the Old Testament. But here the phrase probably includes the rest of the Old Testament as well. Some other ways to translate this are:

the law that God gave to Moses
-or-
the law that Moses wrote

See how you translated this phrase in 13:39.

law: The singular word law refers to all the laws that God told Moses as a group. In some languages it is more natural to use the plural here. For example:

laws

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