jealous / jealousy

The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is typically translated as “jealous” or “jealousy” in English is translated in Newari as “bursting of the heart” (source: Newari Back Translation) and in Kekchí as “heart becoming red” (source: Eachus 2006, p. 263).

Silas / Silvanus

The Greek that is transliterated as “Silas” or “Silvanus” in English means “lover of words,” “of the forest” (source: Cornwall / Smith 1997).

The Greek form of Silvanus (Σιλουανός) likely reflects the Latin spelling (Silvanus) of a more typical Greek name Silas (Σιλᾶς). Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire, whereas Greek was the lingua franca used in most parts of the ancient world. It was very common for a person with wide travel experience in New Testament times to have more than one name; Paul would be another example (Saul and Paul). Ancient Latin pronounced “v” as “w” in modern English; because the Greek used in New Testament times did not have a letter with “w” sound, the diphthong “ου” (pronounced as “oo”) would be its closest equivalent. This explains the relationship between the spelling Σιλουανός and its Latin equivalent Silvanus. (Source: Simon Wong)

In Spanish Sign Language both names are translated with a sign depicting “chains falling off,” referring to Acts 16:26. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Silas / Silvanus” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

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

More information on Silas .

rising up in numbers

In Gbaya, the notion of rising up in large numbers in the referenced verses is emphasized in with the ideophone gɛrɛm.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

Paul

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)


“Paul (and Saul)” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

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 )

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

Following is a Georgian Orthodox icon of Paul the Apostle from the 14th century (located in the Art Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi).

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:

Source: Wikimedia

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.

Source for the image and description below: The Stained Glass Windows of Messiah Episcopal Church

“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)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .

complete verse (Acts 17:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 17:5:

  • Uma: “But the Yahudi people who did not believe were jealous of Paulus and Silas. That is why they incited the wicked people who were being-lazy in the town. When many had gathered, they walked along making a disturbance in the town. In this walk of theirs, they arrived at Yason’s house, because that was the dwelling-place of Paulus and Silas. They entered that house, intending to grab and carry them before the masses.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “But the other Yahudi were jealous, so they called some bad (dupang) people from the streets and gathered them and-then they caused an uproar in that city. They attacked the house of Jason for the purpose of searching for Paul and Silas so that they would bring them out to the people.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Then the Jews were jealous of Paul and company, and they gathered together many lazy people without value, and they ran through all the town causing rioting. They went to the house of Jason because they were going to force their way in to get Paul and Silas so that they might take them to the people.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Whereupon the Jews who didn’t believe were jealous, and they gathered some trouble-makers who just stood-around-loafing to make-a-racket until all the inhabitants were in-a-state-of-disorder. Then they went and forced the door of Jason’s house where-plural Pablo -were-staying, in order to bring-them -outside koma to take (them) to the meeting-place of the many-people.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “But as for the other Jews, they emph. got jealous. What they did was, they rounded up some people who were badly-behaved and lazy. When there were now many of them, they then troubled the city. Then they went to the house of Jason for they mistakenly-thought that that’s where Pablo-and-co were. The motive in their mind was to get them and put them in the presence of the crowd.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 17:5

In some languages there is no term for jealous which covers this particular area of meaning. Therefore one may have to describe the basis for their feeling—for example, “the Jews were angry that so many people joined with Paul and Silas.”

Loafers from the streets is literally “men of the market place.” Commentators agree that this expression is used in a bad sense, referring either to persons who were “lazy” or to “trouble makers.” The Good News Translation has taken this term in combination with the word worthless (literally “evil”), and renders the whole phrase worthless loafers from the streets. Formed a mob (see An American Translation*, Moffatt, Barclay) appears much more in keeping with the context than the more generic statement “gathered a crowd” (Phillips). In some languages a mob is rendered as “noisy crowd” or “angry crowd.”

The subject they of the second part of verse 5 must include not only the worthless loafers but also the Jews who had formed them into a mob. In some languages this must be specified as “the Jews and the rest of the mob.” Otherwise it may imply that only the worthless loafers … attacked the home of Jason.

Set the whole city in an uproar is equivalent to “caused a riot.” In some languages this is simply “made a lot of noise” or “caused much angry noise.”

It is necessary in some languages to specify the particular way in which the home of Jason was attacked. Most languages have a number of words for attacking a person, but not so many for attacking a house. One can say “they threw rocks on the house,” but under the circumstances it is probably better to say “they broke down the doors of the house,” since this was apparently what happened in their attempt to find Paul and Silas and to bring them out to the people.

Jason was a common name in Greek and was often used by Jews in place of the more Jewish sounding “Joshua.” Nothing further is known about Jason; he may have been a believer, or he may have been the person for whom Paul was working in the city. The phrase to the people may refer either to the mob that had been gathered or to “the town assembly” (New English Bible; see Jerusalem Bible “People’s Assembly”), by which is meant the citizens assembled for judicial purposes. This same phrase is translated to the people in 12.21.

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 .