Paul

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)


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

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Paul (source: Bible Lands 2012)

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 )

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 )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Paul .

brother (fellow believer)

The Greek that is translated in English as “brother” or “brother and sister” (in the sense of fellow believers), is translated with a specifically coined word in Kachin: “There are two terms for brother in Kachin. One is used to refer to a Christian brother. This term combines ‘older and younger brother.’ The other term is used specifically for addressing siblings. When one uses this term, one must specify if the older or younger person is involved. A parallel system exists for ‘sister’ as well. In [these verses], the term for ‘a Christian brother’ is used.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae)

In Matumbi is is translated as alongo aumini or “relative-believer.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In Martu Wangka it is translated as “relative” (this is also the term that is used for “follower.”) (Source: Carl Gross)

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) it is often translated as Mitchristen or “fellow Christians.”

See also brothers.

complete verse (Acts 18:18)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 18:18:

  • Uma: “From there, Paulus still stayed a long time in Korintus, and only then did he say-good-bye-to his one-faith relatives. His purpose, he wanted to go back to the land of Siria. So, he went to the edge of the sea in the town of Kengkrea. There he had his hair cut, because he had a promise to God, and thus was the Yahudi custom, when the time of their promise is over, they must have their hair cut. After that, he boarded a ship going to the land of Siria, together with Priskila and Akwila.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Paul stayed yet there in Korinto for some time, then he took leave from his fellow disciples of Isa there. He sailed to Siriya together with Pirisila and Akila. Before they sailed Paul shaved (head) there in Kenkerea to fulfill a certain promise/vow of his to God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And as for Paul, he stayed for quite a while yet there in Corinth along with the believers, and then he continued. He took Aquila and Priscilla and they left. There was that which Paul promised to the Lord. And when they arrived in the village of Cenchreae, Paul got a haircut which was the sign that he had fulfilled it already. They got on a ship to go to the province of Syria.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Pablo stayed a long-while yet in Corinto. Then he left the brothers who believed, and he went to Cenkrea accompanied by Aquila and Priscilla. When they arrived there, Pablo had-his-head-shaved to show-thereby that what he had promised God had-been-fulfilled. Then they rode in a ship to go to Syria.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “After that commotion, Pablo was quite a while longer there, and then he took leave of his siblings in believing to go home to Siria. Therefore he then set out and went to Cencrea for there is where the ships docked. Aquila and his wife went with him. Before they sailed leaving Cencrea, Pablo first had his hair cut as a sign that he had fulfilled something he had promised God.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 18:18

Left is translated by some as “said good-bye to” (Moffatt, An American Translation*, Barclay). The choice between left and “said good-by to” is insignificant as far as translation is concerned, and the choice is largely stylistic.

In rendering sailed off with Priscilla and Aquila one should not imply that there were only three persons in the boat. This may be avoided by translating “boarded a ship sailing for Syria; Priscilla and Aquila also went along.”

The word translated shaved appears only here and in 1 Corinthians 11.6. The basic meaning of this verb is “to cut (hair).” In the papyri it is used of shearing sheep, and later in a figurative sense of “plunder” or “ravage.” In 1 Corinthians 11.6 it appears in conjunction with another verb, and if there is any distinction to be made between the two, the word used here indicates that scissors are required, while the other verb would specify a razor. At least this distinction is apparently made in 1 Corinthians 11.6. However, some translators (New American Bible, Twentieth Century New Testament, Moffatt) understand the meaning in this present context to be “shaved,” which would imply the use of a razor. When used in the middle form of the verb, as here, it would mean “have (one’s head) shaved.” Although grammatically possible, it is not likely that Luke intends to say that it was Aquila, rather that Paul, who had his head shaved.

The word translated vow is used in the sense of “prayer” in James 5.15, though in 21.23 (the only other place where it appears in the New Testament) it has the meaning of “vow.” It is evident that the vow referred to was a Nazirite vow (see Numbers 6.1-21). Originally this was a permanent vow, but in later times one could take the vow for a stated period of time. The vow was concluded by the offering of a sacrifice and by the cutting of one’s hair, since one aspect of the vow was not to cut one’s hair during the length of the vow. The translation of vow may involve a phrase “make a promise to God” or, as in some languages, “make a strong promise and call upon God to witness it.” The same concept may be expressed as “make a strong promise in the presence of God.”

Cenchreae (used only here and in Romans 16.1) was the seaport of Corinth on the eastern side of the isthmus.

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 .