The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 21:2:
Uma: “At Patara we (excl.) met with a ship going to the land of Fenisia in the province of Siria. So, we (excl.) boarded that ship, continuing our (excl.) journey.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “There at Patara we (excl.) found a ship that was about to sail for Penisiya. We (excl.) boarded there and we (excl.) sailed with them.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there we found a ship that was going to Phoenicia there in the province of Syria and we got on it and left again.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then we (excl.) found another ship going to Fenicia, and we rode on that.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “There we (excl.) came on a ship going to Fenicia. We(excl.) transferred to that one, for that is what we next sailed in.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding the addressee).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
It is not clear why Paul and his companions had to change ships in Patara. Perhaps the vessel on which they had been sailing was a smaller vessel used to sail close to the coast, and they needed a larger vessel to make the open sea journey from Patara to Tyre. Was going actually translates a present participle in Greek, but it has a future significance. Went aboard and sailed away are two technical terms for sailing; the second of these, sailed away, is the same word translated left in verse 1.
In attempting to deal with these relatively technical nautical terms a translator is usually either faced with a superabundance of terms, if he is translating into a language of seafaring people, or he finds that there are relatively few terms which correspond to the Greek expressions. Therefore he is required to use in almost all instances general expressions such as “went,” “went by boat,” or “traveled on a ship.” In some languages one can simply use “left … went over the water and arrived at….” Of course, in languages where technical nautical terms are well known by all the people, these can certainly be employed; but if such terms are only known by a relatively few persons in a society, more general expression should be used.
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 .
Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia: This clause indicates that they went around asking about a ship that would go to Phoenicia. They then asked those in charge of the ship if there was room for them. Other ways to translate this clause are:
We searched for a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, found/saw one -or-
We asked about a ship crossing over to Phoenicia. We were told about one -or-
We asked about a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, and people told us about one
a ship crossing over to Phoenicia: This ship was a large ocean-going ship, probably more than thirty meters (a hundred feet) long. It probably had one large rectangular sail in the middle and a smaller one in the front. It could sail long distances over the open sea (where no land could be seen). It probably sailed straight to Phoenicia. This would be much faster than following the coast and stopping at a harbor each night. Use a word or phrase that indicates or implies that kind of ship.
crossing over: This phrase refers to going from one side of something to the other side. Here the ship would go from one place on the coast to another place, going far from land. The trip from Patara to Tyre was about 600 kilometers (370 miles). Sailing day and night, the trip took three to five days with good winds.
Other ways to translate this phrase are:
crossing ⌊the sea⌋ -or-
sailing for (New Living Translation (2004)) -or-
going ⌊by sea⌋
Phoenicia:Phoenicia was a region on the coast of the province of Syria (21:3b). In some languages people are not familiar with the name Phoenicia. If that is true in your language, you may want to explain it in your translation. For example:
⌊the region/area of⌋ Phoenicia
See how you spelled this name in 15:3.
21:2b
boarded it: This phrase refers to going onto a ship. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
got on it
set sail: This phrase indicates that the ship departed from the harbor. It translates the same Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as “we sailed” in 21:1b. Translate it as you did there.
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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