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 .

complete verse (Acts 25:6)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 25:6:

  • Uma: “Festus was in Yerusalem around eight or ten nights, and he returned to Kaisarea. When they indeed arrived in Kaisarea, the next day he gathered all the judges, and he sent someone to bring Paulus to their gathering.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Pestus stayed yet with them there in Awrusalam about eight or ten days, then he went-down to Kesarea. When he arrived there, the following day he sat in the judgment room and he commanded that Paul be brought inside.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And it was more than one week that Festus stayed there, and then he returned to Caesarea. The next morning he sat down in the judging place, and he commanded that Paul be brought before him.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “He stayed in Jerusalem eight or ten days, then he returned to Cesarea. On the next day (lit. its tomorrow), he prepared to hold-court, and then he had-Pablo -called.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It truly wasn’t long that Festo was in Jerusalem. After eight or ten days only, he returned to Cesarea. When he arrived there, the next day, he then sat down on the seat of the judge and then had Pablo fetched.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 25:6

In Greek, this sentence begins with a participle “having spent,” which is rendered by the Good News Translation as Festus spent. Inasmuch as this is the beginning of a new paragraph, it is felt important for the needs of the English reader to qualify the participant (Festus) and to make this into a coordinate, rather than a subordinate, clause.

Another eight or ten days is a negative expression in the Greek (literally “not more than eight or ten days”). There is a potential ambiguity in the expression Festus spent another eight or ten days with them. Translated literally in some languages, this might imply that Festus was the guest of the chief priests and Jewish leaders and therefore would be prejudiced against Paul as a result of this hospitality. In reality, it only means that Festus spent another eight or ten days in Jerusalem.

In some languages, he sat down in the judgment court must be rendered as “he took his place as judge” or “he sat down as judge.” The final clause, ordered Paul to be brought in, is rendered in some languages as direct discourse: “ordered the soldiers, Cause Paul to come in” or “… Bring Paul in.”

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 .