boat, ship

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. )

See also ships of Tarshish, harbor, anchor, and sailor.

grain

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).

Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

complete verse (Acts 27:38)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 27:38:

  • Uma: “When they were full, they threw the ship’s cargo of wheat into the sea, so that the ship would be somewhat light.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When they had all eaten and were satisfied, they dropped the wheat (buwas tirigu) into the sea so that the ship would become lighter.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when we were all satisfied, they threw into the sea the cargo of the ship which was wheat so that the ship might become light.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When we (excl.) had all finished-eating, they throw-away the wheat they had loaded-on-as-cargo so that the ship would become even lighter.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “When we had all eaten, what they next did was, they dropped the sacks of wheat into the sea so that the ship would be lighter still.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

wheat

Two kinds of wild wheat have grown in the open deciduous oak woodland in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent for several thousand years: Einkorn Wheat Triticum monococcum and Emmer Wheat Triticum dicoccum. Both came into cultivation together with barley. Just before the time of the Romans, the Naked Bread Wheat or Hard Wheat Triticum durum started replacing the hulled varieties. This then became the favorite type of wheat for bread and macaroni. Spelt is a sub-member of the Triticum aestivum species.

In New Revised Standard Version, updated edition and some other versions, the generic Hebrew word bar has been rendered “wheat” in Jeremiah 23:28 et al. This is legitimate, since the grain referred to by bar was probably wheat. However, it might be better to say “grain” in these passages.

The most important early wheat for the Israelites was emmer, probably the only wheat known in Egypt, and referred to in Hebrew as chittah. However, according to Hepper (Baker Encyclopedia of Bible Plants: Flowers and Trees, Fruits and Vegetables, Ecology. Baker Book House, 1992), the seven-headed wheat of the Egyptian king’s dream (Genesis 41:5ff.) suggests that there may also have been Triticum turgidum (rivet wheat) in the emmer group. The Hebrew word kusemeth probably refers to a type of emmer wheat that the Egyptians called swt.

Wheat is a type of grass like rice and barley, growing to around 75 centimeters (2.5 feet) in height and having a head with many small grains in rows.

Bread made from wheat was the staple food for the people of ancient Israel, so God punished them by breaking “the staff of bread” (see, for example, Ezekiel 4:16).

If wheat is unfamiliar, translators can transliterate from a major language in non-rhetorical contexts (for example, English witi, Portuguese trigo, French ble or froment, Swahili ngano, Arabic kama/alkama). The transliteration may add a generic tag such as “grain.” The New Testament passages are mostly rhetorical, opening the possibility for a metaphorical equivalent.

Wheat head, photo by Gloria Suess

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Acts 27:38

Wheat is best understood as a reference to what remained of the ship’s cargo, rather than to the ship’s provisions. Evidently they had not previously thrown overboard all the ship’s cargo (see v. 18). The reason for throwing the ship’s cargo overboard initially was to keep the ship from being swamped in the storm; the present reason for the throwing the remainder of the cargo overboard seems to be that the ship would “float high” and would go up on the beach as far as possible.

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 27:38

27:38a

After the men had eaten their fill: This clause in Greek is literally “having eaten enough.” After fourteen days of eating nothing, the people could only eat a little before feeling full. Other ways to translate this clause are:

After everyone had eaten enough (Good News Translation)
-or-
After they had satisfied their hunger (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
When they had eaten enough to be satisfied (NET Bible)

the men: Luke wrote this book. While he probably ate at this time, the focus is on the people of the ship, so he does not mention himself here.

27:38b

they lightened the ship: A lighter ship floats higher, so it could reach closer to shore before hitting the sea bottom. If people in your area will not know why the people on the ship would want to lighten it, you may want to:

• Translate literally and explain it in a footnote. An example footnote is:

A lighter ship floats higher, so it could get closer to shore before hitting the sea bottom.

• Explain it in your translation. For example:

they lightened the ship ⌊so it would float higher⌋
-or-
they lightened the ship ⌊so they could beach it closer to shore⌋

throwing the grain: The grain may have been in sacks of approximately fifty kilograms each, or it may have been loose in the hold of the ship. If it was loose, they would probably remove it with buckets or baskets. Use a verb that allows one or both possible actions.

the grain: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as grain also refers to wheat. A ship from Alexandria to Italy would mostly likely have wheat as the kind of grain. Some languages must name the particular kind of grain. For example:

the wheat

The purpose of this ship was to carry grain. So it probably had a lot of grain in its hold. It perhaps had thousands of sacks of grain or a similar amount of loose grain. Translate in a way that allows a large amount of grain.

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