virgin

The Hebrew and Greek that is mostly translated as “virgin” in English can be translated as “woman that is untouched” in Batak Toba or “a woman with a whole (i.e. unopened) body” in Uab Meto.

“Similar words for ‘girl,’unmarried young woman,’ suggesting virginity without explicitly stating it, are found in Marathi, Apache, or Kituba. Cultural features naturally influence connotations of possible renderings, for instance, the child marriage customs in some Tboli areas, where the boy and girl are made to sleep together at the initial marriage, but after that do not live together and may not see each other again for years. Hence, the closest attainable equivalent, ‘female adolescent,’ does not imply that a young girl is not living with her husband, and that she never had a child, but leaves uncertain whether she has ever slept with a male person or not. Accordingly, in Luke one has to depend on Luke 1:34 to make clear that Mary and Joseph had not had sexual intercourse. A different problem is encountered in Pampanga, where birhen (an adaptation of Spanish virgen — ‘virgin’), when standing alone, is a name of the ‘Virgin Mary.’ To exclude this meaning the version uses “marriageable birhen,” thus at the same time indicating that Mary was relatively young.” (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel, see here)

In Navajo (Dinė), the term that is used is “no husband yet” (Source: Wallis, p. 106) and in Gola the expression “trouser girl.” “In the distant past young women who were virgins wore trousers. Those who were not virgins wore dresses. That doesn’t hold true anymore, but the expression is still there in the language.” (Source: Don Slager)

The term in Djimini Senoufo is katogo jo — “village-dance-woman” (women who have been promised but who are still allowed to go to dances with unmarried women). (Source: Übersetzung heute 3/1995)

In Igbo translations, typically a newly-created, multi-word phrase is used that very explicitly states that there has not been any sexual relations and that translates as “a woman (or: maiden) who does not know a man.” This is in spite of the fact that there is a term (agb͕ọghọ) that means “young woman” and has the connotation of her not having had sexual relations (this is for instance used by the Standard Igbo Bible of the Bible Society of Nigeria for Isaiah 7:14). Incidentally, the euphemistic expression “know” (ma in Igbo) for “having sex” has become a well-known euphemism outside of Bible translation. (Source: Uchenna Oyali in Sociolinguistic Studies Vol. 17 No. 1-3 (2023): Special Issue: Gender and sexuality in African discourses )

In Chichewa, it is translated as namwali which is used to refer to a girl who has reached puberty stage and is ready to get married. Apart from the physical aspect, the word also has social implications in the sense that it is used to recognize the fact that the girl has become responsible enough to make informed decisions and take care of herself and others. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also virgins (Revelation 14:4) and complete verse (Matthew 1:23).

complete verse (Amos 5:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Amos 5:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “The virgin Israel has fallen
    so that she is unable to get up by herself.
    (She) lies spread out on the ground
    but there is no person who is helping (her) to get up.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “‘The Virgin Israel has fallen to the point
    that she will not get up anymore.
    She has been abandoned in her own county.
    There is no one to raise her up.’” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Israel, who is like a virgin lady, was-destroyed and will- never -rise-up again.
    She was-abandoned/forsaken in her land and no one at-all/else can-raise- her -up.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘You are like a young woman,
    but in spite of that, you will certainly be struck down
    and you will never get up again!
    You will lie on the ground, abandoned,
    and there will be no one to help you stand up.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Amos 5:2

If verse 1 speaks of a funeral song, verse 2 should sound like one. That is, it should have the style of a funeral song in the language of the translation. If song is not used in verse 1, then whatever is indicated there should be true of the style in verse 2, whether poem, statement, etc.

If verse 2 is to be a funeral song or poetry of any kind in translation, the translator will have to use imagination and creativity in restructuring into the patterns of the language, and still translate faithfully (see Translating Amos, Section 5).

Fallen, no more to rise, is the virgin Israel/Israel has fallen, never to rise again. This statement presents several translation problems. In many languages it is not possible to talk about a nation as though it were a person. Normally, in such cases, the translator tries to show the basis of the comparison. For example, one possibility is “The nation of Israel is like a young woman: in spite of her youth she has fallen and will not get up again.” But in this case there is no agreement about what the basis of comparison really is, as can be seen from the different commentaries.

In some languages the best solution is not to translate the picture at all and to say something like “the nation/people of Israel has/have fallen.” Such a translation loses something, but the loss may be more in feeling than in ideas.

Fallen. The Hebrew picture is one of violent death. It was commonly used in funeral songs with the meaning of “fallen by the sword” (compare 2 Sam 1.19,25,27; Lam 2.21; Jer 9.22). This meaning often has to be made clear in translation, or people will think that the fall is due to an accident. One way is to show what causes the fall: “killed by the sword, Israel has fallen.” Another is to use a different verb, such as “struck down” instead of “fallen.”

The Hebrew verb is in the perfect, indicating a past completed action. This means that what will happen to the hearers in the future is presented as an already accomplished fact and the effect on Amos’ hearers was something like someone reading in the newspaper that he is dead. In translation one may have to use future tenses to emphasize the absolute certainty that the message will come true.

Forsaken on her land, with none to raise her up/She lies abandoned on the ground, And no one helps her up. The meaning is “she lies abandoned on her own soil,” and it would be better to say “on her own soil” (or “in their own country,” if “the people of Israel” is used earlier), since this makes clear the invasion of the country by foreign armies.

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan & Smalley, William A. A Handbook on Amos. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1979. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Amos 5:2

5:2a “Fallen is Virgin Israel,

“The young ⌊nation of⌋ Israel is destroyed/ruined,
-or-
“⌊You (plur.) ⌋ Israelites ⌊are like⌋ a young girl who has been struck ⌊with/by a sword⌋ .

5:2b never to rise again.

and she will⌋ never rise up again.
-or-

You (plur.) will⌋ not get up again.

5:2c She lies abandoned on her land,

The people of Israel are⌋ abandoned on their own soil.
-or-

You (plur.) may be⌋ in your own land, ⌊but God will still⌋ leave ⌊you (plur.) ⌋ .

5:2d with no one to raise her up.”

No one helps/raises them up.”
-or-
There will be no one to help you (plur.) stand up.”

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