unleavened bread

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “unleavened bread” in English is translated in various ways:

  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “bread that doesn’t have its medicine that makes it puff up”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “bread without its sour”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “bread that has no mother” (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Mairasi: “bread without other ingredient” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Chichewa: “non-puffed-up bread”
  • Chitonga: “bread without fermented grain” (source for this and above: de Regt / Wendland 2016)
  • Hiligaynon: “bread that has-none of that-which-causes-to-expand” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

leaven

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “leaven” (or “yeast”) in English is translated in Tzotzil as “the thing that swells the stomach of bread” and in Mairasi “bread cooking ingredient” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

In the occurrences in Mark 8:15 it is translated in Wantoat as “salt.” (Source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)

See also leaven (1Cor 5:6).

complete verse (Exodus 12:39)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 12:39:

  • Kupsabiny: “Those people made bread which had not risen because the Egyptians chased them quickly without the flour getting the chance to rise. And again, those people did not carry any other food which they had prepared.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “With the unleavened dough they had brought from Egypt they made bread. Because they had been driven out of Egypt in haste they did not have time to bake bread from the dough.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When they stopped to-eat, they cooked bread having-none of that-which-causes-to-expand from the kneaded flour that they brought from Egipto. That-which-causes-to-expand was not put/placed in it because they had-been-caused- by the Egiptohanon -to-hurry in-leaving and they had no more time to prepare their food.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And they cooked bret with plaoa not having yis in it. That plaoa, they took from Isip, but it didn’t have yis existing in it, because the Isip people caused them to hurry, and so they weren’t able to prepare well their food for the journey.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “And bread be present raw which lack yeast which people of Israel bring [many times] in Egypt, they baked it. That which bread their lack for it yeast, be reason that they immediately chased them away out from Egypt. There was no time which they will prepare bread [body].” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “On their way, they baked bread with the dough that they carried with them when they had been expelled from Egypt. The dough did not have yeast in it, because they were told to leave Egypt so quickly that they did not have enough time to get food ready to take with them, or enough time to mix yeast in the dough.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 12:39

And may be omitted, but it should be clear that the people were now on their journey. Durham translates the and as “At their first stop,” which is suggested by the context. This would produce the following translation of the first sentence: “At their first stop they baked unleavened cakes….” They baked is a general word for baking, but the word for unleavened cakes indicates that they baked them either in ashes or on hot stones. These unleavened cakes were round and flat, not like ordinary loaves of bread. Of the dough is literally “with the dough,” or “from the dough.” Which they had brought out of Egypt refers back to verse 34, which suggests the English pluperfect, had brought.

For it was not leavened refers to the dough and explains why these cakes were round and flat. New Jerusalem Bible has “because the dough had not risen.” New American Bible places this phrase at the beginning of the verse: “Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened, they baked it into unleavened loaves.” (See the comment on “yeast” at verse 15.)

Because they were thrust out of Egypt explains why there was no leaven in the dough. Thrust out is the passive form of the verb “to banish,” so Good News Translation has “for they had been driven out.” And could not tarry is literally “and they were not able to linger.” This implies that they normally ate leavened bread, but because they had to leave quickly, “they did not have time … to prepare leavened dough” (Good News Translation). Neither had they prepared is literally “and also they did not make.” Provisions is a general word for food prepared for a journey.

In many languages it will be helpful to place the final clause at the beginning of the verse as follows:

• The Egyptians made the Israelites leave Egypt in a great hurry. As a result they did not have time to prepare any food except some bread dough made without yeast. So they baked it and made round flat bread.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .