angry

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “(was or became) angry” in English is translated in Kwere as “saw anger.” In Kwere, emotions are always paired with sensory verbs (seeing or smelling or hearing). (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Bariai it is “to have grumbling interiors” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

See also anger and feel (terror, pain, suffering, anxiety).

worm / maggot

In English, “worm” is a fairly general word, while “grub” refers to worms and insect larvae that eat fruit and some vegetables such as beans. “Maggot” refers to the worm-like larvae flies and beetles, which feed on decaying meat or flesh. The Hebrew words tole‘ah and tola‘ath are fairly general terms for worms of all kinds, regardless of what the worms eat.

In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers there occurs the phrase tola‘ath shani, literally “worm of scarlet”. The Hebrew name indicates both a scarlet color and the dye producing this color. The dye is made from the kermes insect Coccus ilicis, which was found in the Ararat region. The dye was traded by the Phoenicians, who carried it to the Middle East, North Africa, southern Europe, Mesopotamia, and even further.

Unlike the more general words tole‘ah and tola‘ath, rimah and its Greek equivalent skōlēx refer exclusively in the Bible to flesh-eating worms, in other words, maggots. The use of “worm” and “vermin” in modern English versions is motivated by the fact that to say that one’s own body is covered with maggots is repulsive and impolite in English culture. It may not be in other cultures.

Worms, grubs, and maggots are small, soft, legless, tube-shaped creatures that have no bones or shells. They typically feed on overripe fruit, rotting meat, and similar things. Most are actually larvae that hatch from the eggs laid by flies or some beetles. Most of them mature into pupae and then into adult forms of the parent insects.

In the Bible worms and maggots are symbols of uncleanness, decay and insignificance. In Psalms 22:6 and Isaiah 41:14 the word tola‘ath signifies a very insignificant human being or even nation. Where comparing a person with a worm or maggot will not convey the same meaning, it may be possible to find some other insect which symbolizes insignificance. Where no such comparison exists, it will be necessary to follow something like “weak and helpless as a worm.”

Maggots were a symbol of uncleanness, decay, and death. In Job 25:6 the maggot is symbolic of a repulsive, insignificant person.

Worms and maggots are found universally, and finding equivalents should not be too hard. However, in many languages there are specific words for different kinds of worms or maggots, but no generic word that includes them all. In such cases the individual contexts should guide the translator. When the reference is to worms destroying grapes or olives, a suitable word for such a context should be found; when the reference is to maggots that feed on corpses, a suitable word for these contexts should be used. It is more important to translate appropriately for a given context than it is to translate one Hebrew or Greek word the same way every time.

The use of a word for a flesh-eating worm or maggot is appropriate for all contexts.

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

Bread from Heaven

Click here to see the image in higher resolution.

Image taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here . For other images of Willy Wiedmann paintings in TIPs, see here.

Following is an artwork by Sister Marie Claire , SMMI (1937–2018) from Bengaluru, India:

For more information about images by Sister Marie Claire and ways to purchase them as lithographs, see here . For other images of Sister Marie Claire paintings in TIPs, see here.

The following is a stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century, depicting the feeding with manna:

Source: Der gläserne Schatz: Die Bilderbibel der St. Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder), Neuer Berlin Verlag, 2005, copyright for this image: Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum

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 )

See also other stained glass windows from the Marienkirche in Frankfurt.

complete verse (Exodus 16:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 16:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “Although they were cautioned like that, some deafened their ears and collected those foods for the next day. And/But by the next day, they got maggots in those food and it was smelly. Moses was annoyed with those people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But some of them did not do as Moes had told them to do and they kept part of it until morning but it was full of maggots and began to smell. Moses got angry because of it.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “But some of them did- not -believe Moises, they saved/kept (some of it) for the next day. But it became-full-of-worms and began-to-smell. So Moises (was) angry with them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “But no. Some people didn’t obey Moses and so they set [aside] part of the food until morning. And they saw that it was full of worms and smelled bad. Therefore Moses was angry with them.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “But, others not word of Moses listened. They put some for tomorrow. And worm infested it, it smelled mold. Therefore, Moses was angry at them.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “But some of them did not pay any attention to what Moses/I said. They kept some of it until the next morning. But it was full of maggots and smelled rotten. And that made Moses/me angry.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English means “taken out of the water,” “saved out of the water,” “a son.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 ). See also Translation commentary on Exodus 2:10.

It is translated in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language with a sign in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language (and Hungarian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Korean Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the arms held up by Moses to assure the Israelites victory over the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:11).


“Moses” in Korean Sign Language, source: Korean Sign Language Bible House

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Translation commentary on Exod 16:20

But they did not listen to Moses is quite literal, but it means “they paid no attention to Moses” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “Some of them disobeyed” (Contemporary English Version). Some left part of it till the morning is literally “and men caused to remain from it.” This may mean either they “left part of it” or they “saved part of it” (Good News Translation). New International Version and others have “they kept part of it.” The context suggests that they were afraid there would not be any more manna the next morning. Contemporary English Version restructures in a helpful way: “Some of them disobeyed, but the next morning what they kept was….”

And it bred worms is literally “and worms rose up.” The word also refers to insect larvae, so New International Version has “it was full of maggots” (so also Revised English Bible). And became foul means that “it stank” (Translator’s Old Testament). New International Version has “it began to smell,” and Good News Translation says that it “smelled rotten.”

And Moses was angry with them uses a word that simply means to become angry. Of course, in a number of languages this will be expressed idiomatically as “Moses’ heart grew hot.” This is different from the expression in 11.8, where Moses left Pharaoh “with a burning nose.”

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 .