Levi

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Levi” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies a menorah referring to the temple service of the tribe of the Levites. The same sign is also used for the tribe. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Levi” or “Levite” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

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

See also Levite, Levi and the Tribe of Levi .

Levite

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” and in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

For the sign in Spanish Sign Language, see Levi.

More information about Levites .

complete verse (Exodus 2:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 2:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “There was a certain man of the clan of Levi who married a lady from their clan.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “At that time a man of the clan of Levi married a woman of the clan of Levi.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “There (was) a man who (was) a descendant of Levi who married a woman who (was) also a descendant of Levi.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “In that day, a man from the clan [descended] from Livai married a woman with whom he shared the same clan.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “During that time, there was a man which be man of Levi who took woman of Levi as his wife.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “There was a man who/My father was descended from Jacob’s son Levi. He married a woman who was also descended from Levi.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 2:1

Now translates the common Hebrew conjunction waw, but here it marks the important transition from chapter 1 to the story of Moses’ birth. It is rendered “During this time” in Good News Translation in order to show this transition more clearly. Before these chapter divisions were added to the text, it was easy for people reading the scripture or listening to it being read in a public gathering to see this transition. But with these chapter divisions many modern listeners as well as readers will need some transitional information. So in some languages it will be helpful to translate something like “While these events were going on, a man…” or “While the Israelites were laboring for the Egyptians, a man….”

The house of Levi refers to “the tribe of Levi” in this context, since Levi was a distant ancestor, one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Both the man and the daughter of Levi are to be understood as his descendants and therefore members of the same tribe. The expression went and took to wife simply means “married.” A “tribe” is a group of people who are descended from the same ancestor. Often, as in the case of the Hebrews, it is further subdivided into smaller groups called “clans.” In many receptor cultures there will be similar divisions. (See the comment at 6.14.) But in the case of a culture that does not make such distinctions, a possible translation of “a man from the tribe of Levi” is “a man who was descended from the ancestor [or, great-grandfather] Levi.”

The Hebrew has “the daughter” rather than a daughter, but this may be understood as a reference to 6.20, where the names of both the man and the woman are given. But since this is the first mention of the woman, most translations use the indefinite article.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• During this time, a man who was descended from the ancestor Levi married [or, took as his wife] a woman who was also a descendant of Levi.

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 .