mercy seat

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “mercy seat,” “cover of the ark” or similar in English is translated by the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) as or “the cover of that box which was the place for forgiving sins upon” (source: Wendland 1998, p. 110) and in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Sühnedeckel or “atonement cover.”

cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (source: Don Slager) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).

distance (long / wide / high)

The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Exodus 25:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 25:17:

  • Kupsabiny: “Someone make a lid for that box from pure gold. It should have a length of forty five inches and a width of twenty seven inches.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Make an atonement of pure gold 1.1 m long and 66 cm wide.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Make-for this Box a cover/lid of pure gold, which is 45 inches long and about 27 inches wide.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “‘And you (pl.) must make the box’s top from good gol, having a length extending to 45 inches, and its width extending to 27 inches. This top of the box is the place in which blood wipes away people’s bad deeds, in order for me to be at peace (lit. have a smooth interior) again concerning them.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “And you take gold which not [eye] be mixed with other things, pound it for its head which they will call place-of-mercy. Its length, let it be joint of hand two and a half, and its width, let it be joint of hand one and a half.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “Tell them to make a lid for the chest from pure gold. It will be the place where I will forgive people’s sins. It also is to be 45 in./110 cm. long and 27 in./66 cm. wide.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 25:17

Then represents the conjunction waw (“and”), but it may be omitted. You shall make a mercy seat is literally “you [singular] shall make a kapporeth.” The word probably comes from the verb kipper, which means “to cover over” in the sense of covering over, or atoning for, sins. So it really has the double meaning of “cover” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “atonement.” (See the comment on “atonement” at 29.33.) New International Version calls it “an atonement cover,” and Fox uses the term “purgation-cover.” Others prefer to call it a “propitiatory,” meaning a place for making atonement. In verse 22 (see also Lev 16.2) we are told that the space just above the kapporeth and between the cherubim is where the LORD will appear to Moses or to the high priest. Here, however, it is probably best to translate it simply as the “cover,” or “lid,” for the “Covenant Box,” but a footnote explaining this double meaning may be helpful to the reader. (Mercy seat, the traditional English rendering, probably originated from Martin Luther‘s German translation of kapporeth as Gnadenstuhl.)

Of pure gold suggests not only that was it “clean” but also that it was heavy. Two cubits and a half shall be its length means that it was “45 inches long” (Good News Translation), or “110 centimeters.” And a cubit and a half its breadth means that it was “27 inches wide,” or “66 centimeters.” Note that this is the exact size of the “Covenant Box.” The thickness of the cover, however, is not indicated.

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 .