make them of hammered work

The Hebrew that is translated as “make them of hammered work” in English is translated in Elhomwe in such a way “to make clear that cherubim formed one part with the gold of the cover and that the gold of the cover was hammered in such a way that figures (like cherubim) could be formed. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

cherub

Some key biblical terms that were directly transliterated from the Hebrew have ended up with unforeseen meanings in the lexicons of various recipient languages.

Take, for example, the English word “cherub,” from Hebrew “kĕrȗb.” Whereas the original Hebrew term meant something like “angelic being that is represented as part human, part animal” (…), the English word now means something like “a person, especially a child, with an innocent or chubby face.” Semantic shift has been conditioned in English by the Renaissance artistic tradition that portrayed cherubim in the guise of cute little Greek cupids. This development was of course impossible to foresee at the time when the first English translations borrowed this Hebrew word into the English Bible tradition, following the pattern of borrowing set by the Greek and Latin translations of the Old Testament.

In Russian, the semantic shift of this transliteration was somewhat different: the -îm ending of “kĕrūbîm,” originally signifying plurality in Hebrew, has been reanalyzed as merely the final part of the lexical item, so that the term херувим (kheruvim) in Russian is a singular count noun, not a plural one. (A similar degrammaticalization is seen in English writers who render the Hebrew plural kĕrūbîm as “cherubims.”) Apparently, this degrammaticalization of the Hebrew ending is what led the Russian Synodal translator of Genesis 3:24 to mistakenly render the Hebrew as saying that the Lord God placed a kheruvim (accusative masculine singular in Russian) to the east of the garden of Eden, instead of indicating a plural number of such beings. (Source: Vitaly Voinov in The Bible Translator 2012, p. 17ff. )

In Ngäbere the Hebrew that is translated in English as “cherub” is translated as “heavenly guard” (source: J. Loewen 1980, p. 107), in Nyamwezi as v’amalaika v’akelubi or “Cherubim-Angel” to add clarity, in Vidunda as “winged creature,” in Makonde as “winged creature from heaven” (source for this and two before: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), in Bura-Pabir as “good spirit with wings,” and in Northern Pashto it is either translated as “heavenly creature” (Afghan Pashto Bible, publ. 2023) or “winged creature” (Holy Bible in Pakistani [Yousafzai] Pashto, publ. 2020) (source for Bura-Pabir and Northern Pashto: Andy Warren-Rothlin).

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “angel” and “spinning sword” (referring to Genesis 3:24):


“Cherub” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

See also seraph and ark of the covenant.

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.”

Translation commentary on Exod 25:18

And you shall make two cherubim of gold still refers to part of the cover for the ark. (See verse 19.) Cherubim, the plural form of “cherub,” is a Hebrew word that is used frequently in the Bible and refers to mysterious winged creatures described in various ways. They may have been part animal and part human. Fox translates “winged-sphinxes.” Traditionally translations have transliterated the term cherubim. However, this is the Hebrew plural form for “cherub.” Even “cherub” may not be an adequate term, because it is often understood to refer to a chubby, rosy-faced child with wings, like those shown in the religious art of the West. Various terms may be used: “winged creatures” (Good News Translation), “winged animals,” or “winged beings.” Living Bible‘s “images of angels” is not recommended. Whether a translator chooses to transliterate the term “cherub” or use a descriptive phrase, it may be necessary to include a Glossary note and even an illustration showing the reader what the cherubim may have looked like. (See the Good News Translation “Word List” under “Winged Creatures.”)

Of hammered work shall you make them uses a word that has the root meaning of hard, or severe. It refers to any metal that is beaten or hammered into a desired form or shape. So the cherubim were neither carved nor cast, but rather shaped by pounding the gold with a hammer. On the two ends of the mercy seat means that the two cherubim were to be at the opposite ends of the cover, but as verse 19 seems to suggest, they were not to be made separately and then attached to the lid. (But see the comment there.) Note that Good News Translation omits this part, since it is repeated in the following verse. An alternative model for this verse is “Take a hammer and pound out the two ends of the pure gold lid into the shape of two cherubs [or, winged creatures].”

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 .