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.

ark of the covenant

The Hebrew, Greek, and Latin that is sometimes translated as “ark of the covenant” in English (other English options: “pact chest” [translation by John Goldingay, 2018] or “Coffer of the Covenant” [translation by Everett Fox, 1995]) is translated in various ways:

  • Mairasi: Anasi Farjora or “Covenant Place” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Uma: “Promise Box” (source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Covenant Chest” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Chest of the Agreement” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Chest of the Initiated-agreement” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “law box” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Mairasi: “Covenant Place” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Danish Bibelen 2020: kisten med den hellige aftale or “chest with the holy agreement” (source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

Following is reverse applique stitching (“mola”) by an unknown Guna artist depicting the ark:

Source: Sacred Art Pilgrim website .

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.

In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “box” and the wings of the cherubim on top of the ark (see Exod 25:18 and following). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Ark of the covenant” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

See also covenant (tablets), cherub and tabernacle (noun).

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.”

complete verse (Exodus 25:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 25:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “We two shall be meeting there together. I will come and sit/stay on top of that lid in the middle of those two cherubim and give you my laws of/for the people of Israel.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “There I will meet with you. above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant all my commands for the Israelites.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I will-meet with you (sing.) there between the two cherubim that are above the Box, and I will-give you (sing.) all my commands for the people of Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And then I will meet together with you (sing.) in the place in which I wipe away bad deeds. And I will be present between those two kerubim and so expound all these laws to you. And you will give these laws to the Israel people for them to follow.’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “That place [which] be present in middle of Cherub on place-of-mercy on top of sacred box which word of my agreement be present there , that is where we (incl.) will meet with you there, that is where I will tell for you law which I put down for children of Israel.»” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “I will set times to talk with you there. From above the lid of the chest, between the two winged creatures, I will tell to you all my laws that you must tell to the Israeli people.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Exod 25:22

There I will meet with you really means “I will keep an appointment with you there,” for the word used has the idea of a prearranged meeting. (The word used in 5.3 is different.) Durham has “I will meet you there by appointment.” And from above the mercy seat is literally “from over the kapporeth” (see verse 17). From between the two cherubim refers to the two “cherubs,” or “winged creatures” (Good News Translation), discussed at verse 18. It is important to note that from above and from between places the there in midair above the ark, neither on it nor in it.

That are upon the ark of the testimony means that they are part of the lid of the ark. Here the “Covenant Box” is called the ark of the testimony for the first time. (See the comment on testimony at 16.34.) New Revised Standard Version has changed to the more popular “ark of the covenant,” and Good News Translation omits it entirely, since it is understood by reference to “the lid.” Others have “Ark of the Pact” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “ark of the commandments” (New American Bible), and “the chest containing the covenant symbols” (Translator’s Old Testament). (See the discussion at verses 10 and 16.)

I will speak with you may also be read as “I will tell you” (New American Bible, Translator’s Old Testament). Others have “I will give you” (Good News Translation), “I will impart to you” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “I shall deliver to you” (Revised English Bible). Of all that I will give you in commandment is literally “all that I will command you [singular].” This may be understood as “all my laws” (Good News Translation), “all my commands” (New Revised Standard Version), or “all my orders” (New Jerusalem Bible). For the people of Israel, literally “unto the sons of Israel,” means that Yahweh will give to Moses all the commandments intended for the Israelites.

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 .