complete verse (Exod. 3:14-15)

The translation into Pijin (published in 2008) translates Exodus 3:14-15 this way:

14 God answered like this, “My name is like this, I [Myself] I Live Always. You must tell them like this, ‘God who sent me to you, his “taboo” name is I [Myself] I Live Always.’ 15 And you must tell them like this, ‘Yahweh, who is the God of our ancestors before, he is the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and he [himself] he sent me to you.’ My name is Yahweh, and all people must call me by this name always.

Two footnotes in the translation add the following information (also back-translated from Pijin):

3:14: ‘I [Myself] I Live Always’ In the Hebrew language, the words that mean I [Myself] I Live Always, it is the taboo name of God. (…) 3:15: ‘Yahweh’ In the Hebrew language, this name is like YHWH, and it means something like ‘He [himself] he lives always,’ which is a taboo name of God. Before, the people of the line of Israel believed that this name of God was very taboo, so they were afraid to say it, and because of this, the way to say the name was lost. But many people think the way to say this name is, ‘Yahweh.’ In our Bible, we use ‘Yahweh’ to say the name YHWH. In some English Bibles they use ‘Lord‘ to mean YHWH. This is the name that God gave to us to call him, because only God can allow us to use his taboo name.

Bob Carter (former Translation Advisor, Solomon Islands Pijin Old Testament Project) who back-translated the verses and footnotes above, adds this:

“The translation of the Divine Name in verse 14 was decided on many years ago based on what the translation team understood at that time. We would likely not make the same decision now because of new input from scholars. The ‘taboo name’ is an ancient cultural concept having to do with people having a special name that is known or shared with only trusted people, because with the knowledge of the taboo name comes power. At the time of translation, the concept was broad enough to use in this context.”

The original of Exodus 3:14-15 in Pijin:

14 God hemi ansa olsem, “Nem blong mi hemi olsem, Mi nao Mi Stap Olowe. Yu mas talem olketa olsem, ‘God hu hemi sendem mi kam long yufala, tambu nem blong hem nao, Mi nao Mi Stap Olowe.’ 15 An yu mas talem olketa olsem, ‘Yawe, hu hemi God blong olketa grani blong yumi bifoa, hemi God blong Ebraham, an Aesak, an Jekob, an hem nao hemi sendem mi kam long yufala.’ Nem blong mi nao Yawe, an bae evri pipol mas kolem mi long disfala nem olowe nao.

See also tetragrammaton (YHWH) and holy / sacred / taboo.

Isaac

The name that is transliterated as “Isaac” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and French Sign Language with a sign that is linked to his mother’s laughter when she hears that she will be pregnant with him (referring to Genesis 18:1218:15) and also is the meaning of the Hebrew “Isaac” (Yitschaq — “he laughs”):


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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Isaac .

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

Abraham

The name that is transliterated as “Abraham” in English is translated in the vast majority of sign languages, including American Sign Language with the sign signifying “hold back arm” (referring to Genesis 22:12).


“Abraham” in American Sign Language (source )

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with a sign for that demonstrates his new destiny. Previously, he had been called to wander from his home, and the name “Abram” reflected this movement (see here). The new sign name is in one location and stays there, showing Abraham will be given a land to call his own. At this time, Abraham was in the southern part of Canaan, which is shown on the base arm by the location near the elbow. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Abraham” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

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

In Tira it is transliterated as Abaram. The choice of this, rather than the widely-known “Ibrahim,” as used in the Tira translation of the Qu’ran, was to offset it against the Muslim transliteration which originates from Arabic. (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

Click or tap here to see two short video clips about Abraham (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also our ancestor Abraham and Abram.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Abraham .

Jacob

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Jacob” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “lentil,” referring to the soup he gave his brother in exchange for his birthright (see Genesis 25:34). Note that another Spanish Sign Language sign for Jacob also users the sign for Jewish. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


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

In German Sign Language it is a sign that shows the touching of the hip, described in Genesis 32:25:


“Jacob” in German Sign Language (source: Taub und katholisch )

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the signs signifying “smooth arm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Jacob” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

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 Esau.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jacob .

complete verse (Exodus 3:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 3:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “Tell them that, ‘The God of your grandfathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has sent me.’ Tell them that this is the name that all generations will call me for years and years.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then God said to Moses again, ‘Tell the Israelites, ‘The God of your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has sent me to you.’
    For this has always been my name.
    By this very name,
    you will be remembering me from generation to generation.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “God continued to-speak to Moises, ‘Say this to the Israelinhon: ‘The LORD, the God of your (plur.) ancestors/[lit. old-ones] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is-the-one (who) has-sent me to you (plur.).’ I will-be-recognized/called by my name LORD forever/[lit. until whenever].’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And then God said to Moses, ‘You will speak to the Israel people like this, ‘The Chief, the God of your (pl.) ancestors Abraam and Aisak and Iakop, he sent me to come to you. He says that his name is like that, and so the people will remember him like that always and forever and on.’ ’” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “And God also said to Moses «you say people of Israel like this ‹Yahweh who be God of ancestors your, God of Abraham, and God of Isaac, and God of Jacob, it is he that sent me here to you.› And this name, be my name forever. Generation which will come all, they will remember me with this name.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “God also said to Moses/me, ‘Say this to the Israeli people: ‘Yahweh God, the one your ancestors worshiped, the one that Abraham and Isaac and Jacob worshiped, has sent me to you.’ This name, Yahweh, will be my name forever. That is the name that people in all future generations must use when they talk about/to me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

See also complete verse (Exod. 3:14-15).

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language 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 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 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 .

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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”.

formal 2nd person plural pronoun (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

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 formal plural suffix to the second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, anata-gata (あなたがた) is used, combining the second person pronoun anata and the plural suffix -gata to create a formal plural pronoun (“you” [plural] in English).

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