sanctuary

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Exodus 38:24)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 38:24:

  • Kupsabiny: “And/But all the gold which had been set apart for the Tent of God was one thousand (1000) kilos according to the standard weight.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The amount of gold given as wave offering for the work of the tabernacle was about a thousand kilogram according to the measurement of the sanctuary.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The weight of all the gold which-was offered for used to work on-the Tent around 1,000 kilos according to-the weighed of the gold on the scale which-was used by the priests.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “And all the gol which the Israel people offered for making God’s shelter, they waved it back and forth in God’s sight. And they counted that gol’s heaviness which amounted to nine hundred ninety-eight (998) kilos.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • English: “All the gold that was used to make the Sacred Tent weighed 2,195 pounds/1,000 kg.. They used the official standard when they weighed the gold.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 38:24

All the gold that was used for the work is literally “All the gold made [or, produced] for the task.” The word for used is the common word meaning “to do,” or “to make.” In all the construction of the sanctuary is literally “in all the task of the holy [place].” The word for sanctuary is the general term meaning “holy.” (See 15.17.) The same Hebrew word for work is repeated again for construction. Its specific meaning depends on the context.

The gold from the offering, literally “gold of the elevation offering,” uses the same term discussed at 29.24. (See the comment there.) This refers to what the people donated in 35.22, where the same term is used for all the gold objects that were dedicated to Yahweh. It is probably sufficient to call it simply an offering, but Good News Translation brings out the idea of “elevation offering,” with “the gold that had been dedicated to the LORD.” One may also say “the gold that the people had dedicated.”

Twenty-nine talents equals about 2,175 pounds, or 991 kilograms, and seven hundred and thirty shekels equals about twenty pounds, or nine kilograms, so the total weight was approximately “2,195 pounds” (Good News Translation), or “a thousand kilograms.” (See the comments on the talent and the shekel at 25.39 and 30.13.) By the shekel of the sanctuary is literally “by the holy shekel.” (See the comment at 30.13.) Good News Translation adjusts this to a more meaningful rendering, “according to the official standard,” and Contemporary English Version has “According to the official weights.”

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 .