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).

complete verse (Ezekiel 40:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 40:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “He also measured the size of the space/width of the gate. He found that it had a width of seventeen and a half feet. And between the rooms of this side and that side, it had a height that could reach twenty-three feet.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The man measured the width of this way in the east, and it was 22 feet. The width of its door was only about 17 feet.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then he measured the threshold/opening for the entryway: It was 17-1/2 feet/5.3 meters wide, and the entry hallway between the alcoves was 22-3/4 feet/6.9 meters wide.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 40:11

Then he measured the breadth of the opening of the gateway, ten cubits: Next the man measured how wide the doorway of the gatehouse was. Ezekiel does not say whether it was the opening on the outer or inner side of the gatehouse, so we can probably assume that they were the same size. The opening, that is, the place where gates or doors would hang if there were any, was ten cubits, that is, 5 meters (17 feet), wide.

And the breadth of the gateway, thirteen cubits: The man also measured the breadth of the gateway, that is, the passageway that ran between the six small rooms. The passageway was thirteen cubits, that is, 6.5 meters (22 feet), wide. Thus the passageway was 1.5 meters (5 feet) wider than the openings at either end. There is no way of knowing whether the doorway between the porch and the passageway with the six small rooms (see Ezek 40.7) was the same width as the passageway or as the outer and inner openings.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .