The term that is transliterated as “Abram” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the sign signifying sojourning with a staff, clearly differentiating it from Abraham. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Abram” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Similarly, in Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with a sign that demonstrates that he has to wander from his home. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Abram” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 15:3:
Kankanaey: “Abram then said, ‘Yes Highest God, but what perhaps will be my benefit, because here-now (particle of mild displeasure) I still have no child that you (sing.) have given me, and it is only my slave Eliezer from-Damascus who will inherit all my possessions.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “You have not given me even a single child. So this servant of mine will take my inheritance.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Because you have- not -given me a child, Eliezer who is one of my servants is the only who will-inherit my possessions.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Abram added, ‘You have not given me any children, so think about this: A servant in my household will inherit all I own!'” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.
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Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator2002, p. 210ff. ), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.
Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”
In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.
Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).
In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.
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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 benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, goran (ご覧) or “see/behold/look” (itself a combination of “behold/see” [ran] and the honorific prefix go- — see behold / look / see (Japanese honorifics)) is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”
This verse repeats clearly in the form of a lament what is stated obscurely in the last part of Gen 15.2.
And Abram said marks the continuation of Abram’s speech. Good News Translation and others do not translate it, as it is stylistically unnecessary in English. However, it may serve to mark this as a speech, and such markings are essential in some languages.
Behold, thou hast given me no offspring: for Behold see 1.31. Abram complains that God has given him no “seed,” a common way to refer to descendants or offspring in Hebrew. We may rephrase this complaint to say, for example, “Look, you have not made me the father of any children” or “Listen, you have not enabled me to become a father.”
A slave born in my house is literally “a son of my house.” This is interpreted to be the legal practice described in the Nuzi tablets from Mesopotamia, in which a childless couple could adopt a friend or even a slave, who then undertook to care for the couple in their declining years and to provide them with a fitting burial. In exchange that person was named as their heir.
The use of slave or “servant” in translation depends upon the meanings these terms have in the translator’s language. If neither is suitable, it may be necessary to use a descriptive phrase such as “a man of my camp who works for me” or “one of the workers who belongs to my camp.”
Will be my heir: see discussion in Gen 15.2.
Translators may find it possible to combine verses 2 and 3 so that a better flow of thought is maintained. For example, Bible en français courant says “Abram answered: Lord, my God, what good is it to give me anything? I am childless, you have given me no descendant. My heir, the one who will receive my property, is Eliezer of Damascus, one of my servants.” Verse numbers 2-3 are placed before the combined verse in this case.
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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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 to do this is through the usage of lexical honorific forms, i.e., completely different words, as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, kudasaru (下さる), a respectful form of kureru (くれる) or “give” is used.
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