covenant

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The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that are translated as “covenant” in English are translated in a variety of ways. Here are some (back-) translations:

  • Mossi: “helping promise”
  • Vai: “a thing-time-bind” (i.e. “an arrangement agreed upon for a period of time”)
  • Loma (Liberia): “agreement”
  • Northwestern Dinka: “agreement which is tied up” (i.e. “secure and binding”)
  • Chol: “a word which is left”
  • Huastec: “a broken-off word” (“based on the concept of ‘breaking off a word’ and leaving it with the person with whom an agreement has been reached”)
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “a death command” (i.e. “a special term for testament”)
  • Piro: “a promised word”
  • Eastern Krahn: “a word between”
  • Yaka: “promise that brings together” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Nabak: alakŋaŋ or “tying the knot” (source: Fabian 2013, p. 156)
  • Kâte: ʒâʒâfic or “tie together” (source: Renck 1990, p. 108)
  • Nyamwezi: ilagano: “agreement, contract, covenant, promise” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Bariai: “true talk” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Q’anjob’al: “put mouths equal” (representing agreement) (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
  • Manikion, Indonesian: “God’s promise” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Natügu: nzesz’tikr drtwr: “oneness of mind” (source: Brenda Boerger in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 164)
  • Tagalog: tipan: mutual promising on the part of two persons agreeing to do something (also has a romantic touch and denotes something secretive) (source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
  • Tagbanwa: “initiated-agreement” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Guhu-Samane: “The concept [in Mark 14:24 and Matthew 16:28] is not easy, but the ritual freeing of a fruit and nut preserve does afford some reference. Thus, ‘As they were drinking he said to them, ‘On behalf of many this poro provision [poro is the traditional religion] of my blood is released.’ (…) God is here seen as the great benefactor and man the grateful recipient.” (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Chichewa: pangano. This word can also be translated as a contract, agreement, or a treaty between two parties. In Chewa culture, two people or groups enter into an agreement to help each other in times of need. When entering into an agreement, parties look at the mutual benefits which will be gained. The agreement terms are mostly kept as a secret between the parties and the witnesses involved. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Law (2013, p. 95) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew berith was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):

“Right from the start we witness the influence of the Septuagint on the earliest expressions of the Christian faith. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of his blood being a kaine diatheke, a ‘new covenant.’ The covenant is elucidated in Hebrews 8:8-12 and other texts, but it was preserved in the words of Jesus with this language in Luke 22:20 when at the Last Supper Jesus said, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus’s blood was to provide the grounds for the ‘new covenant,’ in contrast to the old one his disciples knew from the Jewish scriptures (e.g., Jeremiah 31:31-34). Thus, the earliest Christians accepted the Jewish Scriptures as prophecies about Jesus and in time began to call the collection the ‘Old Testament’ and the writings about Jesus and early Christianity the ‘New Testament,’ since ‘testament’ was another word for ‘covenant.’ The covenant promises of God (berith in Hebrew) were translated in the Septuagint with the word diatheke. In classical Greek diatheke had meant ‘last will, testament,’ but in the Septuagint it is the chosen equivalent for God’s covenant with his people. The author of Hebrews plays on the double meaning, and when Luke records Jesus’ announcement at the Last Supper that his blood was instituting a ‘new covenant,’ or a ‘new testament,’ he is using the language in an explicit contrast with the old covenant, found in the Jewish scriptures. Soon, the writings that would eventually be chosen to make up the texts about the life and teachings of Jesus and the earliest expression of the Christian faith would be called the New Testament. This very distinction between the Old and New Testaments is based on the Septuagint’s language.”

See also establish (covenant) and covenant (book).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Covenant in the Hebrew Bible .

circumcise, circumcision

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The Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “circumcise” or “circumcision” in English (originally meaning of English term: “to cut around”) are (back-) translated in various ways:

  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “cut the flesh”
  • San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, Navajo (Dinė): “cut around”
  • Javanese: “clip-away”
  • Uab Meto: “pinch and cut” (usually shortened to “cut”)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun, Western Highland Purepecha: “put the mark”
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “put the mark in the body showing that they belong to God” (or: “that they have a covenant with God”)
  • Indonesian: disunat — “undergo sunat” (sunat is derived from Arabic “sunnah (سنة)” — “(religious) way (of life)”)
  • Ekari: “cut the end of the member for which one fears shame” (in Gen. 17:10) (but typically: “the cutting custom”) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Hiri Motu: “cut the skin” (source: Deibler / Taylor 1977, p. 1079)
  • Garifuna: “cut off part of that which covers where one urinates”
  • Bribri: “cut the soft” (source for this and the one above: Ronald Ross)
  • Amele: deweg cagu qoc — “cut the body” (source: John Roberts)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cut the flesh of the sons like Moses taught” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Newari: “put the sign in one’s body” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Central Mazahua: “sign in his flesh”
  • Hopi: “being cut in a circle in his body” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Mandarin Chinese: gēlǐ (割礼 / 割禮) or “rite of cutting” (Protestant); gēsǔn (割损 / 割損) or “cut + loss” (Catholic) (Source: Zetzsche)
  • Tibetan: mdun lpags gcod (མདུན་​ལྤགས་​གཅོད།), lit. “fore + skin + cut” (source: gSungrab website )
  • Kutu: “enter the cloth (=undergarments)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Circumcision .

complete verse (Genesis 17:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 17:10:

  • Kankanaey: “This is the sign by-which- you -will-show that you are following the agreement-that- I -presented. All the males among you must be-circumcised.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “As for what my covenant says, which you must obey, [for] as many as are your sons, a sign must be put in the body.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “And about that agreement, you (pl.) should circumcise all your males.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “This is the agreement that I am making, between myself and you and all your descendants: Every male among you must be circumcised.” (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”.

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. )

Translation commentary on Genesis 17:10

The first part of verse 10 repeats the information in verse 9 and serves to give emphasis to it. This may be sufficient reason to combine verses 9-10, as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch. New information comes in the second half of the verse: Every male among you shall be circumcised. Every male includes baby boys, adolescents, young men, mature men, and old men. No male was to be exempt. Among you is literally “among you [plural],” in contrast to the singular “you” referring to Abraham in the previous verses. So the emphasis is again made that this obligation is placed on Abraham and his descendants.

Circumcised: this is the first use of this word in Genesis. It refers to cutting off the foreskin of the penis. The practice of circumcision was widespread in ancient times. It was practiced by the Egyptians, Canaanites, and some of the other Semitic peoples, but not the Assyrians, Babylonians, or Philistines. Abraham’s ancestral home in Babylonia probably did not practice circumcision. In modern times circumcision is widespread throughout the world, but it is not universal. As in ancient times, the practice is sometimes associated with male puberty and premarital rites.

In languages whose speakers practice circumcision, there is normally a term to designate this kind of operation, but it may not have any religious or cultic association. Peoples who do not circumcise are often familiar with the practice and may have a descriptive word or a borrowed word for it. Attitudes toward the practice vary from extremely positive to totally negative. In some situations the instructions given to Abraham to circumcise all males regardless of age may produce disgust and revulsion for readers. There are also situations where the practice and the terms for it are well known, but there is a strong taboo against referring to it except in a restricted group of people.

Where a ready expression is not available, it may be necessary to use an indirect expression such as “cut around,” “cut the skin,” “remove skin.” In some languages where this practice is unknown, it may be necessary to say “cut the skin of the penis” or “cut the male” and leave it to teaching to explain the sense. It may also be advisable to explain the significance of the expression in a footnote or glossary. For societies that perform other operations on the penis, it may be necessary to distinguish these operations from Jewish circumcision, which removed the entire foreskin. In many societies that practice circumcision, there is a ritual in which it takes place; and in some cases it will be better to use the name of the ritual to refer to circumcision than to use terms or expressions that refer to the physical operation. For example, we may translate “You are to do the [name of the ceremony] for every male in your camp.”

An additional problem in regard to the circumcision commanded by God is Abraham’s role in performing the operation. In verses 10-13 passive forms of the verb meaning “to circumcise” are used without saying who is to perform the operation. Only in verse 23 is the active verb used with Abraham as the subject. In verses 24-27 the verbs are again passive.

Many languages are not able to use a passive verb in verses 10-13 and so must indicate who is doing the action. This may be an impersonal subject such as “they,” “one,” “somebody.” If the ceremony is named it is sometimes possible to say “They will undergo the [named ceremony].” Since these verses are addressed to Abraham and his descendants, the most common approach in languages that cannot use the passive be circumcised is to make the subject of the active verb “you [plural].” For example, “You have to circumcise all your sons…,” “You must cut the skin of the penis of every male,” “All your males you must circumcise them.”

In verse 23, where “Abraham … circumcised,” we have two choices: to assume that the active verb means that Abraham personally circumcised all the males in his camp, or, and this is more likely, that Abraham ordered or caused all his males to be circumcised. In the second sense the causative force of the active verb is similar to that in 18.8, in which Abraham “prepared” the food that he set before his three visitors; what he did was order it to be prepared.

For languages that do not use the passive verb, verses 24-27 may also be translated with an impersonal agent.

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 .