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
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Some translations specifically reproduce the voice of the Hebrew text of the Old Testament / Hebrew Bible.
English: No longer shall your name be called Avram,
rather shall your name be Avraham,
for I will make you Av Hamon Goyyim/Father of a Throng of Nations!
Source: Everett Fox 1995
German: Nicht werde fortan Abram dein Name gerufen,
sondern dein Name sei Abraham,
denn zum Ab-Hamon Gojim — zum Vater eines Getümmels von Stämmen gebe ich dich.
Source: Buber / Rosenzweig 1976
French: Ton nom ne sera plus crié Abrâm:
ton nom est Abrahâm père d’une multitude :
oui, je t’ai donné en père d’une foule de peuples.
Source: Chouraqui 1985
For other verses or sections translated with a Hebraic voice, see here.
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).
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
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 17:5:
Kankanaey: “‘This is the agreement-that- I -will-present to you (sing.). Starting-from now, your (sing.) name will not be Abram, but rather Abraham, because I will make- you (sing.) -become the ancestral-source of those who inhabit many nations.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Your name will now be Abraham, not Abram. For I have made you the father of many nations.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “From now-(on) no-longer will- you -be-called Abram but Abraham now, because I will-make you the father of many nations.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “And no longer will your name be Abram. Instead, your name will be Abraham, which means ‘father of many nations,’ because the people of many nations will descend from you.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham: this clause may sometimes be rendered “They won’t call you Abram any more; they will call you Abraham” or “Abram won’t be your name any longer; it will be Abraham.” Note that both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have footnotes to explain the popular meaning attached to the new name. Translators may wish to do the same.
For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations gives a reason or explanation for the name change. The change of Abram’s name marks a significant turn in his life. He will soon have a son from Sarai, whose name will also be changed in verse 15. In the Middle East, as in many areas of the world, the change of a person’s name signals a crucial change in the person’s life. For example, a leader taking over the direction of his people may receive a throne name, or such events as the death of an important ancestor or victory over a defeated enemy may be occasions for a change in a person’s name. Name changing is common in some areas when a person becomes a convert to a new religion.
Multitude of nations: multitude renders a word whose unmarked meaning refers to “unrest,” “tumult,” or “noise.” It is used of military troops or groups of people. Used with nations or peoples it refers, as in this verse, to the abundance or large number of them.
The fact that God is the one who makes or orders the change of name for Abram is not stated directly in the Hebrew; but in some languages it will be necessary to make this clear. For instance, in one translation this verse begins: “I am going to change that name of yours. They can’t call you Abram any more. I turn that name and call you Abraham, because….”
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 .
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. )
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