struck with blindness

The Hebrew in Genesis 19:11 that is translated as “struck with blindness” or similar in English is translated in Mwera with the idiom gubhaabhulegenje: “they killed their eyes.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Genesis 19:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 19:11:

  • Kankanaey: “After-that they then blinded everyone who was outside so-that they could- not -find the doorway.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They blinded all the men who were outside the door, young and old. Because of this they were not able to find the door.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then they caused- the men outside -to-become-blind so-that they could- not -find the door.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then they caused all the men who were outside the door of the house, young and old, to become blind, so that they could not find the door.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 19:11

And they struck with blindness: to introduce the next step in the series of events, a transition like “Then,” “After that,” “When they had shut the door,” is necessary in some languages. The Hebrew expression translated struck with blindness, according to Speiser, is a loan word from Akkadian and refers to a blinding light causing a temporary condition rather than the permanent loss of sight or total blindness as referred to, for example, in Lev 22.22; Deut 28.28. The only other place in the Old Testament where this kind of temporary blindness is found is 2 Kgs 6.18. This distinction will be useful in languages that distinguish between permanent blindness and blinding caused by sudden exposure to bright light.

Both small and great (a different expression than used in verse 4) refers to the extremes of age, that is, “from the youngest to the oldest,” which Good News Translation translates “all the men.” In some translations this is expressed as “all the men outside” to make a clear distinction between those men and the men inside.

So that they wearied themselves groping for the door: this literal rendering of the Hebrew is not satisfactory in English and has been improved in New Revised Standard Version to say “so that they were unable to find….” Some languages, however, will be able to use colorful expressions similar to the Hebrew; for example one translation has “they tried to see; but no, they could not find that door.”

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 .