the smoke of the land going up like the smoke of a furnace

In Gbaya, the notion of something that obstructs (such as smoke) in Genesis 19:28 is emphasized with the ideophone ŋmak-ŋmak, which refers to something that closes, obstructs, or clutters.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

furnace

The Hebrew in Genesis 19:28 that is translated as “furnace” in English is translated in Kutu as mdibiwi or “big burning pile.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Gomorrah

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is transliterated as “Gomorrah” in English is transliterated in Mandarin Chinese as émólā (蛾摩拉) in the Protestant tradition. This is an interesting transliteration because the first character é (蛾) has a negative connotation with the meaning of “moth.” This character is only used here in the Protestant Chinese Bible. For many other transliterations the more neutral character 俄 with the same pronunciation is used. (Source: Zetzsche)

complete verse (Genesis 19:28)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 19:28:

  • Kankanaey: “When he arrived there, he-looked-down on Sodoma and on Gomorra and the wide plain there, and he saw the thick smoke rising like the smoke from where- they -burn lime.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He looked at all the places of Sodom and Gomorrah. And he saw smoke coming out, like columns of smoke coming out from the valley there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He looked at Sodom and Gomora and the entire valley. He saw the smoke that was-rising-up from the ground as-if similar to smoke that was-coming from a big furnace.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and he was surprised to see that all over the valley, smoke was rising, like the smoke of a huge furnace.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 19:28

Abraham looked down into the valley at what had been, until a short time before, Sodom and Gomorrah.

Toward all the land of the valley: the valley is the Jordan valley, the same as in verses 17 and 25.

And beheld, and lo is an archaic expression meaning “he looked and saw.” In many languages different words or expressions for looking or seeing will naturally be used for the verbs in this verse. At the beginning of the verse Abraham directed his looking toward the two cities: he “looked toward,” or as some translations have it, “looked for” Sodom and Gomorrah. Then here as he looked, his eyes told him the terrible truth: he “saw [and understood]” what had happened.

The smoke of the land went up: smoke in both occurrences translates a Hebrew word having the same root as one meaning “incense.” However, translators are not advised to substitute “incense” for smoke.

The smoke rising from the land is compared with the smoke of a furnace, in which furnace translates a word used in Exo 9.8, 10 and rendered “kiln” by Revised Standard Version. A “kiln” (see also New English Bible, Revised English Bible) is a large oven or furnace made of brick or stone and which is heated to high temperatures for hardening, burning, or drying. If a kiln is unknown, an oven or chimney may be used. Since attention is drawn to the smoke and not to the source of the smoke, it is also possible to say, for example, “like the smoke from a large fire.” In one translation this is “a big smoke went up just like [smoke from] a bushfire.”

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 .