skin of water

The Hebrew in Genesis 21:14 that is translated as “skin of water” in English is translated in Makonde as “gourd with water.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Hagar

The name “Hagar” or “Abataza” means “flight” and derived from that “fugitive,” “immigrant,” “sojourner.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

The term that is transliterated as “Hagar” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the sign for the letter H and “escaped,” referring to Genesis 21:14. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Hagar” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “Egypt” and “servant,” referring to the fact that Hagar was a slave from Egypt (see Genesis 16:1). (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Hagar” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Hagar and Hagar from an Egyptian Christian Perspective .

See also Hagar and Her Child in the Wilderness.

early morning

In Gbaya, the notion of early morning is emphasized with the ideophone sút as in the referenced verses.

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

Hagar and Her Child in the Wilderness

Artwork by Sister Marie Claire , SMMI (1937–2018) from Bengaluru, India.

For more information about images by Sister Marie Claire and ways to purchase them as lithographs, see here . For other images of Sister Marie Claire paintings in TIPs, see here.

The following is an artwork by Frank Wesley (1923-2002):

“Frank Wesley is a fifth generation Indian Christian born in 1923 in Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. He comes from a long line of artists. Wesley studied art in Lucknow where his Hindu professor inspired him not only in his art but also in an appreciation of Jesus Christ and his teaching.

Hagar was painted in water colour on paper and is in a private collection in Bangalore, India. The color washes have been manipulated with a palette knife on rough paper to emphasize the hard rocks which symbolize Hagar’s life as a bond-maid.

“Abraham and Sarah are honored as the founders of the nation of Israel. Abraham’s trust in God to lead him out of Babylon and his willingness to sacrifice his own son are quoted as signs of his great faith. But because Abraham and Sarah were people of wealth and privilege most Asian Christians have difficulty identifying with them. In recent years, many Asians have rediscovered Hagar as a person with whom they can have genuine empathy. Frank Wesley’s moving painting shows Hagar alone in the wilderness. She is prepared to die when the angel meets her. In the midst of hopelessness, God reveals to her that her son Ishmael will be the father of a great nation.” (Source for this and the image: The Bible Through Asian Eyes by Masao Takenaka and Ron O’Grady 1991)

desert / wilderness

Click here to view graphically

The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “desert” or “wilderness” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • Mairasi: “a place where noisiness is cut off (or: stops)” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Muna: pandaso bhalano pr “big barren-field” (source: René van den Berg)
  • Balinese: “barren field” (source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 75ff. )
  • Wantoat: “uninhabited place” (source: Holzhausen 1991, p. 38)
  • Umiray Dumaget Agta: “where no people dwell” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “where no house is” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Amri Karbi: “waterless region/place” (source: Philippova 2021, p. 368)
  • Ocotlán Zapotec: “large empty place” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Pa’o Karen: “jungle” (denoting a place without any towns, villages and tilled fields) (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. )
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
  • Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

See also wilderness and desolate wilderness.

Abraham

The name that is transliterated as “Abraham” in English means “father of a multitude,” “father of mercy,” “father of many nations.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In the vast majority of sign languages, including American Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “hold back arm” (referring to Genesis 22:12).


“Abraham” in American Sign Language (source )

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

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

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)

See also our ancestor Abraham and Abram.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Abraham .

complete verse (Genesis 21:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 21:14:

  • Kankanaey: “When it again became-light (i.e., next morning), Abraham went-early to get food and a leather bag filled with (lit. put-in with) water and he caused- Hagar -to-carry-it-on-her-shoulder. Then he caused-to-leave her and her child. Plural Hagar departed and wandered-and-wandered in the place with no inhabitants at Beerseba.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Early the next morning Abraham brought a skin container [full] of water and bread and put it on Hagar’s shoulder. Then, along with [her] son, [he] sent her away from there. They went hither and thither in the wilderness of Beersheba.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Very early the next day, Abraham took some food and water that was-inside a skin container, and he put- it -on-shoulder of Hagar. Then he had- Hagar -walk-(off/away) with the child. They traveled in the/a desolate-place of Beersheba not knowing where they were going.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So Abraham got up early the next morning. He got some food ready, put water in a container, and gave them to Hagar. He put them in a bag on her shoulder and sent them away. They wandered in the desert near Beersheba town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)