skin of water

The Hebrew 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)

desert / wilderness

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The Greek, Hebrew 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. )
  • 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.

Hagar

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 .

Abraham

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).


“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)

Translation commentary on Genesis 21:14

So Abraham rose early in the morning: early in the morning suggests that this action takes place the morning following the events and speeches in verses 9-13, which Good News Translation and many other versions make clear with “next morning.” So Abraham obeys God’s instructions quickly. Rose may be taken to mean “he got up from sleeping” or that he initiated the action that is named, “gave Hagar some food.”

Bread is understood by Good News Translation, New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New International Version, Moffatt to refer to food generally, as in 3.19. Skin of water refers to a dried animal hide that has been prepared to hold water. This may sometimes be referred to as “a hide for holding water,” “a skin to carry water in,” “a leather water bag.”

And gave it to Hagar: the first clause (literally “and gave to Hagar”) refers to the food and the water skin.

Putting it on her shoulder, along with the child: this is not entirely clear. The text says literally “he putting on her shoulder and the child.” Did Abraham put the food and water skin on her shoulder (the word may also refer to the back) and also the child? Child translates the same word as in verse 8, where it referred to little Isaac who is probably about three years old. The use of the same word in verses 14-16 referring to Ishmael seems to identify Ishmael also as a small child who could be carried on the back of his mother.

The Septuagint and Syriac translated “and he placed the child on her shoulder.” In these ancient versions the sense is clear. However, in the light of chapter 17, we must ask how old Ishmael was when he and Hagar were sent away. In 17.25 Ishmael was thirteen when he was circumcised. If the weaning of Isaac took place when he was approximately three, Ishmael was then between sixteen and seventeen years old and far too big to ride on his mother’s back.

Two approaches are taken by translators: the first is to assume that this story has no time relationship to chapter 17, and that the Hebrew text here pictures Ishmael as a small child. In some cases this is done by following the Septuagint. For example, Good News Translation says “He put the child on her back and sent her away,” and Revised English Bible “He set the child on her shoulder.” This is equivalent to the recommendation of Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which says “… it is not impossible that the M[asoretic] T[ext] constitutes an emended text-form. Therefore translators may choose the simplified form ‘(… and he gave it [the food and water] to Hagar,) and put the child on her shoulder.’ ”

The second choice is to interpret the Hebrew to mean that only the food and water were placed on Hagar’s [shoulder] back. Accordingly Speiser translates “He placed them on her back and sent her away with the child.” Speiser notes that the Hebrew text is obscure, but he prefers to give it this questionable sense rather than to resort to changing the text. As he says, “The various emendations that have been proposed merely substitute one set of problems for another. An acceptable solution has yet to be discovered.” Another translation that follows the second alternative is New International Version, which translates “Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy.”

In the light of the problems related to this obscure text, it does not seem advisable to favor one solution above the other. However, if the translator selects the first option, it may be necessary to explain how Ishmael, who was thirteen years old in 17.25, is now being carried by his mother. It is far more natural in terms of the story development to follow the second choice, and many translators will wish to do this.

And she departed: that is, “left Abraham’s camp.”

Wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba: wandered means she drifted about without a fixed destination. See discussion of 20.13. For wilderness see 14.6. Beer-sheba is the name of a town southeast of Gaza in the Negev desert. The plain around Beersheba was suitable for winter pasturage and was where some of the patriarchs made their camps. See the map, page 18.

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 .