very angry

The Hebrew that is translated as “became very angry” or “burned with anger” in English is translated in Irarutu as “his stomach was boiling.”

See also anger, fury / furious, and Seat of the Mind for traditional views of “ways of knowing, thinking, and feeling.”

anger

Click here to view graphically

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated as “anger” or similar in English in this verse is translated with a variety of solutions (Bratcher / Nida says: “Since anger has so many manifestations and seems to affect so many aspects of personality, it is not strange that expressions used to describe this emotional response are so varied”).

  • Chicahuaxtla Triqui: “be warm inside”
  • Mende: “have a cut heart”
  • Mískito: “have a split heart”
  • Tzotzil: “have a hot heart”
  • Mossi: “a swollen heart”
  • Western Kanjobal: “fire of the viscera”
  • San Blas Kuna: “pain in the heart”
  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “not with good eye”
  • Chichewa: “have a burning heart” (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation) (see also anger burned in him)
  • Citak: two different terms, one meaning “angry” and one meaning “offended,” both are actually descriptions of facial expressions. The former can be represented by an angry stretching of the eyes or by an angry frown. The latter is similarly expressed by an offended type of frown with one’s head lowered. (Source: Graham Ogden)

In Akan, a number of metaphors are used, most importantly abufuo, lit. “weedy chest” (the chest is seen as a container that contains the heart but can also metaphorically be filled with other fluids etc.), but also abufuhyeε lit. “hot/burning weedy chest” and anibereε, lit. “reddened eyes.” (Source: Gladys Nyarko Ansah in Kövecses / Benczes / Szelid 2024, p. 21ff.)

See also God’s anger and angry.

complete verse (Genesis 39:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 39:19:

  • Kankanaey: “When Jose’s master heard what his spouse negatively-reported, extreme was his anger.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “After he heard his wife say — ‘Your servant did like this,’ Joseph’s master flared with anger.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When Potiphar heard what was-told-by his wife about what Jose had-done, he was very angry.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When Joseph’s master heard this story that his wife told him, saying ‘This is how your slave treated me,’ he was very angry.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 39:19

When his master heard the words … wife spoke to him: the narrator keeps our attention on Joseph by speaking of his master. It may be clearer to say “When Joseph’s master heard….”

This is the way your servant treated me is placed between quotes in Revised Standard Version. The quoted material has not appeared in the retelling of the incident to the husband. It is better, therefore, to avoid the use of quotes and to say, for example, “When Joseph’s master heard his wife tell how Joseph had treated her, he became angry.” Note that Good News Translation has severely shortened verse 19.

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 .