Noah

The Hebrew, Latin; Ge’ez and Greek that is transliterated as “Noah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that combines the letter N + “boat.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Noah” 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 .

The following is a stained glass window depicting Noah by Endre Odon Hevezi and Gyula Bajo from 1965 for the Debre Libanos Monastery, Oromia, Ethiopia:

Photo by Timothy A. Gonsalves, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Noah .

complete verse (Genesis 9:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 9:19:

  • Kankanaey: “These three children of his, they were the ancestral-source of all the people here on this surface of the earth.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “These three sons of Noah were the ancestors of all the people of the earth.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “These three are the source of all the people in the world.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “All the people on the earth are descended from those three sons of Noah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 9:19

These three points back to the names in verse 18. Translators may find it confusing to speak of These three when Canaan’s name has been added. This problem may be resolved in various ways. For example, Good News Translation encloses “Ham was the father of Canaan” in parentheses to exclude his name from the three. But this solution may not be helpful in some languages. Another solution is that of Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, which translates “Shem, Ham, father of Canaan, and Japheth.” This is likewise a solution based upon punctuation, and not a very satisfactory one for the listener. Other solutions recommended are: (1) place “Ham was the father of Canaan” after “these three were the sons of Noah” or at the end of the verse; (2) instead of “these three” repeat the names of Noah’s three sons.

And from these the whole earth was peopled: peopled translates a verb meaning to disperse, scatter, spread out. See, for example, 1 Sam 13.11; Isa 33.3. This statement may also be translated “Through their descendants the earth was again populated,” or as in Good News Translation, “These three sons of Noah were the ancestors of all the people of the earth.” A different way of expressing this is used by one translation: “All the people of the world were descended from these three.”

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 .