Following is a Russian Orthodox icon of Isaiah from the 18th century (found in the Transfiguration Church, Kizhi Monastery, Karelia, Russia). The text in the scrollis from Isaiah 2:2: “In the last days […] shall be established.”
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
The word which Isaiah … saw …: The first title in 1.1 described the message given to Isaiah as a “vision,” but here it is a word. However, it is a word that he saw, which renders the same Hebrew root as the word “vision.” As noted in the comments on 1.1, the noun “vision” and the verb “saw” are technical terms used by Israel’s prophets to refer to the messages they received. This is also true for the noun word. Often it is best to convey their meaning by not being literal; for example, Good News Translation renders this verse as “Here is the message which God gave to….” Another version that explicitly makes God the source of the message is Bible en français courant: “The message that Isaiah, son of Amoz, received from the Lord concerning the kingdom of Judah and the city of Jerusalem.” Some literal renderings are New Jerusalem Bible “The vision of Isaiah … concerning…,” New American Bible “This is what Isaiah … saw…,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “The word that Isaiah … prophesied….” (“To prophesy” refers to proclaiming a message from God. It does not necessarily mean predicting the future.)
Quoted with permission from Ogden, Graham S. and Sterk, Jan. A Handbook on Isaiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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