virgin

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The Hebrew and Greek that is mostly translated as “virgin” in English can be translated as “woman that is untouched” in Batak Toba or “a woman with a whole (i.e. unopened) body” in Uab Meto.

“Similar words for ‘girl,’unmarried young woman,’ suggesting virginity without explicitly stating it, are found in Marathi, Apache, or Kituba. Cultural features naturally influence connotations of possible renderings, for instance, the child marriage customs in some Tboli areas, where the boy and girl are made to sleep together at the initial marriage, but after that do not live together and may not see each other again for years. Hence, the closest attainable equivalent, ‘female adolescent,’ does not imply that a young girl is not living with her husband, and that she never had a child, but leaves uncertain whether she has ever slept with a male person or not. Accordingly, in Luke one has to depend on Luke 1:34 to make clear that Mary and Joseph had not had sexual intercourse. A different problem is encountered in Pampanga, where birhen (an adaptation of Spanish virgen — ‘virgin’), when standing alone, is a name of the ‘Virgin Mary.’ To exclude this meaning the version uses “marriageable birhen,” thus at the same time indicating that Mary was relatively young.” (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel, see here)

In Navajo (Dinė), the term that is used is “no husband yet” (Source: Wallis, p. 106) and in Gola the expression “trouser girl.” “In the distant past young women who were virgins wore trousers. Those who were not virgins wore dresses. That doesn’t hold true anymore, but the expression is still there in the language.” (Source: Don Slager)

The term in Djimini Senoufo is katogo jo — “village-dance-woman” (women who have been promised but who are still allowed to go to dances with unmarried women). (Source: Übersetzung heute 3/1995)

In Igbo translations, typically a newly-created, multi-word phrase is used that very explicitly states that there has not been any sexual relations and that translates as “a woman (or: maiden) who does not know a man.” This is in spite of the fact that there is a term (agb͕ọghọ) that means “young woman” and has the connotation of her not having had sexual relations (this is for instance used by the Standard Igbo Bible of the Bible Society of Nigeria for Isaiah 7:14). Incidentally, the euphemistic expression “know” (ma in Igbo) for “having sex” has become a well-known euphemism outside of Bible translation. (Source: Uchenna Oyali in Sociolinguistic Studies Vol. 17 No. 1-3 (2023): Special Issue: Gender and sexuality in African discourses )

In Chichewa, it is translated as namwali which is used to refer to a girl who has reached puberty stage and is ready to get married. Apart from the physical aspect, the word also has social implications in the sense that it is used to recognize the fact that the girl has become responsible enough to make informed decisions and take care of herself and others. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also virgins (Revelation 14:4) and complete verse (Matthew 1:23).

complete verse (Isaiah 47:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Isaiah 47:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “God is saying,
    ‘You shall be pulled down to sit in dust
    oh, city of Babylon.
    You shall sit without a chair
    oh, city of the Chaldeans.
    Never again shall you be called
    a healthy lady.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “O Virgin Daughter of Babylon
    you go down below [and] sit in the dust!
    O daughter of Babylon,
    leave throne sit down on the ground!
    From now on you will not be called modest and soft. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The LORD said, You (sing.) will-sit on the ground, Babilonia. You (sing.) will-sit without a throne. You (sing.) who is like a virgin woman will- no longer -be-called gentle and delicate.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Isaiah 47:1

Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch begin this verse with the quote frame “The LORD says” (similarly Bible en français courant) to indicate that Yahweh is speaking here, which is clear from the first person pronouns in verse 3. These versions do not include verse 4 in his speech.

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans!: The oracle opens with these two parallel lines that call on Babylonia, personified as a queen, to leave her throne and sit in the dust on the ground. This imagery indicates she will lose her power to rule. Sit in the dust is a sign of humiliation, further emphasized by sit on the ground. The repetition of the call to sit gives an emphasis that is not obvious in Good News Translation.

The vocative phrases O virgin daughter of Babylon and O daughter of the Chaldeans are parallel and refer to the same nation, Babylonia. For Babylon see 13.1, 19; for Chaldeans see 13.19. For the figurative expressions daughter of and virgin daughter of, see the comments on 1.8; 23.12; and 37.22. Here daughter of the Chaldeans is a way of speaking of the nation of Babylonia as a whole, while virgin daughter of Babylon probably means that Babylonia, represented by its capital Babylon, has not been conquered before. Good News Translation combines these two phrases into a simile, saying “You were once like a virgin, a city unconquered.” This is a valid translation option, but only if it is kept short (see the examples below). However, if making explicit the significance of the metaphor virgin daughter would need a long descriptive phrase, it would burden the translation unduly. But virgin daughter could also simply be synonymous with daughter. Since throughout this passage Babylonia is referred to with feminine verb and pronoun forms in Hebrew and even explicitly compared to a woman servant, translators should try to maintain the metaphor in some form. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch does this with “Babylon, you proud virgin.”

Without a throne indicates that Babylonia is to leave her throne, meaning that she will lose the power to rule. Babylonia is compared to a queen who has been forcefully removed from power. Good News Translation directly connects this phrase with the verb Come down, saying “come down from your throne,” which is a helpful model. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is similar with “Descend from your throne.”

For you shall no more be called tender and delicate means that people will no longer speak of Babylonia as having the qualities of a beautiful young woman. The Hebrew particle ki rendered For functions as a logical connector (so Revised Standard Version, Bible en français courant) or a contrastive conjunction (so Good News Translation with “but”) in this context. The Hebrew adjective rendered tender can refer to something weak in a negative sense, but when it is applied to a young woman as here, it probably points to a feature of feminine softness that is highly attractive. The Hebrew word for delicate usually refers to something that is exquisite and dainty (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In this description of Babylonia, the LORD has chosen terms that highlight the very best of female qualities. However, those qualities will no longer apply to her since the former queen now sits in humiliation and takes on the role of a servant girl. Most versions consulted have tender and delicate. However, for these two lines Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says “no one will henceforth call you ‘the spoiled, delicate lady,’” and Bible en français courant has “you have lost your titles ‘Babylon the pretty one,’ ‘Babylon the refined one.’” Good News Translation adds “You are now a slave!” which is an explanatory addition that could perhaps go into a footnote but should not be placed in the text. The contrast expressed in verse 2 will be clear enough without this addition.

For the translation of this verse consider the following examples:

• “Go and sit down in the dust,
unconquered Babylonians;
sit on the ground,
dethroned Chaldeans!
You were once like a virgin,
but now no one will speak of you any longer as soft and delicate!

• “Undefeated Babylonia,
go and sit in the dust;
you sat like a queen on your throne, Chaldea,
but now come and sit in the dirt!
You will be regarded no longer as soft and delicate!

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 .