3She removed the sackcloth she had been wearing, took off her widow’s garments, bathed her body with water, and anointed herself with precious ointment. She combed her hair, put on a tiara, and dressed herself in the festive attire that she used to wear while her husband Manasseh was living.
The Hebrew or Greek which are translated into English as “sackcloth” are rendered into Chamula Tzotzil as “sad-heart clothes.” (Source: Robert Bascom)
Pohnpeian and Chuukese translate it as “clothing-of sadness,” Eastern Highland Otomi uses “clothing that hurts,” Central Mazahua “that which is scratchy,” Tae’ and Zarma “rags” (Source: Reiling / Swellengrebel), and Tangale as “torn clothes that show contrition on the body” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin). In the English translation by Goldingay (2018), “put on sackcloth” is translated as wrap on sack.
“In Turkana, a woman removes her normal everyday skin clothes and ornaments and wears rather poor skins during the time of mourning. The whole custom is known as ngiboro. It is very difficult to translate putting on sackcloth because even material like sacking is unfamiliar. The Haya, on the other hand, have a mourning cloth made out of the bark of a tree; and the use of this cloth is similar to the Jewish use of sackcloth. It was found that in both the Turkana and Ruhaya common language translations, their traditional mourning ceremonies were used.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator1985, p. 221ff. )
Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing what a sackcloth looked like in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “anoint” is translated in Lakota with azilyA: “to smudge.”
Steve Berneking (in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 121) tells the story of that translation:
“During one visit with the Lakota team, we were reading texts and discussing key biblical terms and how they are best rendered into Lakota. Reference was made to the ritual we label ‘anointing.’ When the Lakota word that had been glossed as ‘anoint’ was read aloud, I heard giggling among the reviewers. Knowing that this reaction called for some explanation, I asked.
“The people there told me that the Lakota verb that was used to translate ‘anoint’ was funny in that context. It is not that the verb is an uncommon one; quite the contrary. Lakota uses that verb frequently, but almost exclusively as a verb of food preparation; the verb belongs to the culinary domain. In other words, the Lakota verb used for ‘anoint’ actually referred to rubbing oil on something that was to be cooked or grilled, in this case, the apostles. The Lakota verb ipáṫaŋṫtaŋ ‘to apply oil on something’ was used quite innocently by the missionaries. The linguistic transfer was understandable: the missionaries needed a verb to translate ‘putting oil on something’; Lakota has a verb; they used that verb. The result was comical. So, during that conversation with the Lakota community, I encouraged the translators to come up with a Lakota verb that is used not simply in ‘the application of oil,’ but more pointedly in the consecration of something or somebody for a special task, or in the appointment of someone for a special purpose. Their response was almost immediate: azilyA or wazílyA ‘to smudge.’ That is how, they told me, warriors and messengers and tribal leaders have always been consecrated (or blessed) before being sent out on a special mission. Sage grass was burned, and the smoke was waved over the person or object. The trans-cultural process of using the traditional Lakota verb azilyA for the biblical notion of ‘anoint’ became, at that moment, part of the Lakota Bible.”
In Bashkir, it is translated as masekhlay (мәсехләү), when used in a ritual context. Masekhlay has the same root than masikh (мәсих), which is used both for “anointed one” in the Old Testament and in its capitalized form (Мәсих) for Μεσσίας (engl. “Messiah”) and Χριστός (engl. “Christ”) in the New Testament. For more information about this, see anointed one.
In Vidunda it is translated as “smear oil.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing how anointing was done in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).
The etymological meaning of the Hebrewalmanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greekchéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the Englishwidow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).
Removed the sackcloth … her widow’s garments: Sackcloth is discussed at 4.10, but see also the note at 8.5 for the problem of whether she wears it under her clothes or over them, as she apparently does here. If translators have considered that the sackcloth is under her clothes, an alternative translation model is the following: “After taking off her widow’s clothes, and the sackcloth around her waist….”
Bathed her body with water: Good News Translation‘s “took a bath” makes short work of a long clause in Greek. It is deliberately drawn out and sensuous: “she washed her body all over with water.” New English Bible makes it even shorter: “washed.” To convey the mood of the original, one should move in the opposite direction and linger over the action.
Anointed herself with precious ointment: “Rich” (Good News Translation) or “expensive” (Contemporary English Version) is a good word to describe the ointment; literally, it is described as “thick, heavy.” It is an ointment that she rubs on her skin (anointed herself) rather than a substance like a modern perfume, which one dabs on. Ointments were used to soften the skin and protect it against the hot, dry climate, as well as to mask body odor with a pleasant fragrance. Since Judith is doing this to be sexually seductive, translations are right to emphasize the fragrance of the substance. In this respect, “perfume” is not wrong.
Combed her hair: The variations in the translations as to what Judith does with her hair (combed, brushed, braided, fixed, arranged, did, dressed, vamped up) reflect a similar uncertainty in the manuscripts. Enslin probably shows insight in attributing this to “uncertainty by the masculine scribe as to the precise action involved.” In the absence of reliable information, anything reasonable will work.
Put on a tiara: There is just about as much variation in the designation of the object she puts on her head (turban, tiara, fillet, headband, ribbon, even tire). No one really knows. “Headband” (Contemporary English Version) is probably best. The problem with “tied a ribbon around it” (Good News Translation) is that it may suggest she pulled her hair back and tied it into a ponytail. A thin band of some material may have been tied around the head at the forehead so as to hold the hair in place and serve as a decoration.
Arrayed herself in her gayest apparel …: Gayest apparel is literally “garments of gladness,” and refers to clothes appropriate for special occasions when something bright and showy would be worn. Moore has a nice approach to this by shifting the element of gladness to the next clause: “dressed herself in the clothes she used to wear on the joyous occasions when her husband Manasseh was alive.” This is a good solution, although the sentence would be much improved without “the” before “joyous occasions.” As it stands it makes it sound as if Manasseh were alive only now and then. At 16.8 the garment she puts on is said to be of “linen,” which was considered a luxurious fabric.
Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.
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