The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “firstborn” in English is translated in a number of ways:
“he/she that opens the gown” in Batak Toba (because formerly a woman stopped wearing a gown and started using a bodice after the birth of her first child)
“he/she that damages the stalk (i.e. the body)” in Uab Meto (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
“oldest child” in Isthmus Zapotec (source for this and one above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
“firstborn child, who was a boy” in Elhomwe (to make clear, without ambiguity, that Mary did not have daughters before) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In Bawm Chin, the term can imply the existence of younger siblings, so a translation is needed that brings out the fact that Jesus is superior to all else, not just the first of a series. (Source: David Clark)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Greek that are translated as “wine” in English is translated into Pass Valley Yali as “grape juice pressed long ago (= fermented)” or “strong water” (source: Daud Soesilo). In Guhu-Samane it is also translated as “strong water” (source: Ernest L. Richert in The Bible Translator 1965, p. 198ff. ), in Noongar as “liquor” (verbatim: “strong water”) (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang), in Hausa as ruwan inabi or “water of grapes” (with no indication whether it’s alcoholic or not — source: Mark A. Gaddis), in sar as kasə nduú or “grape drink” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin), or in Papantla Totonac and Coyutla Totonac as “a drink like Pulque” (for “Pulque,” see here ) (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ).
In Swahili, Bible translations try to avoid local words for alcoholic drinks, because “drinking of any alcohol at all was one of the sins most denounced by early missionaries. Hence translators are uncomfortable by the occurrences of wine in the Bible. Some of the established churches which use wine prefer to see church wine as holy, and would not refer to it by the local names used for alcoholic drinks. Instead church wine is often referred to by terms borrowed from other languages, divai (from German, der Wein) or vini/mvinyo (from ltalian/Latin vino/vinum). Several translations done by Protestants have adapted the Swahili divai for ‘wine,’ while those done by Catholics use vini or mvinyo.” (Source: Rachel Konyoro in The Bible Translator 1985, p. 221ff. )
The Swahili divai was in turn borrowed by Sabaot and was turned into tifaayiik and is used as such in the Bible. Kupsabiny, on the other hand, borrowed mvinyo from Swahili and turned it into Finyonik. (Source: Iver Larsen)
In Nyamwezi, two terms are used. Malwa ga muzabibu is a kind of alcohol that people specifically use to get drunk (such as in Genesis 9:21) and ki’neneko is used for a wine made from grapes (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext).
In some Hindi translations (such as the Common Language version, publ. 2015 ), one term (dākharasa दाखरस — grape juice) is used when that particular drink is in the focus (such as in John 2) and another term (madirā मदिरा — “alcohol” or “liquor”) when drunkenness is in the focus (such as in Eph. 5:18).
In Mandarin Chinese, the generic term jiǔ (酒) or “alcohol(ic drink)” is typically used. Exceptions are Leviticus 10:9, Numbers 6:3, Deuteronomy 29:6, Judges 13:4 et al., 1 Samuel 1:15, and Luke 1:15 where a differentiation between weak and strong alcohol is needed. The Mandarin Chinese Union Version (2010) translates that as qīngjiǔ lièjiǔ (清酒烈酒) and dànjiǔ lièjiǔ (淡酒烈酒), both in the form of a Chinese proverb and meaning “light alcohol and strong drink.” (Source: Zetzsche)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about wine in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Job 1:13:
Kupsabiny: “It was one day when the sons of Job and the sisters were eating and drinking in the home of the oldest son.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “One day when Job’s sons and daughters were eating a feast at the house of their elder brother,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “One day, while the children of Job were-feasting in the house of their oldest sibling,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “One day after that, Job’s sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the home of their oldest brother.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Now there was a day: this expression marks a transition, as in verse 6; see also 2.1. These words serve to shift the scene from heaven back to Job’s country. It is translated by Good News Translation as a nonspecific time clause, “One day when….” New English Bible takes it in the sense of a special day having arrived: “When the day came….” It serves as the time element in the new setting.
When his sons and daughters: as the scene opens, Job’s children are busy having still another banquet. The text says “his sons and his daughters.” Good News Translation and most modern translations replace the pronoun with “Job’s.” Whether or not we should do likewise in translation depends upon the way in which the focus may be shifted. In some languages it will be inappropriate to shift to Job’s name here. In others the use of the pronoun will be confusing, since the last person mentioned was Satan. Verse 13 is backgrounding for the scene and should be handled in a manner appropriate for such in a narrative tale. Its purpose is to say that everything was proceeding according to expectations.
Were eating and drinking wine follows the Hebrew elliptical pattern meaning “eating food and drinking wine.” New English Bible prefers “eating and drinking.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy avoids both eating and drinking and says “holding a banquet”; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “celebrating.” In each case eating and drinking are implied. In some languages there are different words used for eating and drinking, depending on what the food and drink are. In languages in which “wine” is unknown and a borrowed word is not satisfactory, the local fermented drink would be the closest equivalent. Vocabulary or constructions that call attention to themselves should be avoided here, if undue emphasis will be drawn to the wrong part of the stage.
In their eldest brother’s house translates “in the house of their brother the firstborn.” Many languages have special terms for the firstborn son or daughter. In languages in which brother and sister terms differ according to whether the speaker is male or female, it is usually best to assume the male point of view. Good News Translation makes verse 13 a dependent clause with the main clause starting with verse 14. In English and many other languages, this serves the purpose of backgrounding verse 13. In some languages, however, background must be made more conspicuous, often by using several sentences; for example, “What I will say now was happening first. Job’s children were having a feast. They were feasting at the oldest brother’s house. While they were doing this….”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, Wiliam. A Handbook on Job. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.