The term that is transliterated as “Mary Magdalene” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign signifying 7 demons having gone out, referring to Luke 8:2. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Mary Magdalene” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The following is a stained glass window in the All Saints’ Church, Highgate, London, of the late 19thy century:
Photo by John Salmon, hosted by Wikimedia Common under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic 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 )
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 )
For purchasing artworks by Kateryna Shadrina go to IconArt Gallery .
In Gbaya, the notion of early morning is emphasized with the ideophone sút as in the referenced verses.
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
The following is a stained glass window from 1855 by artist H. Beiler over the altar of the Evangelische Stadtkirche Bad Rappenau, Bad Rappenau, Germany:
Photo by Llez, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported 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 )
Following are a number of back-translations of John 20:1:
Uma: “On Sunday early in the morning, still dark, Maria Magdalena went to the grave. Arriving there, she saw, the closing stone was shoved from the door of the grave.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Very early on Sunday, it was still dark, Mariyam, the woman from Magdala went to the grave. She saw that the stone that closed the grave had been removed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “When it was beginning to get light on Sunday, Mary Magdalene went to the burial cave while it was still dark. She saw that the stone which was used ss a door for the cave had been removed.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Before its getting-light on Sunday, plural Maria Magdalena went to Jesus’ burial-place. When they arrived, they saw that the stone was removed which had closed (lit. doored) the cave.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “It was still a bit dark on the Sunday when Maria Magdalena went there to that grave of Jesus. On her arrival, she looked, that rock which had been used to block off the mouth of the grave had been removed.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “On the first day of the week, early, Mary Magdalene went to where Jesus was put in (the cave). It was still dark. She saw that the stone which closed the cave was not in place.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).
Early … morning translates the same Greek adverb rendered early in the morning at 18.28. On Sunday (so also Barclay; New English Bible “on the Sunday”) is literally “on the first day of the week” (so most translations); Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch has “on the day after the Sabbath.” “The first day of the week” is Sunday, and Good News Translation, New English Bible, and Barclay make this information explicit. The entire phrase Early on Sunday morning could include all or part of the period from around three A.M. to around six A.M. (see note at 18.28). John further qualifies the time as while it was still dark. Mark has “very early on Sunday morning, at sunrise” (16.2), and Luke has “very early on Sunday morning” (24.1), a term which implies daylight. Matthew also indicates that it was daylight, “after the Sabbath, as Sunday morning was dawning” (28.1).
Although the Greek word sabbatōn occurs in this verse, its plural form has the meaning “week” and not “sabbath.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch‘s “after the Sabbath” has the difficulty that for many Christians “the sabbath” is erroneously identified with Sunday, rather than with Saturday. A literal translation of the Greek phrase, “the first day of the week,” could be misleading, since for many people Monday is the first day of the week, and Sunday is part of the “weekend.” Therefore, it is usually better to identify the particular day of the week, rather than to use a possibly ambiguous expression.
Mary Magdalene was first mentioned in 19.25 (see comments there). The number and names of the women who go to the tomb differ in the various Gospel accounts. Matthew names two women, and Mark three. Luke mentions three women by name and includes in addition “the other women.” In each case Mary Magdalene is mentioned first.
John does not suggest why the women went to the tomb, but Mark and Luke indicate that they were going to anoint Jesus’ body, while Matthew states that they went to see the tomb.
Although (Mark 15.46) and (Matthew 27.60) indicate that a large stone was rolled against the entrance to the tomb after the burial of Jesus, 20.1 is the first mention of the stone in John’s Gospel. John does not indicate how the stone had been taken away, but the implication is that it was done by supernatural means.
Since the stone has not been mentioned earlier in John’s Gospel, there may be some difficulty in translating the phrase literally. The final clause of this verse may therefore be modified to read “that a stone which had been at the entrance to the tomb had been taken away” or “… had been moved.” In some languages the passive expression “had been moved” may cause difficulty because it may be necessary to indicate an agent, and no agent is mentioned in the text. Therefore it may be best to say simply that the stone “was no longer there.”
From the entrance (so also New English Bible) is literally “from the tomb” (so most translations). The results of archaeological studies indicate that the entrance to burial tombs of this type was on ground level through a small entryway, usually no more than three feet (or one meter) high. Hence, to enter the tomb, an adult would have to bend over and crawl in (note verse 5: He bent over). The entrance may be expressed in some languages as “the hole that led into the tomb” or “the hole by which a person could go into the tomb.” The use of such a term as “hole” may be necessary to indicate that the tomb was entered by a small opening, rather than an ordinary door.
Several different types of tombs were in use in Palestine in Jesus’ day. Verse 12 (two angels … sitting where the body of Jesus had been, one at the head and the other at the feet) suggests that Jesus’ body had lain in a niche carved in one of the sides of the cave. Under no circumstances was the body laid on the floor.
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
This section tells how Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb on Sunday morning and found that it was empty. So she went and told Peter and another disciple and they went to the tomb with Mary. They also saw that the body of Jesus was not there. All that they found were the cloths that had been around Jesus’ body. When the second disciple, probably John, saw, he believed.
Here are other possible section headings:
The resurrection of Jesus -or-
Three of Jesus’ followers went to the tomb but it was empty -or-
The empty tomb
Paragraph 20:1–2
Very early on the Sunday morning after Jesus’ death, Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb. She saw that the tomb was open, and she ran and told two disciples, Peter and probably John.
20:1a
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark: This time expression introduces the story of how Jesus’ followers learned that Jesus rose from the dead and was alive. It introduces this story by indicating the day and time of day. So this is the introduction to the climax or most important part of the book. Consider how it is natural to lead up to a significant change or climax. It may be natural to use short clauses or sentences, adding verbs. For example:
The first day of the week began. It was still dark when… -or-
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark. -or-
The first day of the week arrived/began. It was not yet dawn.
See the General Comment following 20:1b for suggestions of how to rearrange this information.
Early…while it was still dark: The story begins very early in the morning, before the sun rose. See also Matthew 28:1. Use the expression that is natural in your culture to indicate this time period. It may be natural to combine the two expressions Early and while it was still dark. For example:
In the darkness of the early morning -or-
Before the sun rose
Early: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Early here refers to a time at the beginning of a morning. It does not have the meaning “too soon.” In some languages it may be natural to say:
Early ⌊in the morning⌋ -or-
At the start of the day
while it was still dark: This clause indicates that it was still so early that people could not see well. Translate this in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
before it was light -or-
before becoming light -or-
the sun had not yet risen
on the first day of the week: The Jews began their week with Sunday and ended it with Saturday. So the phrase the first day of the week refers to Sunday. You may want to include this information. It is important to do this if your readers consider that another day is the first day of the week. For example:
on Sunday morning (God’s Word)
If you use footnotes, you may want to translate literally and indicate in a footnote that this refers to Sunday. For example:
This refers to Sunday.
20:1b
Mary Magdalene went to the tomb: One of Jesus’ followers, Mary Magdalene, arrived at the cave where Jesus was buried. She probably traveled on foot, walking from the place where she was staying. The distance was likely less than a mile. Use the verb that is most natural in your language. For example:
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
Mary Magdalene went walking to the burial cave.
Mary Magdalene: Mary Magdalene was present at the cross and watched Joseph and Nicodemus bury Jesus (Matthew 27:56, 61, Mark 15:47). The word Magdalene means “from the village called Magdala.” Translate this name as you did in 19:25. For example:
Mary of Magdala (Revised English Bible) -or-
Mariyam, the woman from Magdala (Yakan Back translation)
In your translation of this phrase, be aware that Mary did not come from Magdala that morning. She was originally from Magdala, but was probably staying in a house in Jerusalem. She did not have to go far to get to the tomb. It was in a garden close to the place where they crucified Jesus (19:41–42), which was just outside Jerusalem.
the tomb: The word tomb refers to the place where Jesus had been buried. Tombs in Jerusalem were usually man-made caves cut into the sides of rocky hills. Inside was a stone shelf for the body. The entrance to the tomb was a large hole that could be closed with a round stone. See how you translated the word tomb in 19:41b, 42b. Because this is the beginning of a new chapter, it may be natural to indicate which tomb this was. For example:
⌊Jesus’⌋ tomb -or-
the tomb ⌊where they had buried/placed Jesus⌋
General Comment on 20:1a–b
In some languages it may be natural to rearrange the information in these verse parts. For example:
1a–b Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark. (English Standard Version) -or-
1a–b Early on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb while it was still dark. (New Century Version)
20:1c
and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance: Mary Magdalene saw that there was no stone that blocked the entrance to the tomb. The hole that formed the entrance was open. Apparently the stone was now lying nearby (see Matthew 28:2). Mary understood that someone must have moved the stone. In some languages it is more natural to say what she actually saw. For example:
saw that the entrance of the tomb ⌊was now open⌋ . Someone had removed the stone. -or-
saw that the stone was no longer in its place ⌊in front of the entrance⌋ to the tomb
This clause tells a very important part of the story in the book of John. What it tells is not expected. It may be natural to translate this important information as a separate sentence or sentences. For example:
Mary saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. -or-
What she saw was that the tomb was open. The stone no longer covered ⌊the entrance hole⌋ . -or-
Into her view/sight came/appeared the tomb. There was no stone ⌊at its entrance⌋ . It had been rolled away.
the stone had been removed from the entrance: This is a passive clause. An angel had moved the stone (Matthew 28:2), but Mary did not know this. It happened before she arrived (Mark 16:4, Luke 24:2). There are at least two ways to translate this clause:
• Use a passive verb. For example:
the stone had been moved away from the tomb (New Jerusalem Bible)
• Use an active verb. For example:
Someone had rolled the stone away from the entrance. -or-
The stone was no longer in front of the entrance to the tomb. -or-
The stone was gone from the entrance hole to the tomb
stone: This word here refers to the large round stone that was used to close the entrance. Because this is the first time John mentioned the stone, it may be natural to tell what stone this is. For example:
the stone ⌊that was at the entrance to the tomb⌋
In some languages it may be necessary to make explicit that the stone was large. It was so large that a person could not easily move it. For example:
the large stone (New Century Version)
from the entrance: This phrase here means “from the entrance to the tomb.” This entrance had been covered by a large stone or rock. The entrance was shorter than a door, but an adult man could enter if he stooped or bent down. Here are other ways to translate this phrase:
from the entrance of the tomb/cave -or-
from the hole where one entered the tomb/cave
General Comment on 20:1a–c
In some languages it may be natural to translate this verse using two or more sentences. Increase the tension and sense of mystery in a natural way before the mystery is solved. For example:
The first day of the week began to dawn. It was still dark out, but Mary Magdalene made her way to the tomb. There she saw that the stone that had covered ⌊the entrance⌋ was gone! -or-
It was very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb. (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary from Magdala went to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb’s entrance. (God’s Word)
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.