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).

Judah, Judea

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)


“Judah” and “Judea” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .

complete verse (Lamentations 5:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Lamentations 5:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “Women have been raped in Jerusalem
    and also girls are raped in the villages of Judah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Women have been raped in Zion,
    and young women in the cities of Judah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Our wives and female children/(daughters) have been raped in Zion and in the towns of Juda.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Our enemies have raped the women in Jerusalem,
    and they have done that to the young women in all the towns of Judea.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Lamentations 5:11

In verses 11-14 in the Hebrew text, the use of the first person plural is replaced by the third person, in which the poet speaks of women, virgins, princes, elders, and young and old men. “We” and “our” will be resumed again in verse 15 and will continue to the end. Translators will note that, while Revised Standard Version reflects the Hebrew usage, Good News Translation uses first person plural pronouns (“we,” “our,” “us”) throughout chapter 5. The reason for this is that, even though the Hebrew omits these pronouns in verses 11-14, all references are still to the same people of Jerusalem and Judah who have been included in the first person plural pronouns. Good News Translation‘s consistent use of first person plural makes the persons in verses 11-14 more clearly part of the suffering people in the rest of the chapter. Translators should consider following Good News Translation.

The Hebrew of this verse need not be understood as literally as in Revised Standard Version. The poet is not trying to make a distinction between the two kinds of victims, as though only virgins were raped in the towns. The two parallel half-lines refer to a single situation, so that the sense is that women both married and unmarried have been raped both in Jerusalem and in the surrounding towns. There is only one verb in the Hebrew verse, and it is an active verb with no actor expressed, though the actor is fairly clearly the enemy.

Ravished translates a verb which has the general sense of doing violence, humiliating, oppressing, and in this context it refers to a man forcing a woman to have sex. Revised Standard Version translates as a passive what in Hebrew is “They raped.” Translators may not be able to use the passive; and in such cases it may be possible to use an indefinite subject or, more directly, “the enemies,” “the invaders,” “those who invaded us,” or “our enemies.”

Two places are named; the first is Zion, which also means Jerusalem, although on this occasion Good News Translation has translated “Mount Zion,” which is the location of the Temple. This particular reference hardly seems necessary or appropriate in this context. The other place is the towns of Judah.

The word virgins is the same Hebrew term as is found in 1.4 (“maidens”). There it was pointed out that virgins was inappropriate in some languages, because its central meaning in English is often young women or girls who have not had sexual experience. In this context, however, that element of meaning is central, and so virgins is a suitable translation. However, the translation of virgins can be a problem in some languages. The Hebrew term refers to young women who have not had sexual relations with men, but also who are approaching or are already of marriageable age. However, in some societies a girl called a “virgin” is one who before marriage participates in ritual sexual relations. In others a “virgin” is a woman who has not married after passing a certain age. In some languages a woman who has not married because of physical or mental handicaps is called a “virgin.” If serious problems are encountered in the translation of this term, it will often be better to use a less technical word such as “young women” or “girls.”

In some languages it may be best to reduce the parallelism of verse 11 to a single line; for example, “Our women have been raped in Jerusalem and in the towns of Judah” or “The enemy troops have raped our women in….” Terms for rape are often euphemisms or roundabout expressions which refer to violence; for example, “They did harm to the bodies of…” or “They put disgrace on the women….” In languages in which only a descriptive expression will make clear what happened to these women, we may sometimes say, for example, “forced to have sex” or “made to sleep with.” Whatever expression is used, it should be acceptable for public reading.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on Lamentations. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .