liquid gushing forth

In Gbaya, the notion of a liquid being released with great force is emphasized in the referenced verses with kput-kput, an ideophone that refers to the gushing forth of a liquid.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

See also fountain.

complete verse (Leviticus 11:36)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 11:36:

  • Kupsabiny: “Even though it is like that, a spring of water or hole of water remain clean even if that animal fell into (them). But any person who touches those animals is unclean.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A spring or water reservoir [lit.: water gathering place] however, will be clean. Nevertheless, anyone who removes a carcass from there will be unclean.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The spring or the wide hole which (is) a receptacle for water which has-fallen-upon their dead bodies remains clean, but whoever touches those dead animals will-become dirty/unclean.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “If one of their carcasses falls into a spring or a pit for storing water, the water may still be drunk, but anyone who touches one of those carcasses becomes unacceptable to me.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 11:36

Nevertheless: there is contrast between the objects mentioned here, which remain clean, and those above, which are ritually unclean. The transition word used at the beginning of this verse should indicate this contrast.

A spring or a cistern: the first word refers to a natural spring of fresh water. The second is a pit hollowed out of a solid rock for the purpose of storing drinking water (see Jer 2.13). They may be as large as six meters square and six meters deep. And they were normally to be kept covered (Exo 21.33). The expression a cistern holding water may be translated “a hollowed place in a rock for storing water” or something similar.

The Hebrew text, followed by Revised Standard Version, leaves implicit the idea “if a dead body falls on them,” but this may have to be made explicit in translation.

Whatever: as in verse 24 and 6.18, 27, this term may mean either “whatever” or “whoever.” In this case it is translated “whoever” by New American Bible. New Jerusalem Bible and New International Version have “anyone,” and An American Translation has “he who….” Bible en français courant interprets it as “whoever removes the body….” On the side of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, Moffatt has “anything used to lift out the dead body…,” which is more explicit. The meaning may well be a combination of these two: “anyone or anything involved in removing the dead body.”

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .