offering (qorban)

The Hebrew qorbān (קָרְבָּ) originally means “that which is brought near.” Most English Bibles translate it as “offering.” The Hebraic English translation of Everett Fox uses near-offering and likewise the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has (the neologism) Darnahung.

See also burnt-offering and offering.

offering

The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”

In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)

See also offering (qorban).

fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Leviticus 2:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 2:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “If a person wants to arrange/prepare a bread to become food that he offers/takes to God, as a gift, he must make it from wheat flour which is ground fine which has been mixed with olive oil and an ingredient/herb that causes it to rise must not be added to it. The breads may be made thick or thin.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “If [one] has the desire to offer a grain sacrifice baked in the oven, it must be a cake of good wheat flour without leven, mixed with oil, or unleavened Chapati smeared with oil.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “If someone will-offer bread that was-baked in a wood-oven as a gift offering, (it is) necessary that this was-made from the good kind of flour and that-which-causes-to-expand was-not put-in-(it). Thick bread that was-mixed-with oil or the thin bread which has-been-spread with oil can be-offered.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘If you bring an offering that is made from grain, something that is baked in an oven, it must be made from finely-ground flour. You may bring loaves made from flour mixed with olive oil but without yeast, or you may bring wafers with olive oil smeared on them, but also made without yeast.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Leviticus 2:4

Verses 4-8a concern three (or perhaps four) ways of preparing and presenting the grain offering: two kinds of bread baked in an oven (verse 4); bread cooked on a griddle (verses 5-6); and bread cooked in a pan (verse 7). The unity of these verses is marked in Hebrew by the fact that the second person singular pronoun is used throughout the section, whereas the second person plural appears in verses 11-12. This is not evident in English translations, since the singular and plural pronouns are identical. If the use of the second person singular pronoun in the receptor language is taken as referring to one individual, then it is probably better to use the plural or some kind of impersonal construction, such as “someone,” throughout.

Baked in the oven: the oven was either a kind of hole dug in the earth or a hollow round object made of baked clay and placed on the ground. A fire is made under this object, and when it is well heated, the dough is inserted through the top opening and placed against the inner walls in order to cook it. Some languages may have to say something like “cooked in a hot enclosure” or “made into bread by a hot box.” Note that the use of a loanword may imply a modern electric or gas oven and should be avoided.

Cakes … wafers: scholars are not certain as to the exact makeup and means of preparation of these kinds of bread. The first was probably a circular loaf placed on a stick (compare 26.26). In most languages the use of the term for cakes will be quite misleading if used for either term. The second term indicates something more like a kind of flat biscuit which is still eaten in the Near East today. The translator should use two rather general terms, but it is important that they designate kinds of bread that are made without yeast. In most cultures there is a way to distinguish between thicker, loaf-type bread and a flatter bread like a biscuit. Possible models are “thick bread and flat bread” or “soft bread and hard bread.”

Mixed with oil: more accurately “kneaded in oil.” If the translator wants to keep the verb “knead,” it is better to make the direct object “flour” (compare verse 5) rather than cakes.

Unleavened: in translating the idea unleavened or “without yeast,” some languages have had to say something like “lacking that which causes it [bread] to rise.”

Spread with oil: or “brushed,” “smeared,” “coated” with oil.

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 .