thumb / big toe

The Hebrew that is translated as “thumb” and “big toe” in English is translated in Newari as “the old-man digit of hand and foot” (source: Newari Back Translation).

Aaron

The name that is transliterated as “Aaron” in English means “light,” “a mountain of strength” “to be high.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Catalan Sign Language and Spanish Sign Language it is translated as “stones on chest plate” (according to Exodus 28:15-30) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Aaron” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In Colombian Sign Language, Honduras Sign Language, and American Sign Language, the chest plate is outlined (in ASL it is outlined using the letter “A”):


“Aaron” in ASL (source )

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 Moses, more information on Aaron , and this lectionary in The Christian Century .

complete verse (Leviticus 8:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Leviticus 8:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “Moses slaughtered that ram and took a little of the blood and smeared it on the tip of the right ear, the big finger of the right hand and the big finger of the right foot of Aaron.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then Moses killed it. Taking the blood, he applied it to Aaron’s right ear lobe, the thumb of [his] right hand, and the big toe of [his] right foot.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then Moises slaughtered the sheep and he took its blood and wiped (it) on the bottom part of the right ear of Aaron, on the big-digit/thumb of his right hand, and on the big-digit/big-toe of his right foot.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Moses/I slaughtered that ram, drained some of its blood in a bowl, and put some of that blood on the lobes of the right ears, the thumbs of the right hands, and the big toes of the right feet of Aaron and his sons to indicate that what they listened to and what they did and where they went should be directed by Yahweh.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Translation commentary on Leviticus 8:23

Killed it: that is, slaughtered it. See verse 15.

The tip of Aaron’s right ear: the Revised Standard Version use of the word tip is imprecise. The lower tip of the ear, or the lobe, is what is intended. Those languages that have no special word for earlobe may use expressions like “the bottom of the ear” or “the fat of the ear.”

Right ear … right hand … right foot …: on the significance of the right side, see 7.32. The mention of the ear, the hand, and the foot was probably intended to represent the totality of the person.

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 .