angel

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The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Aramaic that is translated as “angel” in English versions is translated in many ways:

  • Pintupi-Luritja: ngaṉka ngurrara: “one who belongs in the sky” (source: Ken Hansen quoted in Steven 1984a, p. 116.)
  • Tetela, Kpelle, Balinese, and Mandarin Chinese: “heavenly messenger”
  • Shilluk / Igede: “spirit messenger”
  • Mashco Piro: “messenger of God”
  • Batak Toba: “envoy, messenger”
  • Navajo (Dinė): “holy servant” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida 1961; Igede: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Central Mazahua: “God’s worker” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Saramaccan: basia u Masa Gaangadu köndë or “messenger from God’s country” (source: Jabini 2015, p. 86)
  • Mairasi: atatnyev nyaa or “sent-one” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “word bringer” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
  • Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
  • Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article ): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) is used as in mi-tsukai (御使い) or “messenger (of God).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also angel (Acts 12:15) and this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Luke 1:12)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 1:12:

  • Noongar: “When Zechariah saw the angel, he was afraid.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “When Zakharia saw that angel, he was startled and very afraid.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When Jakariya saw the angel, he was startled and fear entered him.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Zechariah saw this he was dumbfounded because he was very much afraid.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Zekarias was startled upon seeing (him) and became-very-frightened.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Zacarias had-a-sudden-sinking-feeling in his liver and he trembled with fear when he saw that angel.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Southern Zazaki: “Zekeray saw him and he was so afraid that his stomach fell and he feared him much.” (Source: Werner 2012, p. 128)

The Angel Appears to Zechariah

Artwork by Sister Marie Claire , SMMI (1937–2018) from Bengaluru, India.

(Note that supernatural beings are always portrayed by Sister Marie Claire with this type of upraised scarf and white circle.)

For more information about images by Sister Marie Claire and ways to purchase them as lithographs, see here .

For other images of Sister Marie Claire paintings in TIPs, see here.

Translation commentary on Luke 1:12

Exegesis:

kai etarachthē Zacharias idōn lit. ‘and Zechariah having seen, was perplexed.’ idōn in the aorist tense refers to an act preceding the event of the main verb; its object auton ‘him’ is to be understood from the preceding verse. Strictly speaking idōn, as a conjunctive participle, goes syntactically with etarachthē only, and not with the subsequent clause but semantically that clause kai phobos epepesen ep’ auton ‘and fear fell upon him’ is as much determined by the fact that Zechariah saw the angel, as is etarachthē (cf. Phillips, An American Translation, Willibrord).

tarassō (also 24.38), in the passive ‘to be startled,’ at the sight of something supernatural.

kai phobos epepesen ep’ auton ‘and fear fell upon him,’ see above.

phobos ‘fear,’ ‘sense of awe,’ in Luke always of the reaction upon some supernatural happening as the appearance of an angel (1.12; 2.9), a miraculous healing (5.26), a raising from the dead (7.16) or some terrifying experience (8.37; 21.26). Because it is here parallel to etarachthē the emphasis is rather on ‘fear’ then on ‘a sense of awe.’

epipiptō (also 15.20) ‘to fall upon,’ ‘to take hold of,’ here with phobos as in Acts 19.17.

Translation:

The translator should ascertain what is the normal way to express transition in the receptor language, and translate accordingly. Such a procedure leads in some cases (e.g. in Malay) to the use of a transitional word, roughly to be rendered ‘then,’ or ‘next,’ with approximately the same frequency and regularity as in the Greek; elsewhere to the omission of such a word (as is often done in modern western versions), or, to its being replaced by a transitional construction, such as a special word, phrase, or clause order; or again to the insertion of a transitional phrase summarizing part of what precedes. In some cases it is better to change from co-ordination to subordination, subordinating the ‘and’-clause to what precedes, or the reverse. Finally, it is often necessary to use connectives that state the relationship between the sentences or clauses more explicitly than does the original, e.g. ‘afterward’ (2.20), ‘meanwhile’ (1.21a), ‘consequently’ (1.63b), ‘at-that-moment’ (4.17)

Was troubled, see below on “greatly troubled” in v. 29.

And fear fell upon him, or, ‘fear gripped him’ (Tamil, Kannada, Kituba); or, avoiding the shift of subject, from Zechariah to fear, “he was … overcome with fear” (An American Translation, similarly in Javanese). Expressions referring to fear occur rather often in this Gospel. The simplest and most frequent form is ‘to fear,’ or, ‘to be afraid’ (e.g. 8.50; 12.4f; 22.2; or, 1.13; 8.25; 9.34); other phrases are used to bring out the ingressive aspect, cf. “fear came on all” (1.65), “fear seized them” (7.16), “they were frightened” (24.5), or a certain degree of suddenness (here) and intensity, cf. “they were filled with fear” (lit. ‘they feared with a great fear,’ in 2.9), “they were filled with awe” (5.26), “they were seized with great fear” (8.37). Further occurrences of “fear” or “afraid”: 1.13, 30, 65, 74; 2.10; 5.10; 8.35; 9.45; 12.7, 32; 19.21; 20.19; 21.26; 22.2. For “to fear God” see on 1.50. The concept ‘to fear’ is sometimes to be rendered by idiomatic expressions such as, ‘the heart trembles’ (Tzeltal), ‘to feel him creep’ (Ngäbere), ‘to shiver in the liver’ (Uduk), ‘to have a little heart’ (Tzotzil), ‘to have a light heart’ (Kabba Laka, contrasting with ‘a hard heart’ for ‘courage’); or, more strongly emotive, ‘their thoughts left them,’ ‘their hearts fell.’

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.