leaven

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “leaven” (or “yeast”) in English is translated in Tzotzil as “the thing that swells the stomach of bread” and in Mairasi “bread cooking ingredient” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

In the occurrences in Mark 8:15 it is translated in Wantoat as “salt.” (Source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)

See also leaven (1Cor 5:6).

complete verse (Luke 13:21)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 13:21:

  • Noongar: “It is like this. A woman took a little bit of yeast and mixed the yeast in a large bowl of flour so all of the bread rose.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “A woman took a little yeast, and mixed it with much flour. After a while, it all rose/expanded.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “God’s ruling over his people is figuratively like yeast taken by a woman and mixed into twenty five kilo flour. Then she makes a dough. Then the whole dough rises.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “The increase of the people that God rules over is also like yeast. If there is a woman who is making bread, she gets some yeast and she mixes it with a basket of flour and that yeast permeates that flour, and that flour gets bigger.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “It is like yeast/baking-powder that a woman mixed in a lot of flour in order to make-it-all -rise.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “It is like raising-agent which was mixed by a woman in a lot of flour, so that a whole bake-load would rise well.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 13:21

Exegesis:

homoia estin zumē ‘it is like yeast,’ cf. on 12.1.

hēn labousa gunē enekrupsen eis aleurou sata tria ‘which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour.’ For the aorist tenses in v. 21 cf. on v. 19.

egkruptō ‘to hide,’ ‘to cover up,’ or, ‘to put into,’ since here the hiding of the yeast is not the purpose, but the result of the woman’s act. The purpose is indicated by the subsequent clause.

aleuron ‘wheat flour.’

saton transliteration of Aramaic sata or seah, a measure of capacity, of a little less than three gallons, or about thirteen L. (cf. Strack-Billerbeck I, 669f).

heōs hou ezumōthē holon ‘till it was all leavened.’ holon is adjective. It is modified by the subject of ezumōthē, i.e. aleuron understood from the preceding clause, and indicates that the leavening affected all of the flour.

zumoō ‘to ferment,’ ‘to leaven.’

Translation:

Leaven, see 12.1; here used as a metaphor for an all-pervading good influence.

Which a woman took … may have to become a conditional or temporal clause as in v. 19.

Hid, preferably ‘put,’ or more specifically, ‘mixed’ (e.g. Javanese), ‘kneaded,’ or another term by which the receptor language normally refers to this activity.

Three measures, or, ‘three baskets’ (Toraja-Sa’dan), “a bushel” (An American Translation, Good News Translation), ‘one barrel’ (Sranan Tongo), or any other expression designating a fairly large quantity of meal.

Meal, or, ‘wheat-flour,’ ‘rice-flour,’ has sometimes to be described, cf. ‘dry seed (that is) ground’ (Chicahuaxtla Triqui for Rev. 18.13).

Till here introduces an event that takes place some time after and a the result of the preceding act; hence, ‘(and) after-some-time’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC), or, ‘so-that’ (Malay).

It … all, i.e. ‘all the flour, or, bread dough.’

Was … leavened, or ‘became sour,’ ‘had fermented,’ ‘was swollen up,’ ‘became salted’; often dependent on the term for ‘leaven/yeast.’

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.