The Greek in Luke 15:15 that is translated as “field” in English was not translated in Elhomwe since pigs are kept in shelters. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
parable of the prodigal son (image)
feeding the pigs (image)
The story of feeding the pigs is illustrated for use in Bible translations in West Africa by Wycliffe Cameroon like this:
Illustration 1999 Mbaji Bawe Ernest, © Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc. Used with permission.
pig
The word chazir is used for domestic and wild pigs. The domesticated pig was known in Egypt around 2500 B.C. and was probably domesticated in Canaan about that time too. Domestication of wild pigs seems to have coincided everywhere with the development of agriculture. Wild pigs were probably penned in large enclosures and fed scraps, thus keeping them away from planted fields. Later on, when full domestication had taken place, it was more usual for pigs to be herded rather than kept in pens. Pigs eat almost anything and herding did away with the necessity to feed them. It soon was noticed that the rooting activity of the pigs rid areas of tree roots and shrubs and promoted the growth of grass for grazing. So early swineherds herded the pigs into areas where future grazing was wanted, away from planted fields. Jews who kept pigs may not have done so with the idea of eating their meat, which was unclean, but to promote grazing grass and to sell the pigs to neighboring tribes.
Wild pigs, in the form of the European Boar Sus scrofus, were once abundant in Israel, especially in the Jordan Valley. Even now since neither Jews nor Moslems eat the meat of wild pigs, and thus do not hunt them, they can still be found in the Jordan Valley and in many other areas where there is both water and thick undergrowth.
The Greek words choiros and hueios mean “pig” or “pig meat”. The word hus means a female pig or sow.
The domesticated pigs of biblical times looked much more like wild pigs than the modern breeds of pig. They would have been brown or gray in color and fairly hairy. The young pigs probably had horizontal stripes.
Of all animals the pig was considered the most unclean.
In languages that differentiate between wild and domestic pigs, in Psalms 80:13 the word for a wild pig should be used. In 2 Peter 2:22, although the Greek specifies a female pig, the gender of the pig is not really important in the proverb. Many translations have simply “pig”.
Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)
complete verse (Luke 15:15)
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 15:15:
- Noongar: “So he went and worked for a man of that country who sent him to his land to look after his pigs.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
- Uma: “He went to a townsperson wanting to earn a wage. That townsperson ordered him to look-after his pigs.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
- Yakan: “Therefore he went to a person there in that country and became his servant. That person told him to go to his field to care for the pigs.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
- Western Bukidnon Manobo: “He begged for some work from one of the inhabitants there, and he was given the work of feeding the pigs in the field.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
- Kankanaey: “So he went to join-in-working for (lit. earn-salary-with) one of the residents there and he sent him to the grazing-area where pigs were to watch them.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
- Tagbanwa: “Therefore without anything further, he went-to-work-for a person from there. Where he was sent was to the fields, for he was caused to tend the pigs.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Scriptures Plain & Simple (Luke 15:11-32)
Barclay Newman, a translator on the teams for both the Good News Bible and the Contemporary English Version, translated passages of the New Testament into English and published them in 2014, “in a publication brief enough to be non-threatening, yet long enough to be taken seriously, and interesting enough to appeal to believers and un-believers alike.” The following is the translation of Luke 15:11-32:
Finally, Jesus told them this story:
A man’s younger son once said,
“Dad, give me my share of the family fortune!”
So his father divided everything
between him and his older brother.
Soon the younger son packed up everything
and left for a foreign country,
where he wasted every cent of his inheritance.
Then a terrible famine struck the land,
leaving him famished and without food.
So hungry was the young man that he took a job
feeding bean pods to nasty pigs,
and he would have eaten some of the pods himself,
if only the owner had turned his back.
At last, in desperation, he said to himself,
“My dad’s workers have more than enough to eat,
while I sit here with these pigs, starving to death.
Best thing I can do is to go home and make up with my dad.
I’ll say, “Dad, I’ve been a really lousy son,
worthless and useless to both you and God.
Fact is, I don’t deserve to be called your son —
just treat me like one of your servants.”
Before he even reached the road to the farmhouse,
his father saw him and felt so sorry that he ran over
and greeted the young man with hugs and kisses.
“Dad, I’ve been a really lousy son,” said the boy.
“I’m worthless and useless to both you and God.
Fact is, I don’t deserve to be called your son.”
But his father instructed the servants,
“Hurry! Bring him the best clothes.
Put a gold ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
And prepare our choice beef, so we can celebrate!
My son was dead, and now he’s alive!
My son was lost, and now he’s found.”
Then the festivities began.
Meanwhile, the older brother was coming in from the fields,
when he heard the sound of music and dancing.
“What’s going on?” he asked one of the servants.
“Your younger brother has come home,” answered the servant,
“and your father ordered us
to prepare the choice beef for a feast.”
This made the older brother so angry
that he refused to go anywhere near the house.
His father went out and begged him to join the celebration,
but his son answered, “All my life I’ve obeyed you,
and I’ve worked like a slave.
Yet you’ve never even given me a small goat,
so I could throw a party for my friends.
This other son of yours blew all his money on hookers,
and now that he’s back home,
you’ve ordered our choice beef
to be killed for a feast in his honor.”
“My dear son,” replied his father, “You’re always here,
and everything I have is yours as well.
But don’t you think we should celebrate?
Your brother was dead, and now he’s alive.
He was lost, and now he’s found.”
Sung version of Luke 15
Translation commentary on Luke 15:15
Exegesis:
kai poreutheis ekollēthē heni tōn politōn tēs chōras ekeinēs ‘he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country.’ poreutheis refers to a change of place and, implicitly, of situation.
kollaomai lit. ‘to cling to’ (cf. 10.11), here ‘to associate with,’ ‘to join oneself to.’
politēs (also 19.14) ‘citizen.’
kai epempsen auton eis tous agrous autou ‘and he (i.e. the citizen) sent him to his fields,’ change of subject not indicated.
boskein choirous ‘(in order) to tend pigs,’ cf. on 8.32.
Translation:
Joined himself, i.e. begged to be allowed to work, probably for nothing more than some food. The verb has been rendered by, “to hire oneself out” (An American Translation), ‘to seek work with’ (Sranan Tongo), an idiom meaning ‘to hang around (in the hope of getting something)’ (Zarma), ‘to enter the service of, or, work with’ (cf. Bible de Jérusalem, Malay); or by a specific term for comparable relationships that come close to serfdom or peonage (e.g. in Toraja-Sa’dan, Batak Toba). In Tzeltal the usual phrase in such circumstances is ‘to talk,’ the specification having to be supplied from the context.
Citizens of that country is not used here in a political sense; hence, ‘people of (or, living/residing in) that country,’ cf. also “local landowners” (New English Bible).
Fields, cf. 2.8; 12.28.
To feed swine, i.e. ‘to tend/look-after/guard the pigs while they are, or, were feeding’ (cf. 8.32).
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.
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