complete verse (Luke 1:62)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 1:62:

  • Noongar: “Then they signed to his father. They asked him what name he wanted to give his son.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “From there, they signaled to Zakharia asking him what he wanted to name his child.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Then they made signs to the father of the child as to what he wanted the child to be called.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they made signs to the father of the child because they would ask him what he wanted to name his child.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “They then signaled to his father to ask what he wanted to name the baby.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Without anything further, the people sign-languaged Zacarias as to what he wanted the child to be named.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 1:62

Exegesis:

eneneuon de tō patri autou ‘and they made signs to his father.’

enneuō (‡ cf. dianeuō in v. 22) ‘to nod,’ ‘to make signs’; the use of this verb here seems to imply that Zechariah is deaf as well as dumb, which is not excluded by kōphos (v. 22); on the other hand the story supposes that Zechariah has heard the preceding discussion.

to ti an theloi kaleisthai auto “as to what he wished him to be called” (Translator’s New Testament); the indirect question is made into a substantival phrase by prefixing the article in the neuter. The connexion of this phrase with the verb in the main clause is syntactically rather loose; the article may be understood as introducing the question that is implied in eneneuon and explicitly stated in the substantival phrase.

thelō ‘to wish,’ ‘to desire.’

Translation:

They made signs … inquiring, or ‘asked … by (making) signs’; the following question is often better given in direct discourse. For to make signs see above on v. 22; Sediq has ‘to use-talk-for-the-deaf,’ a verbal derivation from ‘deaf.’

His … he … him refer to the child, the father, and the child again, which may have to be specified, e.g. by using ‘child/babe/boy’ in the first and/or in the third instance.

What he would have him called, or, ‘how he wanted that they/people should call the child’ (Sranan Tongo), ‘how he liked them to mention/call his name’ (Uab Meto); or, taking Zechariah as the agent both of the wishing and the calling, e.g. ‘how he would call his child’ (Tae’), “What name do you desire to give?” (three Dravidian languages), ‘what name he wished to name him’ (Ekari, which possesses two interrogatives, the one for a choice out of two, the other for a choice out of many; though the first is not impossible, since the names Zechariah and John have been in discussion, the second interrogative has been preferred).

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.

SIL Translator’s Notes on Luke 1:62

1:62a

So they made signs to his father: The visitors communicated to the baby’s father here by motioning with their hands.

his father: It may be necessary to make it clear that his father refers to the baby’s father, that is, Zechariah. For example:

they made signs to the baby’s father
-or-
they made signs to Zechariah

1:62b

to find out what he wanted to name the child: Luke 1:62b gives the meaning of the people’s question that they asked by making signs with their hands. Some other ways to translate this are:

inquiring what he wanted to name his son (NET Bible)
-or-
asking how he wanted people to call the baby

In some languages it may be natural to express this in direct speech, even though the people communicated this through signs and not through speech. For example:

…they used signs to ask the baby’s father: “What/how do you want people to call the child?”

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