unleavened bread

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “unleavened bread” in English is translated in various ways:

  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “bread that doesn’t have its medicine that makes it puff up”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “bread without its sour”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “bread that has no mother” (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Mairasi: “bread without other ingredient” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

complete verse (Luke 22:1)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 22:1:

  • Noongar: “Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread was happening soon. People also called it this feast the Passover.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “It was already close to the big day of the Yahudi people called the Feast of Bread that is not Yeasted, that is also called Paskah Day.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “The celebration/feast of the Yahudi was already near when they eat bread not mixed with leaven (lit. for-rising). That feast was called the Feast of Remembrance.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now at that time it was just a little time before the feast of eating bread without yeast, which is called the Feast of passover (feast of passing (someone by)).” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “The fiesta of the Jews called Passed-By had almost arrived at which they ate bread that had no yeast/baking-powder.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “The Fiesta of Bread Without Raising-agent was getting-closer-and-closer, which is called Passed-by.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 22:1

Exegesis:

ēggizen … hē heortē tōn azumōn ‘the feast of the unleavened bread was drawing near,’ durative imperfect. For ta azuma see below.

hē legomenē pascha ‘which is called Passover’

Translation:

Feast of Unleavened Bread; Sranan Tongo has ‘feast of the matzos,’ making use of the Yiddish term for ‘pieces of unleavened bread.’ For unleavened cf. also on “leaven” in 12.1; for bread cf. references on 4.3.

Drew near, or, ‘was to happen soon.’

Passover, see on 2.41, and references.

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.