Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, translators typically select the exclusive form (excluding Jesus).
Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 24:24:
Nyongar: “A few of our people went to the tomb and saw everything, the same way the women said but they did not see Jesus.'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “From there, several of our companions went to the grave. When they arrived there, they saw it was definitely like those women said. But they did not see Yesus.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “Then some of our companions went to the grave and they saw it as the women had said. But Isa they also did not see.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there were some other companions of ours who went to the tomb, and they saw exactly what the women had said, but they did not find the body of Jesus.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Others of our (excl.) companions also went to the cave and surprisingly all that the women said was true, but just the same they did not see Jesus.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “And then some others of our companions went also to that grave of Jesus. Well like that indeed is what they discovered, but they didn’t see Jesus.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
kai apēlthon tines tōn sun hēmin epi to mnēmeion ‘and some of our group went to the tomb.’ tōn sun hēmin means literally ‘of those with us,’ hence, ‘of our group.’
kai heuron houtōs kathōs kai hai gunaikes eipon ‘and found (things) exactly as the women had said.’ kai is to be taken with houtōs kathōs. eipon has the force of a pluperfect.
auton de ouk eidon ‘but him they did not see.’ auton is emphatic by position.
Translation:
Who were with us is synonymous with “of our company” in v. 22.
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.
