Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English means “taken out of the water,” “saved out of the water,” “a son.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 ). See also Translation commentary on Exodus 2:10.

It is translated in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language with a sign in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language (and Hungarian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Korean Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the arms held up by Moses to assure the Israelites victory over the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:11).


“Moses” in Korean Sign Language, source: Korean Sign Language Bible House

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Sung version of Luke 24

Living Water is produced for the Bible translation movement in association with Lutheran Bible Translators. Lyrics derived from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®).

For more information, see here .

Translation commentary on Luke 24:44

Exegesis:

eipen de pros autous ‘he said to them,’ either at that same time, or at some later meeting. The latter is preferable, cf. Plummer.

houtoi hoi logoi mou ‘these are my words.’ Since this does not refer to words spoken in the preceding verses it means either ‘these are my words which I said to you when I was still with you and which I repeat now, i.e. that…,’ or, ‘to these things that have happened refer the words which I said to you…’ etc. The latter is more probable, cf. Klostermann.

eti ōn sun humin ‘when I was still with you,’ i.e. before his death and resurrection. It implies that his presence now among them was of a different nature from what it had been before his death.

hoti dei plērōthēnai ‘i.e. that must be fulfilled,’ summarizing what Jesus had told the disciples during his lifetime. For dei cf. on 9.22; for plēroō cf. on 1.20.

panta ta gegrammena … peri emou ‘all that has been written … about me.’

en tō nomō Mōuseōs ‘in the law of Moses,’ i.e. the Pentateuch.

tois prophētais kai psalmois ‘(in) the (books of the) prophets and the (book of) psalms.’ For the latter cf. on 20.42.

Translation:

These are my words which I spoke to you, …, that everything …, or, following the interpretation preferred in Exegesis, “these are the very things I told you …: everything…” (Good News Translation), ‘this is the thing-I-meant, which I … pointed-out to you, namely, that everything…’ (Bahasa Indonesia RC).

While I was still with you, or, ‘while still I-had-as-companion you’ (cf. Tae’ 1933), ‘when we (inclus.) were still together’ (Toraja-Sa’dan).

For everything written in, or, ‘everything that stands in, or, is found in, or, forms the contents of,’ or equivalent formulas for reference to scripture passages, and for the law of Moses see on 2.22f; for psalms see on 20.42, and for to be fulfilled on 4.21.

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 24:44

Section 24:44–49

Jesus gave final instructions to his followers

In this section Jesus helped his followers to understand the things that were written about him in the Scriptures. He reminded his followers that they had seen these things happen. They had to spread this good news so that people of all countries would repent and believe in him. Then he told his followers that they would receive power to preach those things, as God had promised. He told them that they must wait in Jerusalem until they received this power.

Scholars have different opinions about when Jesus spoke the words in this section. It is likely that he spoke them after some days had passed and he was about to go back to heaven. The words may also be a summary of things that Jesus said to his followers during the forty days when he was with them after his resurrection. Parallel passages show that it is unlikely that Jesus spoke all of these words on the same day that he rose from the dead.

Some other examples of headings for this section are:

Jesus’ Final Commission (NET Bible)
-or-
Jesus’ followers must preach about him to all nations

There are parallel passages for this section in Matthew 28:16–20, Mark 16:15–18, and Acts 1:6–8.

Paragraph 24:44–49

24:44a

Jesus said to them: In Greek this clause begins with a conjunction. In this context it introduces events that probably happened some days after the events in the preceding section. Some other ways to introduce these events are:

After that, Jesus said to his followers
-or-
Jesus also said to them

Introduce the section in a natural way in your language.

24:44b

These are the words I spoke to you: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as These are the words I spoke to you is more literally, “These are my words/matters that I spoke to you.” This clause implies that what Jesus had told them earlier was happening. (For an example of what he had told them, see 18:31–33.)

Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

These things that have happened, it is exactly what I had been telling you
-or-
Here and now are fulfilled the words that I told you (Phillips’ New Testament in Modern English)

while I was still with you: The clause while I was still with you refers to the time when Jesus lived among them before his death. Jesus was with them as he was speaking, but he was no longer with them all the time as he had been before. Some other ways to translate this clause are:

When I was with you before (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
before when I was living among you

24:44c

Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me: The phrase Everything must be fulfilled means “It is necessary that everything happen.” It was necessary because God had already determined that everything that was prophesied in the OT Scriptures about the Messiah would truly happen.

In 22:37 Jesus also talked about the Scriptures concerning him being fulfilled. See how you translated that verse. For more information, see also the notes at 22:37b, 22:37c, and 22:37d.

Some other ways to translate this part of the verse are:

It is necessary for everything that was written about me to happen
-or-

⌊God⌋ decided/determined that all the things/words written about me will truly happen
-or-
everything written about me…had to come true (Good News Translation)

that is written: The phrase that is written or “it is written” is used in a special way in the New Testament. It refers to words written in the Scriptures. These words had authority because God guided people to write them. In the New Testament the phrase “it is written” usually refers to something that was written in the OT.

Your translation should indicate or imply that the phrase that is written refers to the Scriptures. In some languages you may want to include your translation of “the Scriptures” in this phrase. For example:

that is written in God’s book/word

The phrase “the Scriptures” occurs in 24:27. See how you translated it there. See also the following note on 24:44d for an example of how to refer to specific parts of the Scriptures.

24:44d

in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms: The three main sections of the OT Scriptures were the Law, the Prophets, and “the Writings.” These three sections together make up the entire Old Testament. For more information about this, see the notes on 24:27a–c. In this verse Jesus was probably referring to all of the OT Scriptures.

In some languages it may be helpful to translate 24:44d as a separate sentence or clause. For example:

⌊These Scriptures are⌋ the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.
-or-

⌊These writings about me are found in⌋ the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

the Law of Moses: The phrase the Law of Moses refers to the first five books of the Old Testament. They contain the laws that God gave to the Israelites through Moses. See how you translated this phrase in 2:22.

the Prophets: The phrase the Prophets refers to the books of the Old Testament that were associated with a prophet. For more discussion of the Prophets as a section of Scripture, see “prophet,” sense 1(b), in Key Biblical Terms.

the Psalms: The Psalms is the first book in the section of the Old Testament that some people call “the Writings.” Here it may represent the third section of the Hebrew Scriptures. However, in this context you may use the same name as you called the book of Psalms in the Old Testament.

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