Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("go")

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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 usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, ik-are-ru (行かれる) or “go” is used.

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

Translation commentary on Mark 8:10

Exegesis:

apelusen (cf. 6.36) ‘he dismissed,’ ‘he sent away.’

embas eis to ploion (cf. 4.1) ‘entering the boat,’ ‘embarking.’

ta merē (only here in Mark) ‘the parts’: when used of a country, ‘region,’ ‘district’ in and around a city.

Dalmanoutha (only here in Mark) ‘Dalmanutha’: as yet unidentified. Presumably (since the incident of feeding the 4000 seems to have taken place on the east side of the lake) on the west side of the Lake of Galilee.

Translation:

As in all instances of the expression sent them away one must avoid the connotation of summary dismissal of the crowd, involving emotional overtones of rejection or desire to be rid of them.

The boat may have to be in certain receptor languages ‘a boat,’ for the particular boat serving in this context has not been specifically identified previously.

He got into the boat with his disciples must undergo some redistribution of parts in some languages, for both Jesus and the disciples were the subjects of the embarcation. Hence, ‘he and his disciples got into a boat.’

District of Dalmanutha may be ‘place (or ‘region,’ ‘land’) called Dalmanutha.’ The use of ‘called’ is to avoid misconstruing Dalmanutha as a person possessing or controlling the area. Some languages treat this relationship as ‘went to the Dalmanutha district.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 8:10

8:10a

He got into the boat with His disciples: In some languages it may be more natural to say:

Jesus and his disciples got into a boat (God’s Word)

the boat: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the boat refers to a specific boat. It is clear from the preceding context (7:31–37) that Jesus and his disciples had walked overland on their journey to Lake Galilee. He did not use a boat on this journey. Therefore, the boat may refer to a specific boat that Jesus had used on other occasions in the past. For example, see 6:45–54.

It may be confusing in your language to refer to a specific boat here when no boat was mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. If that is true, here are some options to consider:

• Refer to a specific boat and add a footnote. Here is an example footnote:

This boat may have been the same boat that Jesus and his disciples used when they went to Bethsaida (Mark 6:45–54).

• Refer to a specific boat and add a short identifying phrase in the text. For example:

the boat that they had used previously

• Use a general word for boat. For example:

a boat (Good News Bible)

His disciples: See how you translated this term at 2:15b and 8:1c. See also disciple in the Glossary for more information.

8:10b

and went to the district of Dalmanutha: The exact location of Dalmanutha is not known. Some scholars think it may be another name for the town of Magadan, also called Magdala. This town was located on the western side of Lake Galilee. You might want to include this information in a footnote.

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