Definiteness is a semantic feature of noun phrases, distinguishing between referents/entities that are identifiable in a given context (definite noun phrases — in English marked with determiners such as “the,” “this,” “every,” and “both”) and entities which are not (indefinite noun phrases — in English marked with determiners such as “a/an,” “many,” “any,” “either,” and “some”). (source: Wikipedia)
“[As an example,] the English and Choctaw concepts of how definiteness and specificity are handled are not mapable to each other, even though the mechanism for the marking itself, a set of affixes, is quite simple.
“English wrings as much work as possible from the articles ‘a’ and ‘the’ and a few other demonstratives. A native speaker knows how to use these to refer to new information, to things already in evidence, to particular things, and to general members of a set. If these will not pick out something to a fine enough degree, we also can use a range of other constructions, such as relative clauses, adverbs, and even idioms to make finer distinctions. But these are not grammaticalized, they are tools the speaker may use to clarify an utterance, not mandatory.
“In strong contrast, Choctaw has a large, finely articulated, and morphologically efficient system to mark definiteness, contrast, specificity, and the like. A large set of affixes marks information about how specific something is, whether it has been mentioned previously, when in the discourse it was mentioned, whether it contrasts with something else in the discourse, how particularly it contrasts, whether it is part of a set, and other distinctions that are literally not possible to categorize in English.
The result in translation is that at some point, not only do English words fail, but some of the distinctions cannot even be made in a meaningful way. More precisely, we can perhaps capture the essence of the Choctaw distinctions, but only at the cost of a cumbersome sentence that would never be uttered by an English-speaker.” (Source: Marcia Haag in Swann 2011, p. 352f.)
Following are some examples from a Choctaw translation from 1881 (with the respective definiteness markers underlined):
The Greek that is translated as “when he came into the house” in English is translated as Milnna yυmmak ash osh aboha ont chukowa ma: “And when the one being discussed entered the room.” (See Mark 9:28)
The Greek that is translated as “the girl got up” in English is translated as ohoyo himita yash osh tani tok: “that young woman, the one being discussed, arose.” (See Matt 9:25 and Mark 5:42)
The Greek that is translated as “we know God spoke to Moses” in English is translated as Moses ak okvno Chihowa yυt im anumpuli beka tok a il ithana: “We know that Moses the particular one in contrast to others was the one whom Jehovah the definite subject of this clause used to speak to.” (See John 9:29)
In many, if not most of the languages in the Philippines, proper nouns, such as personal names, are tagged with a marker that signals their grammatical role within a sentence. For Tagalog and the Visayan languages , this typically includes si to mark the proper noun as the actor or subject (nominative case), ni to mark the proper noun as an owner (genitive case), and kay to mark the proper noun as as an indirect object, i.e. the one to or toward whom an action is directed (dative case). All of these also have plural forms — sina, nina and kina respectively — and unlike in the biblical languages or in English, the plural form has to be used when only a single proper name is mentioned but implicitly that proper name includes more than just one.
In this verse, where English translates “he (had entered),” the Tagalog translation translates “sina Jesus” because the context of the text makes clear that Jesus entered with his disciples. (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)
The Greek that is often translated as “disciple” in English typically follows three types of translation: (1) those which employ a verb ‘to learn’ or ‘to be taught’, (2) those which involve an additional factor of following, or accompaniment, often in the sense of apprenticeship, and (3) those which imply imitation of the teacher.
Following are some examples (click or tap for details):
Toraja-Sa’dan: “child (i.e., follower) of the master”
Indonesian: “pupil” (also used in many Slavic languages, including Russian [ученик], Bulgarian [учени́к], Ukrainian [учень], or Polish [uczeń] — source: Paul Amara)
Waorani: “one who lives following Jesus” (source: Wallis 1973, p. 39)
Ojitlán Chinantec: “learner” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
Javanese: “pupil” or “companion” (“a borrowing from Arabic that is a technical term for Mohammed’s close associates”)
German: Jünger or “younger one” (source for this and one above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999): Jüngerinnen und Jünger or “female and male disciples.” Note that Berger/Nord only use that translation in many cases in the gospel of Luke, “because especially according to Luke (see 8:1–3), women were part of the extended circle of disciples” (see p. 452 and looked up at his disciples).
Noongar: ngooldjara-kambarna or “friend-follow” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: adept or “adept” (as in a person who is skilled or proficient at something). Watson (2023, p. 48ff.) explains (click or tap here to see more):
[Chouraqui] uses the noun “adept,” which is as uncommon in French as it is in English. It’s an evocative choice on several levels. First, linguistically, it derives — via the term adeptus — from the Latin verb adipiscor, “to arrive at; to reach; to attain something by effort or striving.” It suggests those who have successfully reached the goal of their searching, and implies a certain struggle or process of learning that has been gradually overcome. But it’s also a term with a very particular history: in the Middle Ages, “adept” was used in the world of alchemy, to describe those who, after years of labor and intensive study, claimed to have discovered the Great Secret (how to turn base metals like lead into gold); it thus had the somewhat softened meaning of “someone who is completely skilled in all the secrets of their field.”
Historians of religion often use the term adept with reference to the ancient mystery religions that were so prevalent in the Mediterranean in the centuries around the time of Jesus. An adept was someone who, through a series of initiatory stages, had penetrated into the inner, hidden mysteries of the religion, who understood its rituals, symbols, and their meaning. To be an adept implied a lengthy and intensive master-disciple relationship, gradually being led further and further into the secrets of the god or goddess (Isis-Osiris, Mithras, Serapis, Hermes, etc.) — secrets that were never to be revealed to an outsider.
Is “adept” a suitable category in which to consider discipleship as we see it described in the Gospels? On some levels, the link is an attractive one, drawing both upon the social-religious framework of the ancient Mediterranean, and upon certain aspects of intimacy and obscurity/secrecy that we see in the relationship of Jesus and those who followed him. The idea that disciples are “learners” — people who are “on the way” — and that Jesus is portrayed as (and addressed as) their Master/Teacher is accurate. But the comparison is unsatisfactory on several other levels.
First, the Gospels portray Jesus’s ministry as a largely public matter — there is relatively little of the secrecy and exclusiveness that is normally associated with both the mystery cults and medieval alchemy. Jesus’s primary message is not destined for a small, elite circle of “initiates” — although the Twelve are privy to explanations, experiences and teachings that are not provided to “the crowds.” For example, in Matthew 13:10-13:
Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to [the crowds] in parables?” He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’”
Etymologically, adeptus suggests someone who “has arrived,” who has attained a superior level of understanding reserved for very few. However, what we see in the Gospels, repeatedly, is a general lack of comprehension of many of Jesus’s key teachings by many of those who hear him. Many of his more cryptic sayings would have been virtually incomprehensible in their original context, and would only make sense in retrospect, in the wake of the events of Jesus’s passion, death, and resurrection. The intense master-student relationship is also lacking: the Gospels largely portray “the disciples” as a loose (and probably fluctuating) body of individuals, with minimal structure or cohesion. Finally, there seems to be little scholarly consensus about the degree to which the mystery cults had made inroads in Roman-ruled Palestine during the decades of Jesus’s life. According to Everett Ferguson in his Backgrounds of Early Christianity.
Although Christianity had points of contact with Stoicism, the mysteries, the Qumran community, and so on, the total worldview was often quite different….So far as we can tell, Christianity represented a new combination for its time…. At the beginning of the Christian era a number of local mysteries, some of great antiquity, flourished in Greece and Asia Minor. In the first century A.D. the vonly mysteries whose extension may be called universal were the mysteries of Dionysus and those of the eastern gods, especially Isis.
And Norman Perrin and Dennis C. Duling note, in their book The New Testament:
Examples of such mystery religions could be found in Greece… Asia Minor… Syria-Palestine… Persia… and Egypt. Though the mysteries had sacred shrines in these regions, many of them spread to other parts of the empire, including Rome. There is no clearly direct influence of the mysteries on early Christianity, but they shared a common environment and many non-Christians would have perceived Christians as members of an oriental Jewish mystery cult.56
Given the sparse archaeological and literary evidence from this period regarding mystery cults in Roman Palestine, and the apparent resistance of many Palestinian Jews to religious syncretism, Chouraqui’s use of the noun adept implies a comparison between the historical Jesus and mystery cults that is doubtful, on both the levels of chronology and religious culture. Personally, I believe this choice suggests a vision of Jesus that distances him from the religious world of ancient Judaism, thus creating a distorted view of what spiritually inspired him. But the idea of the disciples as “learners” on a journey (as the Greek term suggests) is a striking one to consider; certainly, the Gospels show us the Twelve as people who are growing, learning, and developing…but who have not yet “arrived” at the fullness of their vocation.
Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as apprentice.
In Luang several terms with different shades of meaning are being used.
For Mark 2:23 and 3:7: maka nwatutu-nwaye’a re — “those that are taught” (“This is the term used for ‘disciples’ before the resurrection, while Jesus was still on earth teaching them.”)
For Acts 9:1 and 9:10: makpesiay — “those who believe.” (“This is the term used for believers and occasionally for the church, but also for referring to the disciples when tracking participants with a view to keeping them clear for the Luang readers. Although Greek has different terms for ‘believers’, ‘brothers’, and ‘church’, only one Luang word can be used in a given episode to avoid confusion. Using three different terms would imply three different sets of participants.”)
For Acts 6:1: mak lernohora Yesus wniatutunu-wniaye’eni — “those who follow Jesus’ teaching.” (“This is the term used for ‘disciples’ after Jesus returned to heaven.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
In American Sign Language it is translated with a combination of the signs for “following” plus the sign for “group.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“disciples” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In British Sign Language a sign is used that depicts a group of people following one person (the finger in the middle, signifying Jesus). Note that this sign is only used while Jesus is still physically present with his disciples. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Disciple in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Retrotraducciones en español (haga clic o pulse aquí)
Jesús les advirtió: “En el futuro cercano, los ancianos judíos, los líderes de los sacerdotes y los maestros de la Ley, que no creen en el Hijo del Hombre, lo rechazarán.
Los tres discípulos acordaron a guardar el secreto y Jesús bajó y los discípulos también bajaron. Dijeron uno al otro: “¿Qué significaría resucitar?” “No entiendo.” “Yo tampoco.”
Mientras caminaban pensaron de algo y dijeron: “Jesús, te preguntamos ¿porqué nos dicen los maestros de la Ley que primero vendrá Elías y después el Cristo?”
Jesús (respondió): “Esto es verdad, primero viene Elías para preparar las cosas para que estén listos cuando después viene el Cristo.
Pero ya ha venido Elúas y las personas eran en contra de él, y Elías ha sufrido exactamente como está escrito en el rollo.
En la misma manera el Hijo de Hombre sufrirá y las personas lo rechazarán.”
Jesús y los tres discípulos llegaron caminando y vieron un grupo de maestros de la Ley alrededor de los discípulos, y estaban discutiendo con ellos.
Muchas personas etsaban viendo y se volvieron a ver con sorpresa que Jesús había venido y todos fueron a él y lo saludaron, y Jesús los saludó (preguntando): “¿Qué pasó que están discutiendo?”
Un hombre vino diciendo: “Mi hijo no puede hablar porque tiene un demonio adentro de él. Muchas veces he visto que se cae en el suelo convulsionando, crujiendo sus dientes, con saliva en su cara.”
Ahorita traje my hijo buscando a Jesús, pero no estabas y ya dije a tus discípulos que expulsaran el demonio, pero no lo podían.
Un grupo de los maestros de la Ley vino y están discutiendolo, por eso.”
Jesús (dijo): “Ay, todas estas personas no creen nada. ¿Cómo voy a seguir más estar junto con ellos?, estoy cansado.
Que venga tu hijo.” Las personas ayudaron a recoger al joven.
El demonio adentro vio a Jesús “caray” y estaba revolcando en el suelo convulsionando con saliva en su cara.
Jesús miró hacia abajo y dijo: ¿Cuánto tiempo lo ha tenido?” (El hombre respondió): “Creciendo tenía lo mismo, antes mi hijo ha caído revolcando en el fuego y también ha caído en el agua y casi se hundió.
Yo lo veía muchas veces y descubrí que mi hijo tiene un demonio adentro, que quiere maltratarlo para que muere. Nosotros dos estamos sufriendo, por favor ten compasión, quizá puedes ayudarnos, por favor.”
Jesús (dijo): “¿Quizá puedo? No, tú cree que sí y se puede todo.”
(El hombre respondió): “Sí creo, pero aún tengo dudas en mi mente, ayudame a quitar las dudas.”
Jesús miró alrededor y vio una multitud de gente viniendo, miró al hombre revolcando en el suelo y regañó el demonio: “tú, que cierras su oído de modo que no puede hablar, ahorita te expulso, no lo entres otra vez, jamás.”
Dentro del joven que estaba revolcando en el suelo el domonio gritó y salió, y quedó acostado con sus ojos cerrados.
Las personas que lo vieren (dijeron): “El está muerto.” Pero Jesús lo tomó de la mano y se paró.
Después Jesús y los discípulos fueron a la casa y los discípulos preguntaron: “¿Porqué nosotros no podíamos expulsar el demonio, cómo es?”
Jesús (dijo): “Este demonio es muy fuerte, uds necesitan orar para poder expulsar un demonio, a uds les falta que no hacen oración, es por eso.”
Jesus and the three disciples walked on and arrived and saw a group of teachers of the Law standing around the disciples and they were arguing with them.
Many people were watching and they turned around and were surprised to see that Jesus had come, and they all went to him and greeted him and Jesus greeted them (asking): “What has happened that they are arguing?”
A man came up saying: “My son cannot speak because he has a demon inside him. Many times I have seen him fall in the floor, convulsing, gnashing his teeth with salive running down his face.”
“Just now I brought my son searching for Jesus but you were not there and I told your disciples to drive out the demon but they could not.
“A group of teachers of the Law came and they are arguing about it, that’s why.”
Jesus (said): “Oh no, all these people have no faith at all. How am I going to continue being with them? I am tired.
“Let your son come.” The people helped to bring the young man.
The demon inside saw Jesus “Oh no” and he lay writhing on the ground, convulsing and with saliva running down his face.
Jesus looked down and said: “How much time has he been like this?” (The man answered): “He has had this growing up, before now my son has fallen in the fire convulsing, and he also has fallen in water and almost drowned.
“I have watched him time and again and realized that my son has a demon inside him who wants to mistreat him so that he dies. Both of us are suffering, please take pity on us, maybe you can help us, please.”
Jesus (said): “Maybe I can? No, you need to believe and then everything is possible.”
(The man answered): “Yes I believe, but I still have doubts in my mind, help me and take away the doubts.”
Jesus looked around and saw a great multitude of people coming, he looked at the man writhing on the ground and told off the demon: “You who close his ears so that he cannot speak, I throw you out right now, and do not enter him ever again.”
From inside the young man who was writhing on the ground the demon screamed and went out of him and he lay on the ground with his eyes closed.
The people who saw it (said): “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and he got up.
Afterwards Jesus and the disciples went home and the disciples asked: “Why could we not throw out the demon, how is that?”
Jesus (said): “This demon is very strong, you need to pray in order to be able to throw out a demon, what’s lacking is that you don’t pray at all, that’s why.”
After the transfiguration Jesus and the three disciples were walking back. There were other disciples waiting for them down below, and there was a large crowd of people, with the teachers of the law standing in the crowd. Jesus’ disciples and the teachers of the law were arguing with each other about something. When the crowd noticed Jesus, the people got excited and ran to meet him. Jesus asked:
— What are you arguing about?
One man stood up from the crowd and said:
— Teacher! A demon has possessed my son. The demon is shaking my son, and my son cannot hear or speak. The spirit is tormenting him, rolling him on the ground, my son’s mouth is foaming, he is gnashing his teeth, his whole body is shaken and frozen. Nothing helps. I asked your disciples to cast out the demon, but they could not.
Jesus looked at them and said:
— O people who have little faith! What shall I do with you? Bring me this boy.
The sick boy was brought to Jesus. When the demon saw Jesus, he shook the boy violently and threw him to the ground, foaming from his mouth.
Jesus asked the boy’s father:
— When did the demon take possession of him?
The father answered:
— A long time ago, since he was a child. The demon has been attacking my son and trying to kill him. Once he threw him into the fire. I barely had time to save him. Once he threw him into the water, I barely saved my son. If you can, please help me! Have mercy.
Jesus said:
— What do you mean “if you can”…? If one has faith, anything is possible.
The boy’s father cried out:
— I have faith! I have faith! If I don’t have enough faith, please help me!
Jesus said to the demon:
— Come out of him! And I forbid you to go back into him!
The demon screamed terribly and came out of the boy, and the boy remained motionless, as if dead. The people around him thought he was dead. But Jesus took the boy by the hand and lifted him up.
Afterward Jesus went into a house. Jesus’ disciples followed him. They began to ask Jesus:
— Teacher! How did you manage to cast out the demon? We tried, but it didn’t work.
Jesus replied:
— The only way to cast out this demon is through prayer!
Original Russian back-translation (click or tap here):
После преображения Иисус и три ученика возвращались обратно. Внизу их ждали другие ученики, а вокруг была большая толпа народа; в толпе стояли учителя закона. Ученики Иисуса и учителя закона о чем-то спорили друг с другом. Когда толпа заметила Иисуса, люди обрадовались, побежали к нему навстречу. Иисус спросил:
— О чем у вас спор?
Из народа встал один человек и сказал:
— Учитель! В моего сына вселился бес. Бес сотрясает моего сына, а мой сын не слышит и не может говорить. Дух мучает его, катает его по земле, изо рта у моего сына идет пена, он скрежещет зубами, все тело его сотрясается и цепенеет. Ничто не помогает. Я просил твоих учеников изгнать беса, но они не смогли.
Иисус посмотрел на них и сказал:
— О люди, у которых мало веры! Что же мне делать с вами? Принесите мне этого мальчика.
К Иисусу привели больного мальчика. Когда бес увидел Иисуса, он сильно затряс мальчика, повалил его на землю, изо рта его шла пена.
Иисус спросил отца мальчика:
— Когда бес вселился в него?
Отец ответил:
— Давно, с самого его детства. Бес нападает на моего сына и пытается его погубить. Однажды бросил его в огонь. Я едва успел его спасти. Однажды бросил его в воду, я едва успел спасти сына. Если ты только можешь, прошу, помоги! Смилуйся.
Иисус сказал:
— Что значите «если можешь»?… Если у человека есть вера, то возможно все.
Отец мальчика закричал:
— Я верую! верую! Если мало у меня веры, прошу, помоги!
Иисус сказал бесу:
— Выйди из него! И запрещаю тебе возвращаться в него обратно!
Бес страшно закричал и вышел из мальчика, а мальчик остался лежать неподвижно, словно мертвый. Люди вокруг решили, что он умер. Но Иисус взял мальчика за руку и поднял его.
После этого Иисус вошел в один дом. Ученики Иисуса последовали за ним. Они стали спрашивать Иисуса:
— Учитель! Как тебе удалось изгнать беса? Мы пытались, но у нас ничего не получилось.
Иисус ответил:
— Этого беса можно изгнать только одним — молитвой!
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 Mark 9:28:
Uma: “After that, Yesus and his disciples left there and entered a house. When they had entered the house, they began to ask Yesus, they said: ‘Teacher, why were we (excl.) unable to expel that evil-spirit earlier?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When Isa had entered the house, his disciples asked him alone (lit. they-they only), they said, ‘Why couldn’t we (excl.) cast out the demon?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Jesus and company had returned to the house where they were staying and no other people were there, just them, his disciples asked him, they said, ‘Why couldn’t we drive away the demon?'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “When plural Jesus entered the house where they were staying, and they were alone, his disciples asked him, ‘Why were we (excl.) not able to cause-that evil-spirit -to-leave?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When Jesus had gone into the house, his disciples asked him privately. They said, ‘Why was it that we couldn’t drive out that evil spirit which was possessing/causing-madness?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
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