The Greek that is typically transliterated as “Beelzebul” in English used to be transliterated in English and most other languages with a long tradition in Bible translation as Beelzebub, going back to the LatinVulgate translation that had used Beelzebub. St. Jerome likely had done that to correspond with the pronunciation of Baal Zebub (בַּעַל זְבוּב) of 2 Kings 1:2 where a Philistine god by that name is mentioned. The Hebrew name carries the derogative meaning “Baal (or: god) of flies” and is likely an ironic and humiliating misspelling of Baal Zebul with the meaning of “Baal (or: god) the Prince” (see Translation commentary on 2 Kings 1:2).
In popular German literature of the 14th through 17th century, the term “Beelzebock” was also used, a word with a similar sound, but with last and changed syllable carrying the meaning of “(billy) goat / ram,” the partial form of the devil in popular imagination. (Source: Jost Zetzsche — see also the sheep from the goats)
In languages that use Chinese characters, including Mandarin Chinese, Min Nan Chinese, Yue Chinese (Cantonese), or Hakka Chinese, the characters 別西卜 are used in Protestant translations (pronunciation in Mandarin: biéxību, in Cantonese: bit6 sai1 buk1, in Hakka phe̍t-sî-puk). That transliteration name has been used since at least 1850 in the Literary ChineseDelegates’ Version, likely because of the suitably negative meaning of the last character 卜 or “divination.” (The Catholic transliteration is 貝耳則步 / bèiěrzébù in Mandarin, without any particular meaning.)
In Western Bukidnon Manobo it is translated with Endedaman, the Manobo name for the ruler of the evil spirits (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation) and in the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) with Oberteufel or “chief devil.”
“The name of the god of Ekron in 2 Kings 1:2, Baal-zebub, may possibly mean ‘Lord of the fly,’ in other words the god who protected people from the sores and diseases caused by flies. However, the name may instead be related to the Ugaritic word zebul (𐎇𐎁𐎍), ‘the highest,’ and thus may have originally been Baal-zebul (𐎁𐎓𐎍. 𐎇𐎁𐎍), the Canaanite equivalent of ‘Most High Lord,’ but it was changed sarcastically by the people of Israel to Baal-zebub, ‘Lord of the fly.’ Because of the doubt about the proper derivation of the word, it is probably best to transliterate the name rather than try to translate it, and add a footnote as follows, ‘This name means ‘Lord of flies’ and may be a mocking corruption of the god’s real name Baal-zebul.’ (Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators) ).
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 12:24:
Uma: “When the Parisi people heard those words, they said: ‘Ah, that power of his is from Beelzebul, the king of all demons. That’s why he has power to expel demons.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When the Pariseo heard this, they said, ‘He is given power by Belsebul, the leader of demons, that’s why he can drive out demons.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there were some Pharisees there and when they heard that, they said, ‘The reason he has power to cure those afflicted with demons is because Endedaman the boss of the demons, he is the one who has given him the power.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, ‘He certainly isn’t! His power to cause-evil-spirits -to-leave, it is no other who gave it to him than Beelzebul the leader of the evil-spirits.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “The Pariseo overheard this which the people were discussing. That’s why they said, ‘Expletive, what do you mean, since he indeed is able to drive out evil spirits because he has the ability in him of Beelzebub who is the leader/chief of all evil spirits!'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “When the Pharisees heard what the people were saying, they said, ‘This man they speak of heals people who walk with evil spirits, but it is the devil, the boss of the evil spirits, who helps him do it.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
The Greek that is a transliteration of the Hebrew Pərūšīm and is typically transliterated into English as “Pharisee” is transliterated in Mandarin Chinese as Fǎlìsài (法利賽 / 法利赛) (Protestant) or Fǎlìsāi (法利塞) (Catholic). In Chinese, transliterations can typically be done with a great number of different and identical-sounding characters. Often the meaning of the characters are not relevant, unless they are chosen carefully as in these cases. The Protestant Fǎlìsài can mean something like “Competition for the profit of the law” and the Catholic Fǎlìsāi “Stuffed by/with the profit of the law.” (Source: Zetzsche 1996, p. 51)
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying “prayer shawl”. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
Scot McKnight (in The Second Testament, publ. 2023) translates it into English as Observant. He explains (p. 302): “Pharisee has become a public, universal pejorative term for a hypocrite. Pharisees were observant of the interpretation of the Covenant Code called the ‘tradition of the elders.’ They conformed their behaviors to the interpretation. Among the various groups of Jews at the time of Jesus, they were perhaps closest to Jesus in their overall concern to make a radical commitment to the will of God (as they understood it).”
Sissala: kaŋtɔŋ, which traditionally referred to “either a spirit of natural phenomena such as trees, rivers, stones, etc., or the spirit of a deceased person that has not been taken into the realm of the dead. Kaŋtɔŋ can be good or evil. Evil kaŋtɔŋ can bring much harm to people and are feared accordingly. A kaŋtɔŋ can also dwell in a person living on this earth. A person possessed by kaŋtɔŋ does not behave normally.” (Source: Regina Blass in Holzhausen 1991, p. 48f.)
Umiray Dumaget Agta: hayup or “creature, animal, general term for any non-human creature, whether natural or supernatural.” Thomas Headland (in: Notes on Translation, September 1971, p. 17ff.) explains some more: “There are several types of supernatural creatures, or spirit beings which are designated by the generic term hayup. Just as we have several terms in English for various spirit beings (elves, fairies, goblins, demons, imps, pixies) so have the Dumagats. And just as you will find vast disagreement and vagueness among English informants as to the differences between pixies and imps, etc., so you will find that no two Dumagats will agree as to the form and function of their different spirit beings.” This term can also be used in a verb form: hayupen: “creatured” or “to be killed, made sick, or crazy by a spirit.”
Yala: yapri̍ija ɔdwɔ̄bi̍ or “bad Yaprija.” Yaprijas are traditional spirits that have a range presumed activities including giving or withholding gifts, giving and protecting children, causing death and disease and rewarding good behavior. (Source: Eugene Bunkowske in Notes on Translation 78/1980, p. 36ff.)
Lamnso’: aànyùyi jívirì: “lesser gods who disturb, bother, pester, or confuse a person.” (Source: Fanwong 2013, p. 93)
Paasaal: gyɩŋbɔmɔ, “beings that are in the wild and can only be seen when they choose to reveal themselves to certain people. They can ‘capture’ humans and keep them in hiding while they train the person in herbalism and divination. After the training period, which can range from a week to many years, the ‘captured’ individual is released to go back into society as a healer and a diviner. The gyɩŋbɔmɔ can also be evil, striking humans with mental diseases and causing individuals to get lost in the wild. The Pasaale worldview about demons is like that of others of the language groups in the area, including the Northern Dagara [who use kɔ̃tɔmɛ with a similar meaning].” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
In the still widely-used 1908 Tswana (also: Setswana) translation (by Robert Moffat, revised by Alfred Wookey), the term badino or “ancestor spirit” is used for “demon,” even though in the traditional understanding there is nothing inherently negative associated with that term. Musa Dube (in: Journal of Society of New Testament 73, 1999, p. 33ff. ) describes this as an example of “engaging in the colonization of the minds of natives and for advancing European imperial spaces. The death and burial of Setswana culture here was primarily championed through the colonization of their language such that it no longer served the interests of the original speakers. Instead the written form of language had equated their cultural beliefs with evil spirits, demons and wizardry. This colonization of Setswana was in itself the planting of a colonial cultural bomb, meant to clear the ground for the implantation of a worldwide Christian commonwealth and European consciousness. It was a minefield that marked Setswana cultural spaces as dangerous death zones, to be avoided by every intelligent Motswana reader or hearer of the translated text.”
In Kachin, the term Nat (or nat) us used for “demon” (as well as “devil” and “unclean/evil spirit“). Like in Tswana, the meaning of Nat is not inherently negative but can be positive in the traditional Nat worship as well. Naw Din Dumdaw (in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 94ff.) argues that “the demonization of Nat created a social conflict between Kachin Christians and Kachin non-Christians. Kachin converts began to perceive their fellow Kachins who were still worshipping Nats as demonic and they wanted to distance themselves from them. Likewise, the Nat-worshiping Kachin community perceived the Kachin converts as betrayers and enemies of their own cultural heritage. (…) The demonization of the word Nat was not only the demonization of the pre-Christian religion but also the demonization of the cultural heritage of the Kachin people. When the word Nat is perceived as demonic, it creates an existential dilemma for Kachin Christians. It distances them from their cultural traditions.”
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®).
The Pharisees are frequently mentioned as the arch opponents of Jesus. According to this verse they continue in that role, and their accusation made here is similar to that of 9.34. In fact, the charge which they now make against Jesus is practically identical with that of 9.34, with the exception that here the prince of demons is mentioned by name. For further comments on Pharisees, see 3.7.
There can be uncertainty as to what the it that the Pharisees heard refers to. Most translators have it refer back to the healing of the man in verse 22. A sentence like “But when the Pharisees heard about Jesus healing the man who had the evil spirit” would make this very explicit. On the other hand, translators who thought it refers to people wondering whether perhaps Jesus was the promised Son of David could have “… heard what the people were saying.” There is no reason why the translation could not refer to either or both.
For prince of demons see comments on 9.34; Beelzebul is discussed at 10.25. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch deletes the proper name: “He can drive out evil spirits only because the chief of all evil spirits gives him the power to do it!”
For casts out demons, see comments on 7.22 and 8.16, and for demons, see comments on 4.1.
As Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch shows, by Beelzebul means that Beelzebul gives him power to throw out evil spirits. A slightly different rendering of the sentence is “It is only because Beelzebul, who is the chief of evil spirits, gives him power that this man can throw evil spirits out of people.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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