The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “widow” in English is translated in West Kewa as ona wasa or “woman shadow” (source: Karl J. Franklin in Notes on Translation 70/1978, pp. 13ff.) and in Newari as “husband already died ones” or “ones who have no husband” (source: Newari Back Translation).
In Cherokee the term is gender neutral and translates to “one who has lost someone.” (Source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 100)
The etymological meaning of the Hebrewalmanah (אַלְמָנָה) is likely “pain, ache,” the Greekchéra (χήρα) is likely “to leave behind,” “abandon,” and the Englishwidow (as well as related terms in languages such as Dutch, German, Sanskrit, Welsh, or Persian) is “to separate,” “divide” (source: Wiktionary).
The Greek and Hebrew that in the referenced verses is translated as “brother” in English is translated in Mandarin Chinese as dìdì (弟弟) or “younger brother.”
The Greek that is translated as “brother” in English in the referenced verses is translated in Lama as rɨtafal or “younger brother.” (Source: Neal Brinneman)
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 inclusive form (including the seven brothers). (Source: Velma Pickett and Florence Cowan in Notes on Translation January 1962, p. 1ff.)
In Huautla Mazatec, however, the translators selected the exclusive we. SIL International Translation Department (1999) notes that as a possibility.
Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 22:25:
Uma: “So, there were seven brothers. The eldest married, he died without any children. His widow married his younger sibling.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “So-then there were seven brothers who lived here with us. The oldest one married but he died without having children. Then his younger brother married the widow.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Now then, there were reportedly seven male siblings. The oldest got-married but died without their having any children. Therefore his younger-sibling took-his-place and married the widow,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well, we say that because recently there were here with us (excl.) seven siblings who were all male. Well, the oldest married. He died without any children. That’s why his wife was inherited by the one who followed him.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “So now suppose that where we live there are seven brothers. The eldest brother marries. But there comes the day when he dies and there were no children. Therefore the brother of the dead man who had been born next marries the widow.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
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®).
Now serves as a transitional from the quotation to the story of the seven brothers who, one after the other, married the same woman. It is not a temporal marker, therefore, but a way of starting a story.
Among us may better be represented as “who used to live here” (Good News Translation). Phillips has “Now, we had a case of seven brothers,” and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch “Now, at one time there were seven brothers here.” The story is told as though it narrates a genuine life situation, though the use of the number seven suggests they added something to make the story more interesting and simultaneously to emphasize the absurdity of belief in the resurrection.
The first … died … left his wife to his brother may give the impression that the man had at death willed his widow to his brother. Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, 1st edition relieves the difficulty by translating “The oldest brother married and died without children. 26 So the second married his widow….”
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 .
Verse 22:25a introduces a story which could possibly be true. But it was more likely a story made up by the Sadducees to show how the idea of resurrection was absurd. If you have a way of translating which shows this is not a true story, you may use that here.
Now: In this context, this conjunction begins a story. It is not the time word “Now.” Use a word or phrase which is natural in your language for beginning a story.
Here are some other ways to begin this story:
Once (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
One time
-or-
It happened that
there were seven brothers among us: This phrase refers to a family of seven brothers who probably lived in the general vicinity. It implies that they were Jews, and so they were required to follow this custom. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
there were seven brothers who used to live here (Good News Translation)
-or-
there were seven brothers who lived here with us
22:25b
The first married: The Greek phrase that the English Standard Version translates as The first refers to the oldest of these seven brothers. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
The first brother got married
-or-
The oldest one married (New Living Translation (2004))
and died: There is no time element here. At some point after his marriage this man died. Here is another way to translate this phrase:
and later died
22:25c
and having no offspring: The Greek word that the English Standard Version translates as offspring is the same word as in 22:24d. Translate it the same way here. This phrase expresses the reason why he left his wife to his brother. So another way to translate it is:
since he had no children (NET Bible)
left his wife to his brother: The Greek verb that the English Standard Version translates as left indicates that the oldest brother gave his wife into the care of his younger brother. In this case, the younger brother must follow the custom and marry her. Here is another way to translate this clause:
his brother married the widow (New Century Version)
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