resurrection

The Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “resurrection” in English is translated in Chicahuaxtla Triqui and Pohnpeian as “live-up” (i.e. return to life) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel) and in Iloko as panagungar: a term that stems “from the word ‘agungar,’ an agricultural term used to describe the coming back to life of a plant which was wilting but which has been watered by the farmer, or of a bulb which was apparently dead but grows again.” (Source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )

Likewise, in Matumbi yu’ya carries the meaning of “raise from the dead, resuscitate, come back from near death” and is used for dry plants that come back to life when you water them or sick children who revive after being healed. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

In Estado de México Otomi, it is translated as “people will be raised from the dead,” in Teutila Cuicatec as “the dead having to come to life again,” in San Mateo del Mar Huave as “arose from the grave” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), and in Kriol as gidap laibala brom dedbala or “get up alive from the dead” (source: Sam Freney in this article .)

In Kalmyk and Russia Buriat it is translated as “revival” and in Tuvan as “coming back to life, reviving again.” (Source for this and one above: Alexey Somov in The Bible Translator 2017, p. 51ff. )

See also resurrect / rise again (Jesus).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Resurrection .

complete verse (Matthew 22:28)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 22:28:

  • Uma: “So in the future, if the dead really do come back to life, whose wife will that woman be? For they all married her.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Na, Sir,’ they said, ‘in the day when the dead will live again, whose wife will she be, and-what’s-more all seven brothers had her as wife?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And in the future on the day when all are raised from the dead, who will be the true husband of the wife? For all of them married her, all of these brothers.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Now then, at the future day at the living again of the dead, which of them perhaps will be her correct spouse (lit. spouse owner)? Because they all married her.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well now, who of those seven is her husband if/when the ones who have died will be made alive again, since all of them got to marry her?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “So now, on the day the dead resurrect, which of the seven brothers is the owner of the woman? For all had lived with her.'” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 22:28

The Greek noun phrase In the resurrection is restructured by Good News Translation as a dependent clause: “on the day when the dead rise to life.”

To which of the seven will she be wife? is a Semitic form of Greek, which is better represented in English by Good News Translation: “whose wife will she be?” It may be more effective if the order of the elements is reversed: “Whose wife will she be when God raises the dead to life?”

For they all had her is less than adequate for readers of American English, for in such a context had may imply no more than “had sexual relations with.” The meaning is clearly “had her as a wife” (Barclay), and so the basis for Good News Translation: “All of them had married her.” A more dramatic ending may be achieved for the story if the pattern of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is followed: “She had married all seven!”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Matthew 22:28



22:28a

In the resurrection: The resurrection refers to the time when God will cause people who have died to live again. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

when people rise from the dead (New Century Version)
-or-
When God raises people from death (Contemporary English Version)

therefore: The Greek conjunction that the English Standard Version translates as therefore means that the Sadducees wanted Jesus to draw a conclusion. In some languages, it is natural to put this word first in 22:28. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

So
-or-
So tell us (New Living Translation (2004))

of the seven, whose wife will she be: The phrase of the seven refers to the seven brothers. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

among the seven brothers, whose wife will she be
-or-
she will be the wife of which one of the seven brothers
-or-
which one of the seven brothers will be her husband

22:28b

For: This conjunction introduces the reason why the Sadducees think that the idea of a resurrection is absurd. They seem to think there is no good answer to the problem their story presents. Here are some other ways to translate this word:

Since (New International Version)
-or-
Because it is true that

they all had her: The pronoun they all refers to all seven of the brothers. The Greek verb that the English Standard Version translates as had implies that they married her or “had her as a wife.” Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

all seven men had married her (New Century Version)

-or-

She had been married to all seven brothers. (Contemporary English Version)

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