basket, bushel, measure

The Greek that is translated in English with “basket” or “bushel” or “measure” is translated into Avaric with an existing term: “sah.” “To the European reader it is not clear how a lamp can be put under a measure, since such a reader has only a vague idea what this “measure” (modios in the original Greek) must look like. For the Avar, again, there is no problem here: everybody knows the word sah, which means exactly the same as the Greek modios.” (Source: Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff.)

Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket (...) and not on the lampstand?

The Greek that is transated as “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket (…) and not on the lampstand?” or similar in English is translated in Bahnar as “Do I ever bring in a lamp…? Don’t I put it on a lamp stand?” because in Bahnar illustrative metaphors occur in first person singular. (Source: Larson 1998, p. 250)

In Seri, the first part is translated as “A lamp is not lighted and … placed under an inverted basket.” Here, the implication that the lamp is lit had to be made explicit, as did the fact that the basket was inverted before placing it over the lamp. (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

lamp

The Greek that is translated as “lamp” in English is translated in Noongar as karla-maat or “firestick” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

put a lamp under a bushel basket

The now commonly-used German idiom ein Licht unter den Scheffel, which means to be excessively humble (literally “put a light under the bushel”), was made popular in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 85)

Since the German term Scheffel (“bushel”) is outdated and not widely known anymore, it was replaced in a 1975 revision of the Luther New Testament with Eimer (“bucket”). In the public reception this was seen as such an egregious error of judgment that that whole version was referred to mockingly as the Eimertestament (“bucket testament”) and withdrawn two years after its release. This choice of wording was not the only reason why that particular revision did not succeed. The revision was done mostly by linguists rather than theologians and aimed to have a highly communicative and modern style, which resulted in a loss of the specific style of the Luther Bible, something that the German church and public were not willing to accept. A more conservative revision followed in 1984 and the last revision was published in 2017. The 2017 edition actually restored some of Luther’s phrasing and terminology that had been replaced by earlier versions as long as they still reflected the meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew text.

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

complete verse (Matthew 5:15)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 5:15:

  • Uma: “And there is no person who lights a lamp and up-turns a pot on it. He puts it on its putting-place so that its shine is seen by all people in the house.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Nobody lights a lamp and covers it up with a basin but he places it on it’s stand so that the whole house is light.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “There is also no person who lights a lamp and covers it up with a basket, rather he places it on a holder so that all of the house might be lighted.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “No one also lights a lamp (kerosene-burning wick type) to then cover it with a basin, but rather he sets-it -on-top-of-(something) so that all the household will see what they are doing.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Consider also that of course no-one will light a lamp which, after he has lighted it, he will cover with a ganta-measure. On the contrary he really will put it on its stand/resting-place, so that all the inside of the house will be lit up.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “When a lamp is lit it isn’t put underneath a box, rather it is placed in a stand so that it shines for all those who live in the house.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
  • Mungaka: “Let your fire shine into the eyes of the people.” (source: Nama 1990)

Translation commentary on Matthew 5:15

Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel: a lamp would be placed under a bushel (Good News Translation “bowl”) solely in order to hide it. It would be totally absurd for someone to light a lamp for the purpose of supplying light for a one-room Palestinian house, and then immediately hide it.

Nor indicates a continuation of the thought from the previous verse. Translators sometimes say “further” or “similarly.”

Men may be “people,” but when the negative component from Nor is added, it may be translated as “No one,” as in Good News Translation. If the singular “No one” is used, then English will normally speak of lighting a lamp. However, if “people” or “men” is used, it will be more natural to speak of lighting “lamps.”

A lamp may be a “lantern” or “light.” But “candle,” used by some, would be wrong, since candles were not in use in Palestine at that time.

The word translated bushel is a Latin loan word which originally referred to a grain measure containing about 8.75 liters, or almost exactly one peck. Elsewhere in the New Testament it occurs only in Mark 4.21 and Luke 11.33. In this passage the size of the vessel is not so important as its function, that is, to hide the light of the lamp. If there is no exact equivalent of a bushel in an area, then translators may use some other kind of container that would effectively hide a lamp were it placed over it. Such objects include “basket,” “calabash,” or “large bowl.”

The light is placed on a stand, “a place where lamps are placed,” “a high table for the lamp,” or “a shelf for the lamp.”

All means all the people, as Good News Translation shows.

It gives light to all in the house presupposes a one-room structure in which a lamp is placed in a position where it can give light to the entire area. The context allows for light to be taken as a reference to the disciples, the preaching of the disciples, Jesus himself, or the preaching of Jesus. Fortunately, this is something the translator need not and should not make explicit. The sentence can be translated “it is placed on a stand where it lights up the house for everyone” or “it is put in its place so that everyone in the house can have light.”

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 .