
Click here to see the image in higher resolution.
Image taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here .
For other images of Willy Wiedmann paintings in TIPs, see here.
וְעַל־יָדָ֖ם הֶחֱזִ֣יקוּ הַתְּקוֹעִ֑ים וְאַדִּֽירֵיהֶם֙ לֹא־הֵבִ֣יאוּ צַוָּרָ֔ם בַּעֲבֹדַ֖ת אֲדֹנֵיהֶֽם׃ ס
5Next to them the Tekoites made repairs, but their nobles would not put their shoulders to the work of their Lord.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 3:5:
The Hebrew adonai in the Old Testament typically refers to God. The shorter adon (and in two cases in the book of Daniel the Aramaic mare [מָרֵא]) is also used to refer to God but more often for concepts like “master,” “owner,” etc. In English Bible translations all of those are translated with “Lord” if they refer to God.
In English Old Testament translations, as in Old Testament translations in many other languages, the use of Lord (or an equivalent term in other languages) is not to be confused with Lord (or the equivalent term with a different typographical display for other languages). While the former translates adonai, adon and mare, the latter is a translation for the tetragrammaton (YHWH) or the Name of God. See tetragrammaton (YHWH) and the article by Andy Warren-Rothlin in Noss / Houser, p. 618ff. for more information.
In the New Testament, the Greek term kurios has at least four different kinds of use:
In the first and fourth case, it is also translated as “Lord” in English.
Most languages naturally don’t have one word that covers all these meanings. According to Bratcher / Nida, “the alternatives are usually (1) a term which is an honorific title of respect for a high-ranking person and (2) a word meaning ‘boss’, ‘master’, or ‘chief.’ (…) and on the whole it has generally seemed better to employ a word of the second category, in order to emphasize the immediate personal relationship, and then by context to build into the word the prestigeful character, since its very association with Jesus Christ will tend to accomplish this purpose.”
When looking at the following list of back-translations of the terms that translators in the different languages have used for both kurios and adonai to refer to God and Jesus respectively, it might be helpful for English readers to recall the etymology of the English “Lord.” While this term might have gained an exalted meaning in the understanding of many, it actually comes from hlaford or “loaf-ward,” referring to the lord of the castle who was the keeper of the bread (source: Rosin 1956, p. 121).
Following are some of the solutions that don’t rely on a different typographical display (see above):
We have come to rely on another term which emphasizes God’s essential nature as YHWH, namely jukurrarnu (see tetragrammaton (YHWH)). This word is built on the same root jukurr– as is jukurrpa, ‘dreaming.’ Its basic meaning is ‘timelessness’ and it is used to describe physical features of the land which are viewed as always being there. Some speakers view jukurrarnu in terms of ‘history.’ In all Genesis references to YHWH we have used Kaatu Jukurrarnu. In all Mark passages where kurios refers to God and not specifically to Christ we have also used Kaatu Jukurrarnu.
New Testament references to Christ as kurios are handled differently. At one stage we experimented with the term Watirirririrri which refers to a ceremonial boss of highest rank who has the authority to instigate ceremonies. While adequately conveying the sense of Christ’s authority, there remained potential negative connotations relating to Warlpiri ceremonial life of which we might be unaware.
Here it is that the Holy Spirit led us to make a chance discovery. Transcribing the personal testimony of the local Warlpiri pastor, I noticed that he described how ‘my Warlaljamarri called and embraced me (to the faith)’. Warlaljamarri is based on the root warlalja which means variously ‘family, possessions, belongingness’. A warlaljamarri is the ‘owner’ or ‘possessor’ of something. While previously being aware of the ‘ownership’ aspect of warlaljamarri, this was the first time I had heard it applied spontaneously and naturally in a fashion which did justice to the entire concept of ‘Lordship’. Thus references to Christ as kurios are now being handled by Warlaljamarri.” (Source: Stephen Swartz, The Bible Translator 1985, p. 415ff. )
Law (2013, p. 97) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew adonai was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments: “Another case is the use of kurios referring to Jesus. For Yahweh (in English Bibles: ‘the Lord‘), the Septuagint uses kurios. Although the term kurios usually has to do with one’s authority over others, when the New Testament authors use this word from the Septuagint to refer to Jesus, they are making an extraordinary claim: Jesus of Nazareth is to be identified with Yahweh.”
See also Father / Lord.
The Tekoites were people from the town of Tekoa, which was located 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Jerusalem in the Judean wilderness.
Their nobles: The term used here for nobles is a different term from that used in Neh 2.16. It means those who were great or powerful and Good News Translation therefore translates “leading men.” Contemporary English Version says “town leaders.”
Did not bring their necks into the work: Figurative language is used to describe the refusal of the nobles to help with the project: “did not submit themselves to the service” (Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The figure is that of an ox refusing to be yoked to pull a heavy load. Some versions understand work here to mean not merely hard work but manual or menial labor (so Good News Translation). This suggests that the nobles were too arrogant or proud to do lowly tasks. New Jerusalem Bible interprets it as “would not demean themselves to help.” However, it is possible that the Tekoites lived in a region that could be easily attacked by Geshem and they did not want to leave it undefended to go to Jerusalem. Translators should follow the more common interpretation as reflected by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.
The Hebrew word rendered as Lord by Revised Standard Version is plural in form and is understood to refer to God by Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version. It could also refer to the people who were assigning the work, or even to Nehemiah himself (so Revised English Bible has “governor”). Like Good News Translation, a number of versions translate it as “supervisors” (New International Version), and others say “masters” (New Jerusalem Bible) or “lords” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Bible en français courant renders the phrase, of their Lord, as “under the orders of those responsible for the work.” It is recommended that it be translated to refer to those supervising the work.
Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.