Spies return from Canaan

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The following is a stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century:

Source: Der gläserne Schatz: Die Bilderbibel der St. Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder), Neuer Berlin Verlag, 2005, copyright for this image: Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

See also other stained glass windows from the Marienkirche in Frankfurt.

complete verse (Numbers 13:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 13:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “Look at how that land of Canaan is, its people be fierce or weak, many or few.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then find out how the land is, whether the people who live there are strong or weak, many or few.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You (plur.) see/look what the land looks-like/[lit. what is the face of the land], and if the people there are strong or weak and if they are many or just few.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “See what the land is like. See if the people who live there are strong or weak. See if there are many people or only a few people.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 13:18

And see what the land is: Moses wants the spies to find out a number of things about the land of Canaan.

And whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak: First he wants to know how powerful its people are.

Whether they are few or many: He also wants to know how many people live there.

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .