47So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense and made atonement for the people.
The Greek and Hebrew that is usually translated in English as “atonement” is translated in Luchazi with minina mata: “to swallow another’s spittle.” “The human bite [is traditionally thought of] as being the most poisonous and dangerous and the poison lies in the saliva. So in swallowing another’s spittle, one takes into oneself all the poison or evil of the other and thus actually ‘becomes sin’ on behalf of the other. The substitute then proceeds to deal with the case as though he were the guilty one.” (Source: E. Pearson in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 160ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 16:47:
Kupsabiny: “Aaron did what Moses had said. He took that pan and ran until he reached the middle of those people. The plague had begun, and then he put those things that smell sweet in that pan that was burning and he made a ceremony by which those people were forgiven.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So, as Moses had said, Aaron took the incense burner and went running among the assembled people. Since the plague had already come, [he] offered the incense and made atonement for the people.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So Aaron obeyed what Moises has-commanded, and he ran into the midst of the community. The afflictions/evil/disasters have-started already among the people, but Aaron burned the incense so-that the people will-be-redeemed from their sins.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So Aaron did what Moses/I told him. He took the burning incense out among the people. The plague had already started to strike the people, but Aaron continued to burn the incense so that God would forgive them for the sins they had committed.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).
In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:
The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).
In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
So Aaron took it as Moses said: The pronoun it refers to Aaron’s censer, which Good News Translation makes clear by saying “his fire pan.”
And ran into the midst of the assembly: The Hebrew word for assembly is qahal (see verse 3).
And behold, the plague had already begun among the people: The Hebrew word hinneh rendered behold precedes the same clause occurring at the end of the previous verse, as Aaron actually witnessed the disaster that was taking place among his people. A model of this clause that expresses well the idea of behold in this context is “Aaron saw for himself that the disaster had already started among the people.” The Hebrew term for people (ʿam) is different from the word for assembly (qahal), but it is apparently used here as a synonym with no difference in meaning.
And he put on the incense means that Aaron “put the incense on the coals” (Good News Translation), as instructed in the preceding verse. Rashbam, the Jewish medieval commentator, noted that incense, which causes death when handled by non-priests, puts a stop to death when it is in the hands of the LORD’s true priests.
And made atonement for the people: See the comments on verse 46.
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 .
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