The Bronze Serpent

Hand colored stencil print on washi by Sadao Watanabe (1979).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe. For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

The following artwork is part of a series of 56 paintings on biblical themes by Kazakh artist Nelly Bube (born 1949):

Copyright by Norwegian Bible Society , used with permission. For other images of Nelly Bube in TIPs, see here.

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 21:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 21:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “The people of Israel left the mountain of Hor and headed for the Red Sea going around the country of Edom. While on the road the people became unsettled” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They went out, walking around from Mount Hor, going on the road to the Red Sea. But because of the journey they became impatient.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “From Mount Hor, the Israelinhon set-out/traveled passing-by the road which (is) going-towards the Red Sea so-that they can-go-around the land of Edom. But the people got-bored of their walking/journeying/travelling,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then the Israelis left Hor Mountain and traveled on the road towards the Red Sea, in order to go around the land of Edom. But the people became impatient along the way,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Numbers 21:4

From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom: The Israelites had to turn south in the direction that they had come from to go around the country of Edom, which explains why they complained. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation omit the Hebrew waw conjunction (literally “And”) at the beginning of this verse, but New Living Translation renders it “Then” to introduce the next event, which other languages may find helpful. Another possible connector is “After that.” For Mount Hor, see 20.22. The pronoun they refers to the Israelites, which Good News Translation makes explicit. For the Hebrew verb rendered set out, see the comments on 2.9, where it is translated “set out … on the march.” For by the way to the Red Sea, see 14.25; for the land of Edom, see 20.14. It may be helpful to add the implied idea of “south” to this sentence, which Contemporary English Version does by saying “The Israelites had to go around the territory of Edom, so when they left Mount Hor, they headed south toward the Red Sea.”

And the people became impatient on the way: The people became impatient is literally “the soul of the people became short,” which can mean they were impatient, irritated, or discouraged. Perhaps they had a mixture of all these negative feelings. There may be an alternative idiom to express the feeling of impatience in the target language; for example, \ver Chewa\ver* says “the people were not limp in their hearts.” In this context the Hebrew expression for on the way can mean “along the way” (Contemporary English Version, NET Bible) that they were traveling, or “because the way was getting too long” for them. New Living Translation follows this second interpretation by rendering this clause as “But the people grew impatient with the long journey.”

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 .