burnt-offering

The Hebrew olah (עֹלָה) originally means “that which goes up (in smoke).” English Bibles often translates it as “burnt-offering” or “whole burnt-offering,” focusing on the aspect of the complete burning of the offering.

The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate Bibles translate it as holokautōma / holocautōsis (ὁλοκαύτωμα / ὁλοκαύτωσις) and holocaustum, respectively, meaning “wholly burnt.” While a form of this term is widely used in many Romance languages (Spanish: holocaustos, French: holocaustes, Italian: olocausti, Portuguese: holocaustos) and originally also in the Catholic tradition of English Bible translations, it is largely not used in English anymore today (the preface of the revised edition of the Catholic New American Bible of 2011: “There have been changes in vocabulary; for example, the term ‘holocaust’ is now normally reserved for the sacrilegious attempt to destroy the Jewish people by the Third Reich.”)

Since translation into Georgian was traditionally done on the basis of the Greek Septuagint, a transliteration of holokautōma was used as well, which was changed to a translation with the meaning of “burnt offering” when the Old Testament was retranslated in the 1980’s on the basis of the Hebrew text.

In the Koongo (Ki-manianga) translation by the Alliance Biblique de la R.D. Congo (publ. in 2015) olah is translated as “kill and offer sacrifice” (source: Anicet Bassilua) and in Elhomwe as “fire offering.” (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

The English translation of Everett Fox uses offering-up (similarly, the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has Darhöhung and the French translation by Chouraqui montée).

See also offering (qorban).

complete verse (Numbers 23:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 23:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “Balaam returned and he went to find Balak standing where he had burned his sacrifices together with all the leaders of Moab.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So he went back. He saw Balak and all the leaders of Moab standing near their burnt offerings.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So Balaam returned to Balak, and he saw him standing beside his offering, together-with all the leaders/[lit. heads] of Moab.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When Balaam returned to Balak, Balak was standing with the leaders from Moab beside the offerings he had burned on the altar.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 23:6

And he returned to him, and lo, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering: The Hebrew word hinneh rendered lo introduces what is seen from Balaam’s perspective. It highlights the fact that Balaam came back to find Balak doing what he had told him to do (see verse 3). Good News Translation makes this clear by beginning this verse with “So he [Balaam] went back and found Balak still standing….” The second occurrence of the pronoun he refers to Balak, which Good News Translation makes explicit. For the princes of Moab, see 22.8; for standing beside his burnt offering, see verse 3.

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 .