plague

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “plague” in English is translated in Bariai as “killing-off” (source: Bariai Back Translation).

In the German New Testament translation by Berger / Nord (publ. 1999) as Katastrophe or Katastrophenschlag, i.e. “disaster” or “disastrous strike.”

complete verse (Numbers 25:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 25:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “Phinehas followed that man who was with that girl to the tent and killed both of them with the spear passing through (them).
    God had sent to the people of Israel a plague which had killed up to twenty-four thousand people. When Phinehas had killed both those people, the plague subsided.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then, following that man went into the tent [and] with a spear pierced into both of them, the Israelite man and into stomach of the woman. After that the plague that had come among the Israelites was turned away.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He followed the man inside the tent, and he pierced the two of them with the woman. Then the destruction in Israel had-stopped,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “and rushed into the man’s tent. He thrust the spear completely through the man’s body and into the woman’s belly and killed both of them. When he did that, the plague/serious illness that had started to strike the Israelis stopped.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 25:8

And went after the man of Israel into the inner room: The Hebrew word rendered inner room (qubbah) only occurs here in the Old Testament, so its meaning is uncertain. In some languages related to Hebrew, it refers to a vaulted or domed room. The Peshitta has “chamber room.” La Bible de Jérusalem Nouvelle, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and SPCL are similar with “alcove,” and so is New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh with “chamber.” The text does not specify where this room was. However, what is clearly implied is that this room is private, so possible models for the inner room are “his/the sleeping chamber” (De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling, Willibrordvertaling), “the inner space of the tent” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch; similarly NET Bible footnote), and “his private chamber.” Translators may also say simply “his tent” (Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation). It has also been suggested that pagan worship took place at this qubbah: a qubbe was a small, sacred tent used by various Arab tribes, in which stone objects venerated by the tribe, were deposited (so Levine, page 288; Ashley, page 520; Cole, pages 441-442).

And pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman, through her body: With one strike of the spear Phinehas clearly pierced both the man and the woman in whatever act they were engaged. The rare Hebrew word for body is qebah, which forms a wordplay with qubbah. Here this word is a euphemism for the female genitalia. It may well be possible to keep the wordplay here by rendering qubbah as “[his] private chamber” and qebah as “[her] private parts” (Fox, Plaut).

Thus the plague was stayed from the people of Israel: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered Thus introduces a result or consequence, so it may also be translated “In this way” (Good News Translation) or “So” (New Living Translation, NET Bible). For the Hebrew word rendered plague, see 14.37. Only now does the text indicate that a plague had resulted from the LORD’s fierce anger (verses 3-4). It may also refer to the killing of those who had taken part in the idolatry (verses 4-5). Good News Translation provides a helpful model for this clause, saying “In this way the epidemic that was destroying Israel was stopped.”

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 .