unleavened bread

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “unleavened bread” in English is translated in various ways:

  • Chichimeca-Jonaz: “bread that doesn’t have its medicine that makes it puff up”
  • Teutila Cuicatec: “bread without its sour”
  • Tepeuxila Cuicatec: “bread that has no mother” (source for this and above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Mairasi: “bread without other ingredient” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Chichewa: “non-puffed-up bread”
  • Chitonga: “bread without fermented grain” (source for this and above: de Regt / Wendland 2016)
  • Hiligaynon: “bread that has-none of that-which-causes-to-expand” (source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

complete verse (Numbers 28:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 28:17:

  • Kupsabiny: “And when it is the fifteenth day of that first month the Festival of bread that have not risen is to begin. Bread that has not risen is to be eaten for seven days.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “From the fifteenth day of that month for one week the festival of Unleavened Bread must be celebrated. During that festival unleavened bread must be eaten.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “On the following day will-begin the seven day of the feast. And for a period/[lit. inside] of seven days you (plur.) are- not -to-eat bread which has that-which-causes-to-expand.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The Festival of Unleavened Bread will start on the next day. For the following seven days, the bread that you eat must be made without yeast.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 28:17

And on the fifteenth day of this month is a feast: See Lev 23.6. The fifteenth day of this month refers to the fifteenth day of the first month. Good News Translation says simply “the fifteenth day,” which other languages may find helpful. Verses 17-25 deal with the Festival of Unleavened Bread. Since this festival lasted for seven days, is a feast is better rendered “a feast begins.” Good News Translation is similar with “a religious festival begins.” There is no verb here in Hebrew. The Hebrew word for feast (chag) comes from the same root as the verb chagag, which means “to make pilgrimage, keep a pilgrim-feast.” See Exo 23.14, where this verb is used to refer to the three main Hebrew festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Harvest Festival, and the Festival of Shelters.

Seven days shall unleavened bread be eaten: See Exo 12.15 and Lev 23.6. For unleavened bread, see 6.15. In languages that do not have passive verbs, shall … be eaten may be rendered “you [plural] shall eat” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie) or simply “Eat” (Bijbel in Gewone Taal) as an imperative.

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 .