serve

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “serve,” “minister,” “walk with,” or “service” is translated in Igede as myị ẹrụ or “agree with message (of the one you’re serving).” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)

In Quetzaltepec Mixe, “serve” is translated as “obey.” (Source: Robert Bascom)

tabernacle (noun)

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “tabernacle” in English is translated in San Blas Kuna as “house of prayer that can be carried.” (Source: Ronald Ross)

In Bandi it is translated as “holy sitting place.” The “sitting place for the Bandi is where you live.” Therefore the tabernacle is the place where God lived. (Source: Becky Grossmann in this newsletter )

In Vidunda it is translated as “God’s tent” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext) and in Tibetan as gur mchog (གུར་​མཆོག) or “perfect tent” (source: gSungrab website )

In American Sign Language it is translated with with a sign for “tent” combined with a sign referring to the outer court surrounding the tent (see Exodus 27:9 and following). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Tabernacle” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

See also tabernacle (verb) / dwell, festival of Tabernacles and ark of the covenant.

complete verse (Numbers 3:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 3:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “They instead of the people of Israel shall be doing the work of my Tent.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “By doing the work within the Tent of Meeting, in the Holy Tent they will do the work that must be done for Aaron and the whole community.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “They will-serve Aaron and the entire community by looking-after the work(s)/doings at the Place-of-Worship Tent, which is also called the Meeting-Together-Place Tent.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They will serve Aaron and all the other Israeli people, while they do their work inside the Sacred Tent and outside it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 3:7

They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation means the Levites must complete tasks on behalf of Aaron and the rest of the Israelite community. Perform duties is literally “doing the duty” (shamar mishmeret in Hebrew; see 1.53). This verb plus cognate (object) noun construction in Hebrew implies that the Levites have to do these tasks regularly and carefully. The pronoun him refers to Aaron, which Bible en français courant and Bijbel in Gewone Taal make explicit. Good News Translation says “the priests,” which unnecessarily makes this reference much wider and more general. For the Hebrew word rendered congregation (ʿedah), see the comments on 1.2.

Before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle: For the tent of meeting, see 1.1; for the tabernacle, see 1.50. Since these expressions refer to the same place, Good News Translation combines them, saying “the Tent of my presence.” However, it is better to keep both expressions if possible. A model that does this is “the Tent of my presence … my dwelling-place” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). As they minister at the tabernacle is literally “by serving the service of the dwelling-place.” The Hebrew verb for “serving” (ʿabad) and the noun for “service” (ʿabodah) come from the same root. This verb plus cognate noun construction emphasizes the activity of service. Good News Translation omits this clause both here and in verse 8, but it is too significant to be left out altogether. It is the main theme of chapters 3–4 and repetition serves to underscore that fact in many languages.

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 .