offering (qorban)

The Hebrew qorbān (קָרְבָּ) originally means “that which is brought near.” Most English Bibles translate it as “offering.” The Hebraic English translation of Everett Fox uses near-offering and likewise the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has (the neologism) Darnahung.

See also burnt-offering and offering.

offering

The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”

In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)

See also offering (qorban).

priest

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are typically translated as “priest” in English (itself deriving from Latin “presbyter” — “elder”) is often translated with a consideration of existing religious traditions. (Click or tap for details)

Bratcher / Nida (1961) say this:

“However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher;’ ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Eastern Maninkakan), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle, and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Hausa); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal).”

In Obolo it is translated as ogwu ngwugwa or “the one who offers sacrifice” (source: Enene Enene), in Mairasi as agam aevar nevwerai: “religious leader” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Ignaciano as “blesser, one who does ritual as a practice” (using a generic term rather than the otherwise common Spanish loan word sacerdote) (source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.), and in Noongar as yakin-kooranyi or “holy worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

For Guhu-Samane, Ernest Richert (in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. ) reports this:

“The [local] cult of Poro used to be an all-encompassing religious system that essentially governed all areas of life. (…) For ‘priest’ the term ‘poro father’ would at first seem to be a natural choice. However, several priests of the old cult are still living. Although they no longer function primarily as priests of the old system they still have a substantial influence on the community, and there would be more than a chance that the unqualified term would (in some contexts particularly) be equated with the priest of the poro cult. We learned, then, that the poro fathers would sometimes be called ‘knife men’ in relation to their sacrificial work. The panel was pleased to apply this term to the Jewish priest, and the Christian community has adopted it fully. [Mark 1:44, for instance, now] reads: ‘You must definitely not tell any man of this. But you go show your body to the knife man and do what Moses said about a sacrifice concerning your being healed, and the cause (base of this) will be apparent.'”

For a revision of the 1968 version of the Bible in Khmer Joseph Hong (in: The Bible Translator 1996, 233ff. ) talks about a change in wording for this term:

​​Bau cha r (បូជា‌ចារ្យ) — The use of this new construction meaning “priest” is maintained to translate the Greek word hiereus. The term “mean sang (មាន សង្ឃ)” used in the old version actually means a “Buddhist monk,” and is felt to be theologically misleading. The Khmer considers the Buddhist monk as a “paddy field of merits,” a reserve of merits to be shared with other people. So a Khmer reader would find unthinkable that the mean sang in the Bible killed animals, the gravest sin for a Buddhist; and what a scandal it would be to say that a mean sang was married, had children, and drank wine.

fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Translation commentary on Numbers 5:15

Then the man shall bring his wife to the priest: When a man is suspicious of his wife committing adultery, he must bring her to one of the priests. No specific priest is in view here, so the priest may be rendered “a priest” (PV).

And bring the offering required of her …: When he brings his wife to the priest, he must also bring the required grain offering for her. The Hebrew word for offering is qorban, which is the vaguest and most common expression for a sacrificial gift. Since the death of an animal is not in view here, a general word for offering in the target language will be needed, instead of the more specific word “sacrifice.” Good News Bible omits the phrase of her, which refers to the wife. Renderings of this clause that keep it are “and bring the offering concerning her” (Bible en français courant) and “and he must bring the offering required for her” (NET).

A tenth of an ephah of barley meal: An ephah was a dry measure for grain. Many scholars believe that it was approximately 40 liters (1 bushel). Others believe it was 22 liters (0.6 bushel). To translate the phrase a tenth of an ephah, some translations give a rough equivalent by using a receptor language expression, such as “three kilos” (Bible en français courant), “two and a quarter kilos” (Dutch Common Language Version), or “two pounds” (Good News Bible). As these translations show, there is no certainty concerning the amount of barley in view here. It is better to provide the reader with a meaningful equivalent rather than being overly concerned about the precise value of a tenth of an ephah; for example, “a tenth of a measure” (La Bible de Jérusalem: Nouvelle édition revue et corrigée) is a good model. A target language equivalent might be even more appropriate, for example, “one basket” (as long as consistency is maintained in other passages where the ephah is mentioned.) In general, if approximate local dry and liquid measures are available in the language, it is better to use them rather than the anachronistic metric and imperial measurements. The Hebrew expression for barley meal refers to flour made of barley. Barley is a type of grass like wheat and rice. It has hairy kernels that can be ground into flour. It was the cheapest, most common type of cereal grain in Israel, so it was also available to the poor.

He shall pour no oil upon it and put no frankincense on it: Oil refers to “olive oil” (Good News Bible; see 4.9). The Hebrew word for frankincense refers to a resin that was burned for its pleasing aroma. Olive oil and incense were used in the normal grain offerings (see A Handbook on Leviticus at Lev 2.1). Perhaps the possible association with sin or the uncertain status of the accusation makes this grain offering a dry one.

For it is a cereal offering of jealousy gives the reason why olive oil and incense should not be put on this grain offering. For cereal offering, see 4.16. A cereal offering of jealousy means it is “an offering from a suspicious husband” (Good News Bible). The husband’s jealousy makes this grain offering necessary.

A cereal offering of remembrance, bringing iniquity to remembrance means it is a grain offering that reveals sinfulness, in this case whether the man’s wife has committed adultery or not. Good News Bible says “an offering … made to bring the truth to light,” but New Jewish Publication Society Version is better with “a meal offering of remembrance which recalls wrongdoing.” Contemporary English Version has “an offering to find out if she is guilty.” Other possible models are “a grain offering made to bring a wrongdoing to light” or “a grain offering causing people to think [seriously] about sinfulness.”

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 .