The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “quail” in English is translated in Elhomwe as ayuurwe. Ayuurwe are “small (like doves), wild birds which people catch to eat. These type of birds rot very quickly” (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext). In Bariai they are translated as “bush hen” (source: Bariai Back Translation).
There is total agreement among versions and commentators that this is the Common Quail Coturnix coturnix. This bird existed in Egypt in enormous flocks numbering many millions for centuries, right up to the early part of the twentieth century. It was netted in enormous quantities, dried in the sun, and exported. The Egyptian bird has a rather limited migration route, going across the eastern side of Egypt to the Sinai, then southward into the Sudan. Other quails that migrate from southern Europe to Africa also cross the Sinai. It was during these migrations, when the birds fly only a few feet from the ground, that they were netted.
The common quail is a small brown bird streaked with white, the smallest of the game birds. It looks like a miniature partridge, with a small white patch beneath its beak, a white stripe above its eye, and another around its neck. The males have a black chest stripe above a chestnut-colored breast patch.
The quail is associated with God’s merciful provision during the Exodus from Egypt.
The common quail is found all over Africa, in southern and southeastern Europe, and in the Middle East. It is then found in a discontinuous band across mainland Asia to Japan. Other very similar species, the Harlequin Quail Coturnix delegorguei and the Chinese Quail Coturnix chinensis, are equally common in Africa and Asia respectively. The latter is also found in Australia, where it is called the king quail. In North America the California quail is well known. In other areas where the true quail is not known, a phrase such as small partridge can be used. The reference in Numbers 11:31, literally “two cubits high above the face of the earth”, should be interpreted as “they were flying about a meter 3 feet above the ground.” In the following verse, the text should be interpreted as “they spread them out on the ground,” that is, to dry in the sun.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 105:40:
Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
“They requested, and he brought them quails
and he satisfied them with food from heaven.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Newari:
“When they asked, He sent them quail.
By giving bread from heaven, He filled their stomachs.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon:
“They asked-for food,
and God sent them quail,
and he satisfied them with food from heaven.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Laarim:
“They asked him for meat, then he gave them quails,
and he gave them to be satisfy with the food that came from heaven.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
“Wakamwomba yeye, akawapelekea kwale,
akawapa mikate ya kutoka mbinguni.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
English:
“Later the Israelis asked for meat to eat,
and Yahweh sent flocks of quail to them, and he gave them plenty of manna food from the sky each morning.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
God transcends gender, but most languages are limited to grammatical gender expressed in pronouns. In the case of English, this is traditionally confined to “he” (or in the forms “his,” “him,” and “himself”), “she” (and “her,” “hers,” and “herself”), and “it” (and “its” and “itself”).
Modern Mandarin Chinese, however, offers another possibility. Here, the third-person singular pronoun is always pronounced the same (tā), but it is written differently according to its gender (他 is “he,” 她 is “she,” and 它/牠 is “it” and their respective derivative forms). In each of these characters, the first (or upper) part defines the gender (man, woman, or thing/animal), while the second element gives the clue to its pronunciation.
In 1930, after a full century with dozens of Chinese translations, Bible translator Wang Yuande (王元德) coined a new “godly” pronoun: 祂. Chinese readers immediately knew how to pronounce it: tā. But they also recognized that the first part of that character, signifying something spiritual, clarified that each person of the Trinity has no gender aside from being God.
While the most important Protestant and Catholic Chinese versions respectively have opted not to use 祂, some Bible translations do and it is widely used in hymnals and other Christian materials. Among the translations that use 祂 to refer to “God” were early versions of Lü Zhenzhong’s (呂振中) version (New Testament: 1946, complete Bible: 1970). R.P. Kramers (in The Bible Translator 1956, p. 152ff. ) explains why later versions of Lü’s translation did not continue with this practice: “This new way of writing ‘He,’ however, has created a minor problem of its own: must this polite form be used whenever Jesus is referred to? Lü follows the rule that, wherever Jesus is referred to as a human being, the normal tā (他) is written; where he is referred to as divine, especially after the ascension, the reverential tā (祂) is used.”
In that system, one kind of pronoun is used for humans (male and female alike) and others for natural elements, non-liquid masses, and some spiritual entities (one other is used for large animals and another one for miscellaneous items). While in these languages the pronoun for spiritual entities used to be employed when referring to God, this has changed into the use of the human pronoun.
Lynell Zogbo (in The Bible Translator 1989, p. 401ff. ) explains: “From informal discussions with young Christians especially, it would appear that, at least for some people, the experience and/or concepts of Christianity are affecting the choice of pronoun for God. Some people explain that God is no longer ‘far away,’ but is somehow tangible and personal. For these speakers God has shifted over into the human category.”
In Kouya, God (the Father) and Jesus are referred to with the human pronoun ɔ, whereas the Holy Spirit is referred to with a non-human pronoun. (Northern Grebo and Western Krahn make a similar distinction.)
Eddie Arthur, a former Kouya Bible translation consultant, says the following: “We tried to insist that this shouldn’t happen, but the Kouya team members were insistent that the human pronoun for the Spirit would not work.”
In Burmese, the pronoun ko taw (ကိုယ်တော်) is used either as 2nd person (you) or 3rd person (he, him, his) reference. “This term clearly has its root in the religious language in Burmese. No ordinary persons are addressed or known by this pronoun because it is reserved for Buddhist monks, famous religious teachers, and in the case of Christianity, the Trinity.” (Source: Gam Seng Shae in The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff. )
In Thai, the pronoun phra`ong (พระองค์) is used, a gender-neutral pronoun which must refer to a previously introduced royal or divine being. Similarly, in Northern Khmer, which is spoken in Thailand, “an honorific divine pronoun” is used for the pronoun referring to the persons of the Trinity (source: David Thomas in The Bible Translator 1993, p. 445 ). In Urak Lawoi’, another language spoken in Thailand, the translation often uses tuhat (ตูฮัด) — “God” — ”as a divine pronoun where Thai has phra’ong even though it’s actually a noun.” (Source for Thai and Urak Lawoi’: Stephen Pattemore)
The English “Contemporary Torah” addresses the question of God and gendered pronouns by mostly avoiding pronouns in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament (unless God is referred to as “lord,” “father,” “king,” or “warrior”). It does that by either using passive constructs (“He gave us” vs. “we were given”), by using the adjective “divine” or by using “God” rather than a pronoun.
Some Protestant and Orthodox English Bibles use a referential capitalized spelling when referring to the persons of the Trinity with “He,” “His,” “Him,” or “Himself.” This includes for instance the New American Standard Bible or The Orthodox New Testament, but most translations do not. Two other languages where this is also done (in most Bible translations) are Twents as well as the closely related Indonesian and Malay. In the latter two languages this follows the language usage according to the Qur’an, which in turn predicts that usage (see Soesilo in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 442ff. and The Bible Translator 1997, p. 433ff. ).
For the pillars (or, columns) of cloud and of fire to guide the Israelites (verse 39), see Exodus 13.21-22. Here the cloud is spoken of as a protective cover for them.
In verse 40a the Hebrew is “He asked,” which could refer to Moses. Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New International Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy (all without textual note), and Good News Translation, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Weiser (all with textual note) follow the ancient versions, which have the plural, They asked. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project says that “He asked” means the Israelites; but it should be noticed that nowhere in this strophe are they referred to by a singular pronoun or verb.39-42 Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (“C” decision) adds that the singular form could have God as subject, “God called,” or could be impersonal, “one asked/they asked.” It may be necessary to make verse 40a clear by saying, for example, “Moses asked God for meat…” or, if the plural is used, “the people asked Moses for meat….”
For the quails see 78.26-28; and for bread from heaven, that is, the manna, see 78.23-25.
The incident in verse 41 is probably what happened at Rephidim (Exo 17.1-6); see 78.15-16. The reader who is not acquainted with the historical account in Exodus may not know what opened the rock means, so it may be well to say “He caused a rock to split open….” In any case, a cross reference to Exodus 17.1-6 should be provided.
In verse 42 the psalmist recalls Yahweh’s holy promise to Abraham (see verse 9) as the reason for his continued help and sustenance to the people of Israel. Revised Standard Versionhe remembered his holy promise, and Abraham (following King James Version) is a possible translation of the Hebrew, but it seems more natural to read the text “his holy promise to Abraham,” as most translations do (see McCullough). The expression his holy promise must be recast in many languages, as it is difficult to speak of “holy” in relation to an utterance. However, here the meaning is God’s promise in the form of the covenant, and can be translated, for example, “he remembered his covenant with his servant Abraham” or “he did not forget what he had promised Abraham who served him.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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