Jacob

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Jacob” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “lentil,” referring to the soup he gave his brother in exchange for his birthright (see Genesis 25:34). Note that another Spanish Sign Language sign for Jacob also users the sign for Jewish. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Jacob” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is a sign that shows the touching of the hip, described in Genesis 32:25:


“Jacob” in German Sign Language (source: Taub und katholisch )

In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the signs signifying “smooth arm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Jacob” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

See also Esau.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jacob .

Translation commentary on Psalm 114:1 - 114:2

It was at the exodus from Egypt that the Israelites became Yahweh’s people. The two lines of each of the two verses are parallel and synonymous; in verse 1 Israel in line a is the same as the house of Jacob in line b, and Egypt in line a is a people of strange language in line b. Some translators may prefer to combine elements of line b with line a; for example, “When the Israelites, who were Jacob’s descendants and who were living in Egypt, left that foreign country.” On the other hand, the basic pattern of each verse in this psalm is two parallel lines or versets, the second lacking the verb that is expressed in the first line. The psalmist does not attempt to heighten the poetic intensity, but prefers to vary the key terms in each set of parallel lines. If ellipsis is not a commonly used feature in the receptor language, the translator may have to supply the verb in the second line, either by repeating it from the first, or by using a synonym.

In verse 2 Judah and Israel are also synonymous. They may refer to the land itself that the Israelites occupied, or to the people; it seems more probable that they refer to the people. In this case the Hebrew “his holy thing (or, his holy one)” in line a means, as Good News Translation (also New Jerusalem Bible) has it, “the Lord’s holy people.” But if Judah and Israel are taken to designate the land (so Briggs, Dahood and others), then Revised Standard Version‘s sanctuary (also New English Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant) is preferable. The word characterizes the land as the place where Yahweh lived and was worshiped. In line b dominion means either the people or the land that Yahweh rules. If the translator follows Good News Translation‘s expression “the Lord’s holy people,” in some languages that phrase will have to be recast to say, for example, “the people who belong to the Lord” or “the Lord’s own people.” If Revised Standard Version is followed, sanctuary may be translated as “place where the people worship God.”

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 .