circumcise, circumcision

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The Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “circumcise” or “circumcision” in English (originally meaning of English term: “to cut around”) are (back-) translated in various ways:

  • Chimborazo Highland Quichua: “cut the flesh”
  • San Miguel El Grande Mixtec, Navajo (Dinė): “cut around”
  • Javanese: “clip-away”
  • Uab Meto: “pinch and cut” (usually shortened to “cut”)
  • North Alaskan Inupiatun, Western Highland Purepecha: “put the mark”
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “put the mark in the body showing that they belong to God” (or: “that they have a covenant with God”)
  • Indonesian: disunat — “undergo sunat” (sunat is derived from Arabic “sunnah (سنة)” — “(religious) way (of life)”)
  • Ekari: “cut the end of the member for which one fears shame” (in Gen. 17:10) (but typically: “the cutting custom”) (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Hiri Motu: “cut the skin” (source: Deibler / Taylor 1977, p. 1079)
  • Garifuna: “cut off part of that which covers where one urinates”
  • Bribri: “cut the soft” (source for this and the one above: Ronald Ross)
  • Amele: deweg cagu qoc — “cut the body” (source: John Roberts)
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cut the flesh of the sons like Moses taught” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Newari: “put the sign in one’s body” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Central Mazahua: “sign in his flesh”
  • Hopi: “being cut in a circle in his body” (source for this and above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Mandarin Chinese: gēlǐ (割礼 / 割禮) or “rite of cutting” (Protestant); gēsǔn (割损 / 割損) or “cut + loss” (Catholic) (Source: Zetzsche)
  • Tibetan: mdun lpags gcod (མདུན་​ལྤགས་​གཅོད།), lit. “fore + skin + cut” (source: gSungrab website )
  • Kutu: “enter the cloth (=undergarments)” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Circumcision .

complete verse (Romans 4:10)

Following are a number of back-translations of Romans 4:10:

  • Uma: “When did Abraham become straight in God’s sight? After he was circumcised, or before he was circumcised? If we read the account, we clearly see: Abraham became straight in God’s sight before he was circumcised.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “When did God consider Ibrahim as straight? Was it after he was circumcised or before (lit. not yet)? Before he was circumcised he was already considered straight by God.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when did this take place? It took place before Abraham was circumcised, which is to say before he was a Jew, God considered him to be righteous.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When did that happen? Was it when he had already gotten-circumcised? No, but rather it was when he was not yet circumcised.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Now when Abraham was cleared, was he already marked or was he not yet marked when he was cleared? He was cleared before he was marked.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Romans 4:10

When (so also Jerusalem Bible) is literally “how” (Revised Standard Version) and has been rendered “in what circumstances” by the New English Bible. Paul is not asking how God did this, as a literal rendering might imply; rather he is asking whether Abraham was circumcised or uncircumcised at the time, and so the nearest equivalent in English is when, since the next questions clarify fully the significance of this question.

Did … take place translates once again the word discussed in Rom 4.6, and which appeared also in verses 3, 4, 5 and 8.

The rhetorical questions can, of course, be changed into positive statements—for example, “This took place before Abraham was circumcised, and not after he was circumcised.” However, before and after may be variously expressed—for example, “This took place when Abraham was not yet circumcised; it was not when he was already circumcised.” It may even be necessary to be somewhat more specific in rendering the expression “this took place”—for example, “God accepted Abraham as righteous when he was not yet circumcised.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Paul’s Letter to the Romans. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1973. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Romans 4:10

4:10a

In what context was it credited?: This is a rhetorical question. Paul used this question to introduce the next question. In some languages a question is not natural here. If that is true in your language, translate it as a statement. For example:

Consider how/when it was counted to him.
-or-
Think about how/when ⌊God⌋ counted his faith as righteousness.

This verse begins with a Greek conjunction that indicates a general connection to the previous verses. The Berean Standard Bible leaves this word implicit. In some languages it would be natural to translate it. For example:

Then, when was it counted to him?

was it credited: The word it refers to Abraham’s faith. Also, the phrase “as righteousness” is implied from 4:9d. In some languages it is more natural or more clear to include the implied information or explain what it means here. For example:

was his faith counted to him
-or-
was it counted to him ⌊as righteousness⌋
-or-
was his faith counted to him ⌊as righteousness⌋

This clause is passive. Some languages must use an active clause. For example:

did ⌊God⌋ count his faith to him

4:10b

Was it after his circumcision, or before?: The Greek is more literally “was he in circumcision or in uncircumcision?” It asks whether he was circumcised or not at the time God counted him as righteous.

This is a rhetorical question. Paul answered it in 4:10c. The question causes the reader to think what the answer might be. You should translate it as a question, because Paul answered it in 4:10c.

Was it after…or before: The word it refers to the event of God counting Abraham as righteous. In some languages a word or phrase other than it must be used to clearly refer to that event. For example:

Was that event before or after
-or-
Was that deed done before or after

his circumcision: Here is another way to translate this phrase:

⌊someone⌋ circumcised him

4:10c

It was not after, but before: There words are the answer to the question in 4:10b. The Greek is literally “not in circumcision but in uncircumcision.” It indicates that God counted Abraham righteous as an uncircumcised man. Here are other ways to translate these words:

Not when he had been circumcised, but while he was still uncircumcised (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
It was not after, but before he was circumcised (English Standard Version)

In some languages it is more natural to have the positive first. For example:

It was before, not after (Good News Translation)

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