The Bible Translator: Volume 35, Issue 2

Hebrew El usually refers to the one true God and most often is in composite names for God and compound place and personal names. Eloah occurs in poetic passages. Elohim, the plural of intensity, emphasizes majesty and lordship; it may refer to gods, idols, or God. YHWH is the personal name for God, not to be pronounced, and often replaced by adonai. Combined forms are also discussed. View Less

Greek theos corresponds with Hebrew el, elohim but is more philosophical in use; eight contexts are discussed. Kurios, “master,” equates with Hebrew adonai and yhwh. Exceptions and avoidance forms are noted. View Less

In Shona, Hebrew YHWH has been transliterated as Yave in the Catholic translation and as Jehova in the Protestant version. A modern version uses Tenzi, “master, boss” but it does not sound like a divine name. Mwari, a divine name derived from the verb “to be,” is used to translate Elohim but could be used for both Hebrew terms if the meaning of the Shona word were made explicit when YHWH and Elohim are compounded. View Less

Where the established church uses a lectionary, a translator may translate those portions weekly rather than working through book by book. Disadvantages: portions taken out of context; filling in gaps later makes choppy reading; it is not possible to begin with simpler texts; translator is rushed to meet weekly deadlines. Advantages: greater acceptance and use of translated portions; forced productivity. Advance planning will avoid pressure and ensure quality. View Less

Frequency of verbs in procedural texts of Hadiyya is twice that of verbs in Hebrew. Fewer verbs make the translation unnatural and may distort meaning. Additional verbs must be made explicit by rearranging sentence order. View Less

Names of precious stones may be transliterated or introduced by a generic classifier, but referring to the colors of the stones is more meaningful. Individual stones are described. View Less

Working with special problems in Godie, a Kru language spoken in Ivory Coast, it was necessary to substitute the full name of Jesus rather than using the pronoun due to the implications associated with the pronoun. View Less

These verses are not saying “on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.” Rather, they are saying that the day was a first day, a day for unleavening of houses and hearts, a day for preparation, and the day on which the Passover must be killed. View Less

It is perfectly natural in English to reverse the order of speaker and quote at times. Vocative inversions must be reversed in languages which do not permit the vocative in a prayer to follow the petition. View Less

The distinction between “because” and “for” is investigated in the context of the Gospel of Matthew (particularly, Mt. 8:8–9; 23:5; 26:10–11; 26:31. “For” represents a digression from the regular stream of his writing. “Because” represents a cause or reason for something. View Less

Contribution by Philip B. Tibaijuka discusses the need and task of translating the Bible into regional language of Ruhaya in Tanzania. Contribution by Lars Lode discusses the project to translate three languages of the Duru subgroup of the Adamawa-Eastern group of Niger-Congo family of languages. A task group is operating to translate the NT into Dugun, Duupa and Kolbila. View Less