Translating the word YHWH, the name of God in the Hebrew Bible, is a complex matter involving theological, linguistic, and cultural issues. This article considers six possible broad translation options for this name, and summarises case studies of thirty-one Papua New Guinean Old Testament translation projects, exploring and classifying the choices they have made and the issues that guided those choices. It ends by offering some of the advantages and disadvantages of the different possible translation options, as an aid to other translators working on Old Testament translation.
The terms translated “Messiah,” “Christ,” and “Lamb of God” in English versions of the Bible would have created significant contextual effects in the minds of the original hearers when applied to Jesus. This paper investigates the use of these terms in their original context through a semantic analysis based on logical and encyclopedic entries and then considers some implications for translation. The approach to translation is based on Relevance Theory and in particular the notion of Direct Translation.
Feeling down or in a tight spot? How do we know what someone means when they tell us how they feel? How could we go further and explain how emotions are understood across cultures? This article looks at three approaches—the use of physiology, of key words, and of metaphors. This is followed by a demonstration of the insights from the metaphorical approach as applied to Anglo emotions. Applying this metaphorical approach to biblical Hebrew (where there is no access to native speakers) is much more difficult than to a living language. However, application of the Cognitive Linguistics of George Lakoff, Mark Johnson, Raymond Gibbs, John Taylor and others allows the construction of a methodology to give evidence for what emotions the Hebrew authors felt. This methodology is applied to Hebrew descriptions of distress to show how such emotions are conceptualised. The article also explains how this methodology can be applied more widely, to evaluate others’ claims about how the ancient Israelites thought and felt. Finally, some implications are given in the areas of Hebrew exegesis, cultural anthropology, and for the translation of “emotional” texts.
Different underlying metaphors may be used to think about Bible translation activities. Such conceptual metaphors highlight certain aspects and hide others. Bible translation has often been conceptualized through a ladder metaphor, with a beginning, endpoint, and linear steps to reach that goal. However, in the current context of Bible translation movements, with increased emphasis on sustainability and engagement, and supported by technological advances, alternative metaphors may lead to new insights. This paper explores some implications of ladder-thinking, and suggests some benefits of reconceptualizing Bible translation activities with a wheel metaphor, where the emphasis is on continuing movement rather than “reaching the top.” The metaphors are compared in the contexts of drafting, publishing and distribution, training, planning, and overall engagement with Bible translation movements.
Names of characters in literature are frequently used as dense signifiers, conveying messages from author to reader beyond identifying an individual, and offering clues about the character’s destiny or how storylines may develop. This paper explores how the potential semantic connections evoked by names in Old Testament literature are exploited by Hebrew narrators as they craft their stories, contributing to characterization, plot structure, leitworter and dramatic irony. For example, Laban (‘white’) is caught up in trickery with white goats and white sticks, whereas Micah (‘who is like Yahweh’) has an idol in his house. Bible translators working with spoken languages tend to transliterate (rather than translate) these names, relegating any semantic connections to a footnote. Sign languages, however, are more iconic and often naturally use name signs that evoke something about the referent, rather than just an arbitrary collection of sounds. This opens up the possibility of maintaining some of the semantic connections and literary features of Hebrew narratives when creating Scripture-based products in sign languages. This paper investigates the opportunities and limitations of such a strategy for translating biblical names.
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