angel

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The Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic that is translated as “angel” in English versions is translated in many ways:

  • Pintupi-Luritja: ngaṉka ngurrara: “one who belongs in the sky” (source: Ken Hansen quoted in Steven 1984a, p. 116.)
  • Tetela, Kpelle, Balinese, and Mandarin Chinese: “heavenly messenger”
  • Shilluk / Igede: “spirit messenger”
  • Mashco Piro: “messenger of God”
  • Batak Toba: “envoy, messenger”
  • Navajo: “holy servant” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida 1961; Igede: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Central Mazahua: “God’s worker” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.)
  • Saramaccan: basia u Masa Gaangadu köndë or “messenger from God’s country” (source: Jabini 2015, p. 86)
  • Mairasi: atatnyev nyaa or “sent-one” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “word bringer” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
  • Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
  • Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)

See also angel (Acts 12:15) and this devotion on YouVersion .

Translation commentary on The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men 1:26

If integrated into the book of Daniel: 3.49

The angel of the Lord: Use of the definite article the here is not to claim that the Lord has only one angel. In English “an angel of the Lord” (Good News Translation) or “one of the Lord’s angels” (Contemporary English Version) is more appropriate. The word angel translates a Greek word literally meaning “messenger.” The Greek word usually translates a Hebrew word of the same meaning. In some of the oldest stories of the Bible, the writers gave little thought to what kind of beings these messengers were; they are pictured much like ordinary men, though they come and go miraculously (compare Jdg 6.11-22; 13.3-20). The book of Daniel is one of the latest of the Old Testament books. By this time the Jews had given considerable thought to angels, who were understood, as here in this story, to be more than human; they are immortal beings who are sent on God’s errands. In a number of languages, the angel of the Lord may be expressed as “one of God’s heavenly messengers.” See also the comments on LetJer 7.

Came down into the furnace: Good News Translation says “fire” rather than the literal furnace, which of course, in this context, means the same thing.

To be with Azariah and his companions: Good News Translation expresses this as “where the three men were” and Contemporary English Version has “to protect Azariah and his two friends.”

Drove the fiery flame out of the furnace: Drove … out is literally “shook out.” Finding a good verb to use here is a challenge, since the text is describing something that does not ordinarily happen. The picture seems to be this: the angel causes the fire to move outward from the center of the furnace to the sides, where it goes streaming upward in broken flames. The fiery flame (literally “the flame of the fire”) is presumably what the angel shook out. One may understand this as simply “the flames” as in Good News Translation or New English Bible, or as an amplification, such as “the scorching blaze” (Moore). An alternative model for this final clause is “He forced the flames to move out of the furnace.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on The Shorter Books of the Deuterocanon. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2006. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.