priest

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are typically translated as “priest” in English (itself deriving from Latin “presbyter” — “elder”) is often translated with a consideration of existing religious traditions. (Click or tap for details)

Bratcher / Nida (1961) say this:

“However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher;’ ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Eastern Maninkakan), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle, and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Hausa); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal).”

In Obolo it is translated as ogwu ngwugwa or “the one who offers sacrifice” (source: Enene Enene), in Mairasi as agam aevar nevwerai: “religious leader” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Ignaciano as “blesser, one who does ritual as a practice” (using a generic term rather than the otherwise common Spanish loan word sacerdote) (source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.), and in Noongar as yakin-kooranyi or “holy worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

For Guhu-Samane, Ernest Richert (in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. ) reports this:

“The [local] cult of Poro used to be an all-encompassing religious system that essentially governed all areas of life. (…) For ‘priest’ the term ‘poro father’ would at first seem to be a natural choice. However, several priests of the old cult are still living. Although they no longer function primarily as priests of the old system they still have a substantial influence on the community, and there would be more than a chance that the unqualified term would (in some contexts particularly) be equated with the priest of the poro cult. We learned, then, that the poro fathers would sometimes be called ‘knife men’ in relation to their sacrificial work. The panel was pleased to apply this term to the Jewish priest, and the Christian community has adopted it fully. [Mark 1:44, for instance, now] reads: ‘You must definitely not tell any man of this. But you go show your body to the knife man and do what Moses said about a sacrifice concerning your being healed, and the cause (base of this) will be apparent.'”

For a revision of the 1968 version of the Bible in Khmer Joseph Hong (in: The Bible Translator 1996, 233ff. ) talks about a change in wording for this term:

​​Bau cha r (បូជា‌ចារ្យ) — The use of this new construction meaning “priest” is maintained to translate the Greek word hiereus. The term “mean sang (មាន សង្ឃ)” used in the old version actually means a “Buddhist monk,” and is felt to be theologically misleading. The Khmer considers the Buddhist monk as a “paddy field of merits,” a reserve of merits to be shared with other people. So a Khmer reader would find unthinkable that the mean sang in the Bible killed animals, the gravest sin for a Buddhist; and what a scandal it would be to say that a mean sang was married, had children, and drank wine.

Translation commentary on Letter of Jeremiah 1:10

And even give some of it to the harlots in the brothel: Harlots in the brothel is almost surely wrong. New Revised Standard Version has “prostitutes on the terrace.” The Greek actually has “prostitutes on the rooftop.” The sense here is clarified by a passage from the sixth-century B.C. Greek historian Herodotus (k The Persian Warsk* 1.181). He describes a tower-like structure in Babylon that was eight stories high. In the topmost story was a bed, and a woman who represented the wife of a Babylonian god. Our text is referring to a rite of prostitution that took place on a rooftop, but the rooftop is not the important point. The point is that the women referred to in this verse were almost surely participants in the prostitution that was part of sacred ritual. That is what should come across, and “temple prostitutes” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) says it about as concisely as possible in English (compare 2 Kgs 23.7). Another way to render this clause is “and even give some of the gold and silver to the women who allowed their bodies to be used in the worship of the gods.”

They deck their gods out with garments: This means, as Good News Translation has it, “[they] put clothes on them,” but the Greek verb here suggests a bit of finery. (The verb uses the same root as in the adjective used to describe the “jewelry-loving” girl of verse 9.) To “dress up” (Contemporary English Version) rather than simply “dress” is legitimate in this context. So Contemporary English Version has “People dress up their idols.” The Revised Standard Version footnote here simply tells the reader that the Greek text has the pronoun “them” rather than their gods.

Like men: Men means “human beings” here. It does not mean that the gods were dressed like men as opposed to women. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version correctly say “as if they were human.”

These gods of silver and gold and wood may be rendered “these idols that people have made out of silver and gold and wood” or “even though they are nothing but chunks of silver or gold or wood” (Contemporary English Version).

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.