clothes

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “clothes” or similar in English is translated in Enlhet as “crawling-in-stuff” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ) and in Noongar as bwoka or “Kangaroo skin” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

Even at the time of his translation, Jerome likely was not the only one making that decision as this recent article alludes to.

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff.)

See also Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration.

Translation commentary on Exod 12:35

This is now the third time this same incident is mentioned in Exodus. (See also 3.21-22 and 11.2-3.) On the basis of 11.2, Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation assume that the Israelites had already asked for jewelry and clothing from the Egyptians and were already prepared to leave. The Hebrew verb form, however, does not indicate the pluperfect (“had done” and “had asked” in Good News Translation), which can only be interpreted from the context. (A similar pluperfect was noted in the comment at 11.1.) However, since 11.2 is still part of Yahweh’s instructions to Moses, the reference here may also be understood as the actual carrying out of that command by the people. So New International Version is correct in using the simple past tense: “The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked….” Also is not in the Hebrew, so it is best to remove it, as New Revised Standard Version has done.

As Moses told them refers to 11.2 and may also be expressed as “what Moses had told them to do.” The Hebrew word for asked can also mean “borrowed” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, King James Version), but if they had only “borrowed,” they would have been deceitful, as explained at 3.21. So asked is the preferred rendering. The jewelry may have been “ornaments” (Jerusalem Bible), “objects” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “articles” (New American Bible). (See the comment on jewelry at 3.22.) Clothing is also mentioned in 3.22 but not in 11.2. The same word is translated “mantles” in verse 34, but it is a general word for “clothing.”

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .