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 18:2

Verses 2-4 give background information about Moses’ family in order to fill in the gap from the last mention of them in 4.26. (Translator’s Old Testament places all three verses in parentheses.) They have usually been understood as a flashback, which is an account of events that had taken place earlier. But the main verb, had taken, is literally “and he took,” and it may be understood in two different ways:

Revised Standard Version interprets “and he took” as a pluperfect. This means that Jethro, her father, “had received her” (Revised English Bible), or “had taken her back into his home” (Translator’s Old Testament) after Moses had sent her away. See also New Revised Standard Version (“took her back”), New International Version (“received her”).

Good News Translation, however, interprets “and he took” as a simple past, meaning that Jethro was now “bringing” her to see Moses. See also Jerusalem Bible (“brought”), Childs (“took”), and New American Bible (“took along”). The verse is then easily rendered as “So he came to Moses, bringing with him Moses’ wife” (Good News Translation). But note that Good News Translation has borrowed the verb “he came” from verse 5, and still uses parentheses for verses 3b and 4. New American Bible simply has “So his father-in-law Jethro took along Zipporah.”

After he had sent her away is literally “after her dismissal.” Jerusalem Bible has “after she had been dismissed.” This needs to be expressed in the English pluperfect, for it indicates that Moses had evidently sent Zipporah and their sons back home after their experience at the lodging place in 4.24-26. He may have done this out of concern for their safety, or in order to be freed from family responsibilities.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

(a) with parentheses:

• (Moses had sent his wife Zipporah to stay with Jethro, who welcomed [or, received] her….)

(b) without parentheses:

• So Jethro came to Moses bringing with him Moses’ wife Zipporah, whom Moses had left behind.

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 .