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 18:6

And when one told Moses is literally “And he said unto Moses,” meaning Jethro said. But this is awkward, for Moses and Jethro do not see each other until verse 7. This problem is related to the following word, Lo, which is really I in the Hebrew. (See the footnote in Revised Standard Version.) So the Hebrew has Jethro speaking directly to Moses and saying “I am coming” even before they meet. Revised Standard Version therefore follows the Septuagint, which has “It was reported to Moses, ‘Lo, your father-in-law is coming.’ ”

If one follows the Hebrew and interprets “And he said” to mean “And he sent word,” then no footnote is needed. So New Revised Standard Version now has “He sent word to Moses, ‘I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you.’ ” Contemporary English Version has “Jethro sent Moses this message, ‘I am coming to visit you, ….’ ” Good News Translation avoids this problem entirely by condensing the verse and using the pluperfect: “He had sent word to Moses that they were coming.”

Lo, your father-in-law Jethro is coming to you should therefore be read as in New Revised Standard Version, changing Lo to “I,” and changing is to “am.” (Similar are New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible, and New International Version.) With your wife and her two sons with her presents no problem, but the pronoun her should be noted, as in verse 3. (See “his sons” and the comment at verse 5.)

It is possible to combine verses 5 and 6 as follows:

• While Moses was staying in the wilderness at [or, by] the holy mountain [or, God’s mountain], Jethro sent someone to him with this message: “I am coming to visit you, and I am bringing your wife and her two sons.” When they arrived, ….

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 .