cherub

Some key biblical terms that were directly transliterated from the Hebrew have ended up with unforeseen meanings in the lexicons of various recipient languages.

Take, for example, the English word “cherub,” from Hebrew “kĕrȗb.” Whereas the original Hebrew term meant something like “angelic being that is represented as part human, part animal” (…), the English word now means something like “a person, especially a child, with an innocent or chubby face.” Semantic shift has been conditioned in English by the Renaissance artistic tradition that portrayed cherubim in the guise of cute little Greek cupids. This development was of course impossible to foresee at the time when the first English translations borrowed this Hebrew word into the English Bible tradition, following the pattern of borrowing set by the Greek and Latin translations of the Old Testament.

In Russian, the semantic shift of this transliteration was somewhat different: the -îm ending of “kĕrūbîm,” originally signifying plurality in Hebrew, has been reanalyzed as merely the final part of the lexical item, so that the term херувим (kheruvim) in Russian is a singular count noun, not a plural one. (A similar degrammaticalization is seen in English writers who render the Hebrew plural kĕrūbîm as “cherubims.”) Apparently, this degrammaticalization of the Hebrew ending is what led the Russian Synodal translator of Genesis 3:24 to mistakenly render the Hebrew as saying that the Lord God placed a kheruvim (accusative masculine singular in Russian) to the east of the garden of Eden, instead of indicating a plural number of such beings. (Source: Vitaly Voinov in The Bible Translator 2012, p. 17ff.)

In Ngäbere the Hebrew that is translated in English as “cherub” is translated as “heavenly guard” (source: J. Loewen 1980, p. 107), in Nyamwezi as v’amalaika v’akelubi or “Cherubim-Angel” to add clarity, in Vidunda as “winged creature” (source for this and before: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext), and in Bura-Pabir as “good spirit with wings” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).

In Northern Pashto it is either translated as “heavenly creature” (Afghan Pashto Bible, publ. 2023) or “winged creature” (Holy Bible in Pakistani [Yousafzai] Pashto, publ. 2020) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).

In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that combines “angel” and “spinning sword” (referring to Genesis 3:24):


“Cherub” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

See also seraph and ark of the covenant.

mercy seat

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “mercy seat” or similar in English is translated by the interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) as or “the cover of that box which was the place for forgiving sins upon.” (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 110)

Translation commentary on Exod 25:19

The first half of this verse simply repeats in different words what is said in verse 18. Here the imperative form of the verb is used: “You [singular] make one cherub from this end and one cherub from that end.” Good News Translation continues from the previous verse: “one for each end of the lid.”

Of one piece with the mercy seat is literally “from the kapporeth” (see verse 17). This may mean that the cherubim and the cover (verse 17) are to be formed from the same piece of gold. So Translator’s Old Testament has “make from one piece of gold the cover and the cherubim.” Contemporary English Version interprets this phrase differently, “and fasten them to the lid at the ends of the chest,” suggesting that they were to be made separately and then attached to the kapporeth. Jerusalem Bible interprets this in the same way, “and fasten them to the two ends … so that they make one piece with it.” New Jerusalem Bible, however, has now revised this to read “you will model the winged creatures of a piece with the mercy-seat at either end.” Good News Translation allows for either interpretation: “Make them so that they form one piece with the lid.”

Shall you make surprisingly shifts to the plural form of you, which English translations do not reflect. This may easily be shown in many other languages, but the singular form should be retained if the translation will sound unnatural.

Verses 18 and 19 may be combined as follows:

• Then take a hammer and pound out the two ends of the lid into the shape of two cherubs [or, winged beings], so that they are made out of the same piece of pure gold as the lid.

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 .