holy ground

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “holy ground” is tranlated as “you are before me and I am good” in Morelos Nahuatl and “where I myself am and I am God” in Rincón Zapotec. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

sandal (illustration)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “sandal” in English is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

complete verse (Acts 7:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Acts 7:33:

  • Uma: “The Lord also said to him: ‘Take-off your (sing.) shoes, because that land where you (sing.) are standing is holy land.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “God said to him, ‘Take off your shoes because that place where you are standing is holy ground.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your shoes because I have come down on this land where you are standing.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then God said to him, ‘Remove your (sing.) shoes, because where-you (sing.) -are-standing, it is holy soil.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then God said to him, ‘Remove your footwear, for the ground on which you are standing is far-from-ordinary ground, for I have descended on it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

For the Old Testament quotes, see Exodus 3:5.

Translation commentary on Exod 3:5

The pronoun in Then he said must be made explicit. Since “God” is the term used in verse 4 to introduce the dialogue, it may be used here, as in Good News Translation and the Spanish common language version (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). But some translations such as Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and Bible en français courant use “Lord” in order to avoid confusion over how many participants were involved. (See the comment on verse 4 above.)

Two distinct commands are given to Moses that suggest different degrees of holiness. Do not come near should be understood as “Do not come any closer” (Good News Translation), for Moses was already near. Put off your shoes from your feet is typical of biblical Hebrew, but it becomes too wordy in English. “Take off your sandals” (Good News Translation) is sufficient, for it is obvious that his shoes would have been on his feet. “Sandals” is more specific than shoes and is probably more accurate, for the Hebrew term implies footwear tied with straps. However, a more general term for footwear is possible.

The place on which you are standing refers to the ground affected by the presence of God. It is holy because it is different from other ground and must be treated with respect. In this context there is no suggestion of a moral versus immoral quality. Rather a divine power was thought to be emanating from the bush and was also present in the ground. But the degree of holiness in the ground, in contrast with that in the bush, was not so intense that it had positive taboo. Moses was allowed to stay where he was standing if he took off his sandals. (See the comment on “holy” or “taboo” at 3.1.) Later, in chapter 19, this same ground becomes taboo, that is, off limits for common people. Some have suggested that the entire mountain of Sinai had previously been considered “holy” due to earlier appearances of a deity.

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 .