cattle, livestock

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “livestock” (or “cattle”) is translated in Newari as “living beings brought up in a house” or “living beings cared for in a house” (Source: Newari Back Translation)

In Kwere it is “animals that are being kept.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

wild animal

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “wild animal” or similar is translated in Newari as “animal that lives in the jungle.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)

creeping things, reptiles

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated in English as “reptiles” or “creeping things” or similar is translated as “those which crawl along upon their stomach” in San Mateo del Mar Huave, “those that crawl the way they travel” in Chichimeca-Jonaz, and “animals that crawl on the ground” in Lalana Chinantec. (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In Nyamwezi it is translated as as vitundwa vya ku’yu’mba or “creatures that move.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

See also every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature.

complete verse (Genesis 7:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 7:14:

  • Kankanaey: “including all the kinds of animals and birds that God commanded, who were the time and the wild, the large and the small that were male and female.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “With them went all kinds of domesticated animals, wild animals, beings that creep on the ground, and all kinds of birds.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Also going-with them were all kinds of animals: the (ones-that)-walk, the (ones-that)-crawl, and the (ones-that)-fly.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They had already put in the boat some of every kind of wild animal and every kind of livestock and every kind of bird and every other creature that has wings.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 7:14

Verse 14 in Hebrew repeats according to its kind after each category of creature, four times, and Revised Standard Version follows this. For discussion of this expression see 1.11; 6.20. They and every beast means that Noah and his family along with the animals went into the boat.

The classification of animals in verse 14 is as in 1.25, except for the birds. Every beast according … means every kind of wild animal. All the cattle according … means every kind of domestic animal. Every creeping thing that creeps … according to its kind means every kind of small animal. Every bird according … means every kind of bird. Every bird of every sort is a repetition, adds nothing to the statement about birds, and is often not translated.

Bird in the two previous phrases translates two different Hebrew words. The former is used first in 1.20. The second term, although used frequently in the Old Testament, is used in Genesis only here and in 15.10. There is no evident distinction made in their use in this context. The Septuagint omits every bird of every sort; however, this form is in the Hebrew text and is translated in the more literal versions.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .