The name that is transliterated as “Abraham” in English is translated in virtually all sign languages, including American Sign Language with the sign signifying “hold back arm” (referring to Genesis 22:12).
In Tira it is transliterated as Abaram. The choice of this, rather than the widely-known “Ibrahim,” as used in the Tira translation of the Qu’ran, was to offset it against the Muslim transliteration which originates from Arabic. (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Click or tap here to see two short video clips about Abraham (source: Bible Lands 2012)
Apali: “God’s one with talk from the head” (“basically God’s messenger since head refers to any leader’s talk”) (source: Martha Wade)
Michoacán Nahuatl: “clean helper of God” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Noongar: Hdjin-djin-kwabba or “spirit good” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Wè Northern (Wɛɛ): Kea ‘a “sooa or “the Lord’s soldier” (also: “God’s soldier” or “his soldier”) (source: Drew Maust)
Iwaidja: “a man sent with a message” (Sam Freney explains the genesis of this term [in this article): “For example, in Darwin last year, as we were working on a new translation of Luke 2:6–12 in Iwaidja, a Northern Territory language, the translators had written ‘angel’ as ‘a man with eagle wings’. Even before getting to the question of whether this was an accurate term (or one that imported some other information in), the word for ‘eagle’ started getting discussed. One of the translators had her teenage granddaughter with her, and this word didn’t mean anything to her at all. She’d never heard of it, as it was an archaic term that younger people didn’t use anymore. They ended up changing the translation of ‘angel’ to something like ‘a man sent with a message’, which is both more accurate and clear.”)
Following are a number of back-translations of Hebrews 2:16:
Uma: “So, we know: it is not angels that he helps, it is we the descendants of Abraham [emphatic] that he helps.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “It is clear that it is not angels who were helped by him. But as is written in the holy-book, ‘The ones he helps are the descendants of Ibrahim.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And it wasn’t the angels that He helped but rather, we (incl.) the descendants of Abraham are the ones that He helped.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “It is clear that it is not angels he is helping but rather us people who are counted/considered as Abraham’s descendants.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Of course it’s not the angels that he is helping in this but rather we who are believing/obeying him, we who are like the descendants of Abraham.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Tenango Otomi: “Now, Jesus did not come to help the angels. Rather it is the people who follow the faith of Abraham that he came to help.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)
This verse, together with verse 17, marks a new step in the argument; verse 16 is a statement from which verse 17 draws a conclusion.
It is clear: compare Knox “After all,” introducing the statement of something which almost goes without saying; Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch omits this. It is clear that it is not the angels may be expressed as “it is obviously not the angels,” “it is indeed not the angels,” or “one can readily see that it is not the angels.”
A rather literal translation is given by King James Version, “he took not on him the nature of angels,” except that “the nature of” is not expressed in the Greek. The meaning of the word, twice repeated, which Good News Translation translated helps has been the subject of furious argument for centuries, and the problem is not yet entirely solved. The first sentence may be understood in two main ways.
(a) It has often been understood to refer to God “taking on” human nature when Christ became man. This interpretation is followed by King James Version and is suggested by New English Bible‘s “takes to himself”; compare Jerusalem Bible, Phillips, Luther 1984, and Zürcher Bibel. However, the translator must always beware of forcing biblical texts into the mold of later theological ideas.
(b) Most modern translations, though of various Christian traditions, essentially agree with Good News Translation‘s helps (other common language translations, New American Bible, Barclay, Translator’s New Testament; Moffatt has “succours”; Knox “make himself the angels’ champion”). “Be concerned with” (so Revised Standard Version) is also possible, though rather weak. Good News Bible and Revised Standard Version both give an unusual meaning for a word which is not very common, but literal meanings such as “grasp” are impossible. In Sirach 4.11 New English Bible translates “cares for.”
As the scripture says (compare Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) is not in the text but is added to show that the following words are an allusion—in this case, to Isaiah 41.8-9. As elsewhere, the phrase as the scripture says must be rendered “as one may read in the holy writings” or “as in the words of the holy writings.”
Descendants of Abraham is literally “seed of Abraham,” that is, Israel. Descendants of Abraham may be expressed as “those in the lineage of Abraham” or “those who claim Abraham as a forefather.”
Quoted with permission from Ellingworth, Paul and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Letter of the Hebrews. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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