priest

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that are typically translated as “priest” in English (itself deriving from Latin “presbyter” — “elder”) is often translated with a consideration of existing religious traditions. (Click or tap for details)

Bratcher / Nida (1961) say this:

“However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher;’ ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Eastern Maninkakan), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle, and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Hausa); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal).”

In Obolo it is translated as ogwu ngwugwa or “the one who offers sacrifice” (source: Enene Enene), in Mairasi as agam aevar nevwerai: “religious leader” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Ignaciano as “blesser, one who does ritual as a practice” (using a generic term rather than the otherwise common Spanish loan word sacerdote) (source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.), and in Noongar as yakin-kooranyi or “holy worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

For Guhu-Samane, Ernest Richert (in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. ) reports this:

“The [local] cult of Poro used to be an all-encompassing religious system that essentially governed all areas of life. (…) For ‘priest’ the term ‘poro father’ would at first seem to be a natural choice. However, several priests of the old cult are still living. Although they no longer function primarily as priests of the old system they still have a substantial influence on the community, and there would be more than a chance that the unqualified term would (in some contexts particularly) be equated with the priest of the poro cult. We learned, then, that the poro fathers would sometimes be called ‘knife men’ in relation to their sacrificial work. The panel was pleased to apply this term to the Jewish priest, and the Christian community has adopted it fully. [Mark 1:44, for instance, now] reads: ‘You must definitely not tell any man of this. But you go show your body to the knife man and do what Moses said about a sacrifice concerning your being healed, and the cause (base of this) will be apparent.'”

For a revision of the 1968 version of the Bible in Khmer Joseph Hong (in: The Bible Translator 1996, 233ff. ) talks about a change in wording for this term:

​​Bau cha r (បូជា‌ចារ្យ) — The use of this new construction meaning “priest” is maintained to translate the Greek word hiereus. The term “mean sang (មាន សង្ឃ)” used in the old version actually means a “Buddhist monk,” and is felt to be theologically misleading. The Khmer considers the Buddhist monk as a “paddy field of merits,” a reserve of merits to be shared with other people. So a Khmer reader would find unthinkable that the mean sang in the Bible killed animals, the gravest sin for a Buddhist; and what a scandal it would be to say that a mean sang was married, had children, and drank wine.

Translation commentary on Hosea 4:4

Good News Translation makes explicit who is speaking here by beginning with “The LORD says.” This section continues “the word of the LORD,” which started in 4.1. If the translator decides not to make the speaker explicit here, the use of quotation marks depends on the way this was handled in 4.1.

The Hebrew word rendered Yet introduces a transition to a new section. In this context it marks a contrast with the previous section. In other contexts the same word can be used to provide added information that needs to be understood. Here it is best rendered as a contrastive conjunction, such as “However” or “But” (New International Version).

Let no one contend is a command, which is literally “let not a man contend.” The Hebrew word for “man” is used here to refer to anyone, whether male or female. The Hebrew verb for contend means “to bring a lawsuit” or “to bring a case before a judge” (see 2.2, where it is rendered “plead”). This verb comes from the same Hebrew root as the noun translated “controversy” in 4.1.

And let none accuse (literally “and let not a man accuse”) is parallel to the previous line. The Hebrew verb for accuse has a broad range of meaning covered by “argue” and “rebuke.” In this context it serves to emphasize the narrower meaning of bringing a case to trial. The Hebrew does not state who would be accused, but Good News Translation makes it explicit by rendering the first two lines of this verse as “Let no one accuse the people or reprimand them.” People should not accuse one another, neither should they interfere in the disputes. The only object of contention is the priesthood, as is pointed out in the next line.

For with you is my contention, O priest: There is a textual problem here in the Hebrew. Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and others assume that a scribal error occurred with one consonant being written twice. And by using other vowels than those traditionally added to the consonants, they read the Hebrew as translated. GNT’s footnote shows the literal form of the Hebrew, which is “your people are like those who bring a lawsuit against a priest.” The translator may wish to follow the reading in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. However, we recommend following the interpretation preferred by Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which follows the Hebrew text, saying “your people [are] like contenders against the priest.” The Hebrew pronoun for “your” is masculine singular, referring to a priest as a collective singular for the entire priesthood. To disobey a priest who issued a decision was a crime that called for the death penalty (Deut 17.12), and perhaps this is why it is stated that the people only resemble those who contend, rather than that they actually contend against a priest. But there is a problem with this interpretation. Why would Hosea rebuke the people for contending against the priests, given his severe criticism of the priests elsewhere? Therefore there is an alternative interpretation of this same Hebrew text: the thought seems to be that Yahweh has complained about the people (4.1-3), but now the people in turn have every right to complain about the priests who have not disciplined the people, and who thus have left them open to Yahweh’s punishment. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch provides a helpful model for this line, saying “Your people have every basis on which to complain about the priests!”

In the Old Testament the office of the priesthood was limited to the tribe of Levi, and more specifically to one family of that tribe, the family of Aaron. The priests served as intermediaries between God and the people of Israel. Regulations with regard to the qualifications of priests are given in Lev 21.16-23. They offered sacrifices and conducted other sacred ceremonies. The word priest is often rendered “sacrifice-making person” or “ceremony person.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• However, don’t bring a case against the people,
don’t raise a complaint against one another!
Your people have a case against you, the priests!

Quoted with permission from Dorn, Louis & van Steenbergen, Gerrit. A Handbook on Hosea. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2020. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .