Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

Even at the time of his translation, Jerome likely was not the only one making that decision as this recent article alludes to.

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff.)

See also Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration.

Translation commentary on Joshua 1:3

As I told Moses: see Deuteronomy 11.24-25. The Hebrew verb translated told can mean “promise” or “speak to.” As I told Moses … my people may be translated, “I promised Moses that I would give my people.”

In verse 3 the Lord speaks directly to the people; in verse 2 he had spoken to Joshua, and the “you” is singular; in verse 3 “you” is plural. The Lord is speaking to all the people (through Joshua, of course); so Good News Translation translates you and all my people.

The phrase you and all my people may cause problems similar to the pronoun them of the previous verse. That is, the conjunction and may suggest to the reader that the person referred to by you is excluded from the group all my people. This problem may be resolved by translating “you my people”; no reader will assume thereby that Joshua is excluded from the people. This will balance out nicely if at the end of verse 2 the text has been translated to read either “you my people” or “you, the people of Israel.”

The phrase the entire land that you will be marching over translates the Hebrew “every place on which the sole of your (plural) foot steps.” For some readers, marching over might imply an orderly band of soldiers or some other highly organized group. The reference, of course, is to the entire group of Israelites, and one may translate “walk on” or “set foot on.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .