tabernacle (noun)

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “tabernacle” in English is translated in San Blas Kuna as “house of prayer that can be carried.” (Source: Ronald Ross)

In Bandi it is translated as “holy sitting place.” The “sitting place for the Bandi is where you live.” Therefore the tabernacle is the place where God lived. (Source: Becky Grossmann in this newsletter )

In Vidunda it is translated as “God’s tent” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext) and in Tibetan as gur mchog (གུར་​མཆོག) or “perfect tent” (source: gSungrab website )

In American Sign Language it is translated with with a sign for “tent” combined with a sign referring to the outer court surrounding the tent (see Exodus 27:9 and following). (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Tabernacle” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

See also tabernacle (verb) / dwell, festival of Tabernacles and ark of the covenant.

fat, oil

The different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

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 Leviticus 8:10

Anointed: see Exodus 30.22-33. Up to this point in Leviticus, only the priests have been anointed. Now this verb is applied to the Tent and all the various objects in it (see diagram at the end of the introduction, “Translating Leviticus”). In some languages a different word may be required for human beings and inanimate objects. But a general word like “put it [the oil] on…” may be preferable, and in some languages a verb like “sprinkle” (as in the following verse) may be necessary.

The tabernacle: in Leviticus the term ordinarily used is “tent of meeting,” but here as well as in 15.31 and 17.4 we find a different word. In this case the root meaning is “the dwelling place.” It is often used elsewhere in the Old Testament to refer to the place where God manifests his presence among human beings. Some commentators have supposed that this term is used to refer to the entire sanctuary area, including the courtyard. The translator may wish to use an expression like “the dwelling place of God” or “the place where God shows himself (or, meets with people),” but it is important not to give the impression that a place other than the “tent of meeting” or “Tent of the LORD’s presence” is intended. Some scholars feel that the terms for “sanctuary,” “tent of meeting,” and “tabernacle” should be translated differently because they are thought to come from different traditions. (See Noel Osborn, 1990, “Tent or tabernacle? Translating two traditions,” The Bible Translator 41:214-221.)

Consecrated them: the pronoun them refers to the Tent of the LORD’s presence and everything it contained. In some cases it may be clearer to make explicit the fact that they are consecrated “to the LORD,” as in Good News Translation. The rendering consecrated here and in verses 11 and 12 is not based on the same Hebrew word as “consecrate” in Revised Standard Version at 7.35. The parent noun of the verb here is related to the word for “holy” and is thus rendered “sanctify” in King James Version. It indicates a state of belonging to the realm of the sacred, that is, to God himself. In some languages it may be rendered by a causative form, but in others it will have to be translated more dynamically in this context by something like “and in this way he showed that they belonged to the LORD.”

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René and Ellington, John. A Handbook on Leviticus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1990. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .