basket, bushel, measure

The Greek that is translated in English with “basket” or “bushel” or “measure” is translated into Avaric with an existing term: “sah.” “To the European reader it is not clear how a lamp can be put under a measure, since such a reader has only a vague idea what this “measure” (modios in the original Greek) must look like. For the Avar, again, there is no problem here: everybody knows the word sah, which means exactly the same as the Greek modios.” (Source: Magomed-Kamil Gimbatov and Yakov Testelets in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 434ff.)

lamp

The Greek that is translated as “lamp” in English is translated in Noongar as karla-maat or “firestick” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

put a lamp under a bushel basket

The now commonly-used German idiom ein Licht unter den Scheffel, which means to be excessively humble (literally “put a light under the bushel”), was made popular in 1522 in the German New Testament translation by Martin Luther. (Source: Günther 2017, p. 85)

Since the German term Scheffel (“bushel”) is outdated and not widely known anymore, it was replaced in a 1975 revision of the Luther New Testament with Eimer (“bucket”). In the public reception this was seen as such an egregious error of judgment that that whole version was referred to mockingly as the Eimertestament (“bucket testament”) and withdrawn two years after its release. This choice of wording was not the only reason why that particular revision did not succeed. The revision was done mostly by linguists rather than theologians and aimed to have a highly communicative and modern style, which resulted in a loss of the specific style of the Luther Bible, something that the German church and public were not willing to accept. A more conservative revision followed in 1984 and the last revision was published in 2017. The 2017 edition actually restored some of Luther’s phrasing and terminology that had been replaced by earlier versions as long as they still reflected the meaning of the original Greek or Hebrew text.

For other idioms or terms in German that were coined by Bible translation, see here.

complete verse (Luke 11:33)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 11:33:

  • Noongar: “‘No person lights a fire stick and hides it or covers its light. He lifts up the flame so people can see the light when they come inside.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘No person lights a lamp and hides [it] or covers it with a pot. A lamp is definitely put on its putting-place so that its shine is seen by people who enter.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Isa said yet, ‘There is nobody who lights a lamp and then hides it or covers it with a tall rice basket. But he places it on it’s lampstand so that those coming in will see the light.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And Jesus spoke again saying, ‘Nobody lights a lamp and hides it or puts in underneath an upsidedown basket, but rather, he places it on underneath an upside down basket, but rather, he places it on a holder and when a person comes in, he is illuminated.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Then Jesus continued parabling, ‘No one lights a lamp to then put it in a blocked-off-place or cover it with a basin but rather he sets-it-on-top (of something) so that it will be bright/light if a person enters.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “And then Jesus said next, ‘No one lights a lamp and then hides it or covers it with a ganta-measure. On the contrary he will really put it on a stand/rest, so that the people who are entering will see its light.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 11:33

Exegesis:

oudeis luchnon hapsas ‘nobody, after lighting a lamp…’ cf. on 8.16 and references there.

eis kruptēn tithēsin ‘puts it in a cellar.’

kruptē ‘dark and hidden place,’ ‘cellar.’

[hupo ton modion] ‘under the peck measure,’ or, ‘measuring vessel.’

epi tēn luchnian scil. tithēsin ‘(he places it) on the lampstand,’ cf. on 8.16.

hina hoi eisporeuomenoi to phōs blepōsin ‘so that those who come in may see the light,’ cf. on 8.16.

Translation:

For the first and third parts of this verse see 8.16.

Cellar, or, ‘hole’ (Bahasa Indonesia), ‘place-under-the-house,’ i.e. between the poles on which the floor of a house is built (Javanese, Toraja-Sa’dan), ‘storeroom,’ ‘(place) where people put away (or, hide) things.’

Under a bushel. In some languages ‘under’ would suggest that the bushel is put on the light with the bottom down; hence, ‘overarches (it) with a bushel’ (cf. Javanese, Tae’ 1933), ‘puts a vessel over it’ (Sranan Tongo). For bushel one may use the term for any kind of vessel or basket, used to measure (or keep) cereals, and normally found in a house.

Quoted with permission from Reiling, J. and Swellengrebel, J.L. A Handbook on the Gospel of Luke. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1971. For this and other handbooks for translators see here . Make sure to also consult the Handbook on the Gospel of Mark for parallel or similar verses.