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)
The Greek that is typically transliterated in English as “Satan” is transliterated in Kipsigis as “Setani.” This is interesting because it is not only a transliteration that approximates the Greek sound but it is also an existing Kipsigis word with the meaning of “ugly” and “sneaking.” (Source: Earl Anderson in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 85ff. )
In Morelos Nahuatl it is translated as “envious one” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.) and in Tibetan: bdud (བདུད།), lit. “chief devil” (except in Rev. 20:2, where it is transliterated) (source: gSungrab website ).
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “Sabbath” in English is rendered as “day we rest” in Tzotzil, in Mairasi as “Jew’s Rest Day,” in Quiotepec Chinantec as “day when people of Israel rested,” in Shilluk as “day of God,” in Obolo as Usen Mbuban or “Holy Day,” and in Mandarin Chinese as ānxírì (安息日) or “rest day” (literally: “peace – rest – day”).
(Sources: Tzotzil: Marion Cowan in Notes on Translation with Drill, p. 169ff; Mairasi: Enggavoter 2004; Quiotepec Chinantec: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.; Shilluk: Nida 1964, p. 237; Obolo: Enene Enene; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)
In the old Khmer version as well as in the first new translation this term was rendered as “day of rest” (Thngai Chhup Somrak / ថ្ងៃឈប់សំរាក). Considered inadequate to convey its religious meaning (not only about cessation of work, but also in honor of Yahweh as the Creator), the committee for the Today’s Khmer Version (publ. 2005) decided to keep the Hebrew word and use its transliterated form Thgnai Sabath (ថ្ងៃសប្ប័ទ). “The Buddhist word Thngai Seil ‘day of merits’ used by some Catholics was once under consideration but was rejected because it did not receive unanimous support.” (Source: Joseph Hong in The Bible Translator 1996, p. 233ff.)
In Spanish, the translation is either día de reposo (“day of rest”) or sábado (usually: “Saturday,” derived from the Greek and Hebrew original. Nida (1947, p. 239f.) explains that problem for Spanish and other languages in its sphere of influence: “In translation ‘Sabbath’ into various aboriginal languages of Latin America, a considerable number of translators have used the Spanish sábado, ‘Saturday,’ because it is derived from the Hebrew sabbath and seems to correspond to English usage as well. The difficulty is that sábado means only ‘Saturday’ for most people. There is no religious significance about this word as the is with ‘Sabbath’ in English. Accordingly the [readers] cannot understand the significance of the persecution of Jesus because he worked on ‘Saturday.’ It has been found quite advantageous to use the translation ‘day of rest,’ for this accurately translated the Hebrew meaning of the term and resolves the problem in connection with the prohibitions placed upon some types of activities.”
In French Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts closing of the blinds of a store:
Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 13:16:
Noongar: “Now this woman is a descendant of Abraham. Satan has tied her up for 18 years. Why can’t she be freed on the Sabbath Day?'” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Uma: “But here, there is a woman, a descendant of Abraham, she has been tied for eighteen years by the King of Evil-ones. May we not free her from her bonds [lit., tyings] on Sabat Day?'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “This woman is a descendant of Ibrahim just like you. She has been tied by the leader of demons for eighteen years. Is she not entitled to be loosened on a day of-no-work?'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And here today is a woman who is very precious to God, and Satan has tied her up, or bound her, for eighteen years, and you will not allow her to be turned loose on the day of rest!'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “And here we have with us this descendant of Abraham whom Satanas has as if tied for eighteen years. Is it indeed (RQ implying of course not) bad if she was set-free from her sickness on the day for-resting?'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “Well now, this woman, who is indeed a descendant of Abraham, for eighteen years she has been as-it-were bound by Satanas. Isn’t it so that she needs to be as-it-were untied now, even though it is the Day of Rest?'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
tautēn de thugatera Abraam ousan ‘this (woman), a daughter of Abraham,’ emphatically placed at the beginning of the clause. tautēn is demonstrative pronoun used as a substantive. thugatēr Abraam denotes a female descendant of Abraham, i.e. a member of God’s people (cf. on 1.5).
hēn edēsen ho Satanas idou deka kai oktō etē ‘whom Satan has kept bound, mind you, for eighteen years.’ For Satanas cf. on 10.18. idou serves to focus the attention on the eighteen years.
deō (also 19.30) ‘to bind,’ here in the figurative meaning of being bound by sickness. The aorist tense has the force of a pluperfect and refers to a situation which only now has come to an end.
ouk edei luthēnai apo tou desmou toutou lit. ‘was it not necessary that (this woman) should be released from this bond.’ edei denotes obligation. luthēnai is equivalent to apolelusai in v. 12.
desmos (cf. on 8.29) ‘bond,’ here in the same figurative sense as deō.
Translation:
The sentence is often better divided in two sentences, one stating the case, e.g. “and here is this woman, …, who has been kept prisoner by Satan for … years” (New English Bible), ‘but this woman, …, well, already … years Satan has kept her fettered’ (cf. Balinese), and the other containing the rendering of the rhetorical question, e.g. ‘ought she not be freed…?,’ “surely she should be released…” (Phillips).
Ought not this woman … be loosed, or, ‘was it not right that this woman … be loosed’; or as a statement and shifting to an active construction, ‘surely it is my duty to (or, certainly I should) loose this woman….’
For daughter of Abraham cf. on 1.5, for Satan 10.18.
Bound … loosed from this bond. Because of v. 15 it is preferable to preserve the metaphor, if necessary shifting to a simile, or adding a reference to its meaning, cf. e.g. ‘bound with this sickness … loosed from this sickness’ (Dios Habla Hoy). Where this is impossible one must shift to a non-metaphorical rendering, e.g. ‘made ill … cured from this illness.’ Tzeltal combines two solutions, cf. ‘bound as it were by Satan … be helped.’
For eighteen years. The emphasis (expressed by the Gr. idou) has also been brought out by such renderings as, “for eighteen long years” (New English Bible), ‘a time up-to eighteen years’ (Javanese).
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.
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