Mary (mother of Jesus)

The name that is transliterated as “Mary” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with arms folded over chest which is the typical pose of Mary in statues and artwork. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


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

In American Sign Language it is translated with a sign for the letter M and the sign for “virgin,” which could also be interpreted as “head covering,” referring to the way that Mary is usually portrayed in art works. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


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

In the Burmese Common Language Version (publ. 2005), Mary is described as a king’s mother by using the royal noun suffix taw / တော် with the word “mother” in Matthew 1:16 and Luke 2:33. This is done to highlight the status of Jesus as a king or the divine Son. Othjer passages where taht is used include Matthew 2:11, 13, 14, 20, and 21. (Source: Gam Seng Shae, The Bible Translator 2002, p. 202ff.) See also Jesus’ human vs. divine nature in modern Burmese translation.

complete verse (Luke 1:39)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 1:39:

  • Noongar: “Afterwards, Mary got ready and she went to a village in the hills of Judea.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “From there, Maria left, going to a town in the hills of Yudea land.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “Not long after that, Mariyam got ready and hurried and went to a place in the hills there in Yahudiya.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “Now not long after that Mary got ready and quickly left because she was going to another village there in the mountains in the province of Judea.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When that was so, Maria got-ready and hurried to go to the house of plural Zekarias that was in a town in the mountain-country in Judea.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Without anything further, Maria packed-a-few-things. She hurried going to a town in the hilly place of Judea.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 1:39

Exegesis:

anastasa lit. ‘having risen.’

anistēmi transitive ‘to raise,’ intransitive (with middle forms) ‘to rise,’ often used with weakened basic meaning to indicate the beginning of an action (usually a motion); the verb is especially common of the preparation of a journey as here (cf. 15.18, 20; 17.19).

en tais hēmerais tautais lit. ‘in these days,’ goes with the whole clause. Its meaning is of a very general nature, cf. e.g. New English Bible, ‘about this time,’ but it refers usually to a somewhat shorter period than en tais hēmerais ekeinais (cf. 2.1; 9.36).

eis tēn oreinēn scil. chōran ‘to the hill country,’ of Judea, as v. 65 shows, possibly an echo of the Hebrew ha-har as an indication of the mountainous part of the area of Judah (cf. e.g. Jos. 9.1).

meta spoudēs ‘with haste,’ qualifies eporeuthē; several translators render both words in one expression as e.g. “hurried off” (Phillips, An American Translation).

eis polin Iouda ‘to a town of Judah,’ the territory occupied by the tribe of Judah in the time before the Exile. In the New Testament in this meaning only here and Mt. 2.6 in a quotation from the Old Testament; here it refers to the same area as that meant in v. 65.

Translation:

Arose, or, “set out” (New English Bible, similarly in Sranan Tongo, lit. ‘took path,’ and in Bahasa Indonesia, Tboli), ‘having started-off’ (Navajo), ‘got ready’ (Javanese).

Went … into the hill country, to a city of Judah, or in one phrase, mentioning the more specific first, cf. “went … to a town in the uplands of Judah” (New English Bible). Went, or, ‘journeyed’; distance, and the details such as descending or ascending, may influence the term to be chosen, cf. on 2.4. The hill country here comes near to a proper name, cf. ‘the High-lands’ in Scots. Some versions simply say, ‘the hills/mountains,’ as in Hebrew. For hill cf. also on 3.5.

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.