lamp

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

complete verse (Luke 15:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Luke 15:8:

  • Noongar: “‘Now if a woman had ten silver coins and she lost one of them, what will she do? She lights a lamp, she sweeps her house and she looks in all parts of the house and she only stops when she finds her coin.” (Source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Uma: “‘For example, there is a woman who has ten pieces of silver money. If one piece is lost, what does she do? She lights a lamp and sweeps her house, and she hunts for where it got lost, until she finds it.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “‘Or’, said Isa, ‘for example there is a woman who has ten gold coins (dublun now only used as jewelry) and-then she loses one, what does she do? Certainly she will light a lamp and sweep the house searching very well as long as she hasn’t found it.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And there was another parable that Jesus told them; he said, ‘There was a woman who was saving ten silver coins which were very expensive because they were all silver. What does she do if she loses one piece? What she does, is, she first lights a lamp. And then she sweeps her house and she carefully looks for it until she finds it.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Jesus continued parabling, ‘Now supposing there is a woman who has ten coins and (unexpected development particle) she lost one, what will she do? She will light a torch/light and will thoroughly sweep her house searching-and-searching until she finds it, isn’t that so?” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “‘Like that too,’ said Jesus, ‘supposing there is a woman who had ten pieces of hard money, each one being worth a day’s wages, and then suddenly/enexpectedly one was lost, what will she do? Isn’t it so that she will light a lamp? She will sweep the house well for she will search thoroughly for it until she finds it.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Luke 15:8

Exegesis:

ē tis gunē ‘or what woman…?’ ē introduces the second parable in question form, cf. on v. 3.

drachmas echousa deka, ean apolesē drachmēn mian ‘who has ten drachmas, if she has lost one.’ ean apolesē is equivalent to apolesas (cf. on v. 4).

drachmē (also v. 9) ‘drachma,’ Greek silver coin worth about 17 cents of a dollar. Ten drachmas is a very small possession.

ouchi haptei luchnon ‘does not light a lamp…?,’ cf. on 8.16. Interrogative ouchi (cf. on 4.22) introduces a rhetorical question as ou in v. 4. It also modifies the subsequent verbs saroi and zētei.

kai saroi tēn oikian ‘and (does not) sweep the house,’ cf. on 11.25.

kai zētei epimelōs ‘and (does not) search carefully.’ The object understood of zētei is the lost drachma. epimelōs.

heōs hou lit. ‘till the time when,’ equivalent to heōs (v. 4).

Translation:

Or, cf. 14.31.

Silver coins, or, ‘pieces of silver (money),’ or a local equivalent, e.g. ‘half-guilder’ (Batak Toba); in Muslim countries it may be possible to borrow or adapt the Arabic transliteration dirham.

Light a lamp (see 8.16) and sweep the house (see 11.25) serve to show that all is done to make the search referred to in the next clause successful. The rendering of the verb should express that the dust (or, dirt) on the floor is swept together to facilitate the search (not that it is simply swept out of the house, as is the case in one version).

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.