become one flesh

The Greek and Hebrew that is often translated into English as “(the two) shall become one flesh” is translated as “become just one” in Copainalá Zoque and San Mateo del Mar Huave or with existing idiomatic equivalents such as “become one blood” in Mitla Zapotec, “become the complement of each other’s spirit” in Tzeltal (source for this and above Bratcher / Nida), “become one body” in Uab Meto (source: P. Middelkoop in The Bible Translator 1952, p. 208ff. ), or “tie with wife as one, so that they tie one insides” in Luang (source: Kathy and Mark Taber in Kroneman [2004], p. 539).

In Tataltepec Chatino it is translated as “the two shall accompany each other so that they no longer seem two but are like one person,” in Choapan Zapotec as “when the man and woman live together in front of God, it is as if just one person,” and in Mezquital Otomi as “they aren’t two, it is as though they are one.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

See also I am your bone and flesh.

complete verse (Mark 10:8)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 10:8:

  • Uma: “so that those two people become like one person.’ So, in God’s sight, a married couple is no longer two people, they have become one person.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “and what was two become one body now.’ So-then they are no longer two bodies,’ said Isa, ‘but they are one body now.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And the married couple, they are no longer two people, but rather, they have become one.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “and they become one.’ Therefore they are not two but rather just-one.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Well it’s none other than, they are now like one body-entity. That’s why it’s like they are no longer to be said to be two people still, for it’s like they are now one body-entity.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Mark 10:7 – 10:8

Text:

The clause kai proskollēthēsetai pros tēn gunaika autou ‘and he shall be joined to his wife,’ is omitted by Tischendorf, Nestle, Westcott and Hort, Lagrange, and Taylor, but included by Textus Receptus, Soden, Vogels, Souter, and Merk.

Exegesis:

heneken toutou kataleipsei ‘on account of this (he) will leave,’ ‘because of this (he) will forsake.’

heneken ‘on account of,’ ‘because’ (at 8.35; 10.29 it has the specific meaning ‘for the sake of,’ ‘in behalf of’).

kataleipō (12.19, 21; 14.52) ‘leave behind,’ ‘forsake.’

The quotation is from Gen. 2.24, Adam’s statement that because the woman was made from his bone and his flesh, on this account a man will leave his father and mother, etc.

proskollēthēsetai (Eph. 5.31) ‘shall be joined to’: the verb proskollaō means literally ‘to glue to.’

kai esontai hoi duo eis sarka mian ‘and the two shall become one flesh.’ The rather unusual construction esontai … eis ‘shall be … into’ is the Septuagint literal translation of the Hebrew hayah le and means simply ‘shall become,’ ‘shall be.’

sarx (13.20; 14.38) ‘flesh’: the phrase ‘one flesh’ denotes a relationship more intimate and binding than any other (cf. Lagrange, Rawlinson). In the O.T. when appeal is made to loyalty springing from family relationships the phrase ‘my bone and my flesh’ is used (cf. Gen. 29.14; 37.27; Judges 9.2).

Translation:

For this reason is often translatable simply as ‘because of this,’ referring back to the previous statement.

Leave must not be understood as ‘abandoning’ or ‘forsaking,’ but as ‘leaving the house of his father and mother’ or ‘no longer living with his father and mother.’

Joined to his wife should be translated with care or the connotations of sexual intercourse are likely to be introduced. Though of course this relationship is implicit in the statement, any explicit reference is likely to be regarded as vulgar. In some translations the equivalent expression is merely ‘will live with his wife.’

Two shall become one, if rendered literally, is an impossible expression in many languages. For example, in most Bantu languages the element ‘two’ requires a plural prefix and the unit ‘one’ in the predicate of the expression would need to have this same prefix, but a plural prefix simply cannot be used with the numeral one. There are, however, quite proper ways of saying essentially the same thing, e.g. ‘the two different people shall be just as though they are one person.’ This introduces noun expressions (required in many languages) and changes the metaphor to a simile, but in many languages this is a distinct gain in intelligibility – in fact, the only type of expression which can convey the meaning of the original.

In some translations attempts have been made to render the Greek term sarx literally. In certain instances the results have been ludicrous. For example, in one language the meaning was literally ‘beefsteak.’ In other instances, the use of ‘body’ has been attempted, but in certain cases even this has proved awkward, and at times vulgar. Sometimes the bare numeral ‘one’ can be used, e.g. ‘become just one’ (Copainalá Zoque, San Mateo del Mar Huave). In other cases the languages already possess an idiomatic equivalent, e.g. ‘become one blood’ (Mitla Zapotec) and ‘become the complement of each other’s spirit’ (Tzeltal).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .