synagogue, temple (inner), temple (outer)

In many English translations the Greek terms “hieron” (the whole “temple” in Jerusalem or specifically the outer courts open to worshippers) and “naos” (the inner “shrine” or “sanctuary”) are translated with only one word: “temple” (see also for instance “Tempel” in German [for exception see below] and “tempel” in Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans).

Other languages make a distinction: (Click or tap here to see more)

  • Navajo: “house in which worship is carried out” (for naos)
  • Balinese: “inner part of the Great Temple” (“the term ‘inner part’ denoting the hindmost and holiest of the two or three courts that temples on Bali usually possess”) vs. “Great Temple”
  • Telugu: “womb (i.e. interior)-of-the-abode” vs. “abode”
  • Thai: a term denoting the main audience hall of a Buddhist temple compound vs. “environs-of-the-main-audience-hall”
  • Kituba: “place of holiness of house-God Lord” vs. “house-God Lord”
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “deep in God’s house” vs. “God’s house” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022): “inner court of the temple” (Tempelinnenhof) vs. “temple”

Languages that, like English, German, Dutch, Danish, or Afrikaans don’t make that distinction include:

  • Mandarin Chinese: “聖殿 Shèng diàn” (“holy palace”)
  • Loma: “the holy place”
  • Pular: “the sacred house” (source for this and the one above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Zarma: “God’s compound”
  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “big church of the Jews”
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: “big house on top (i.e. most important)”
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house that is looked upon as holy, that is sacred, that is taboo and where one may not set foot” (lit. “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” — because taboo is violated — using a term that is also applied to a Muslim mosque) (source for this and the three above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Mairasi: Janav Enggwarjer Weso: “Great Above One’s (God’s) House” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Noongar: Maya-maya-Kooranyi: “Sacred House” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
  • Huehuetla Tepehua: “the big church of the Israelites”
  • Aguaruna: “the house for talking to God” (source for this and above: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
  • Guhu-Samane: “festival longhouse of God” (“The biiri, ‘festival longhouse’, being the religious and social center of the community, is a possible term for ‘temple’. It is not the ‘poro house’ as such. That would be too closely identified with the cult of poro. The physical features of the building, huge and sub-divided, lend it further favor for this consideration. By qualifying it as ‘God’s biiri’ the term has become meaningful and appropriate in the context of the Scriptures.”) (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Enga: “God’s restricted access house” (source: Adam Boyd on his blog)

Another distinction that tends to be overlooked in translations is that between hieron (“temple” in English) and sunagógé (“synagogue” in English). Euan Fry (in The Bible Translator 1987, p. 213ff. ) reports on this:

“Many older translations have simply used transliterations of ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ rather than trying to find equivalent terms or meaningful expressions in their own languages. This approach does keep the two terms separate; but it makes the readers depend on explanations given by pastors or teachers for their understanding of the text.

“Translators who have tried to find meaningful equivalents, for the two terms ‘temple’ and ‘synagogue’ have usually made a distinction between them in one of two ways (which focus on the contrasting components of meaning). One way takes the size and importance of the Temple to make a contrast, so that expressions such as ‘sacred meeting/ worship house of the Jews’ and ‘big sacred meeting/worship house of the Jews’ are used. The other way focuses on the different nature of the religious activity at each of the places, so that expressions such as ‘meeting/worship house of the Jews’ and ‘sacrifice/ceremony place of the Jews’ are used.

“It is not my purpose in this article to discuss how to arrive at the most precise equivalent to cover all the components of meaning of ‘temple’. That is something that each translator really has to work through for himself in the light of the present usage and possibilities in his own language. My chief concern here is that the basic term or terms chosen for ‘temple’ should give the reader of a translation a clear and correct picture of the location referred to in each passage. And I am afraid that in many cases where an equivalent like ‘house of God’ or ‘worship house’ has been chosen, the readers have quite the wrong picture of what going to the Temple or being in the Temple means. (This may be the case for the word ‘temple’ in English too, for many readers.)”

Here are some examples:

  • Bambara: “house of God” (or: “big house of worship”) vs. “worship house” (or: “small houses of worship”)
  • Toraja-Sa’dan: “house where-the-belly-gets-swollen” (see above) vs. “meeting house for discussing matters concerning religious customs” (and “church” is “house where one meets on Sunday”)
  • Navajo: “house in which worship is carried out” vs. “house of gathering” (source for all above: Bratcher / Nida)
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Herod’s temple (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Click or tap here to see a short video clip showing synagogues in New Testament times (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also this devotion on YouVersion .

complete verse (Mark 11:11)

Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 11:11:

  • Uma: “When Yesus arrived in the village of Yerusalem, he immediately entered the House of God. He looked around at everything. After that, because it was almost dark, he returned again with his twelve disciples to sleep in the village of Betania.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Yakan: “So-then when Isa arrived in Awrusalam, he went into the great prayer-house. He looked around at everything inside. Then he went out and went to Betani together with his twelve disciples because it was already afternoon.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Jesus and company arrived in Jerusalem, he entered into the high church of the Jews called the House of God. And when he had looked at all the things which were inside the church, he came out and since it was already evening he went to the village of Bethany with his disciples.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “When they arrived in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and he saw all that was there. Then he left and he and his disciples went to Betania, because it was already late-afternoon.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Jesus went straight into Jerusalem and entered the Templo. When he had looked around at everything inside, he went out for it was late afternoon already, therefore he returned to Betania, together with those twelve disciples of his.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Translation commentary on Mark 11:11

Exegesis:

hieron (11.15, 16, 27; 12.35; 13.1, 3; 14.49) ‘temple’: the whole area of the Temple in Jerusalem.

periblepsamenos (cf. 3.5) ‘looking around.’

opse ēdē ousēs tēs hōras ‘since the hour was already late.’

opse (11.19; 13.35; cf. opsia 4.35) ‘late’: presumably late afternoon, toward sunset (in 13.35 opse used as a noun stands for the first watch of the night – according to the Roman system – from 6:00–9:00 P.M.).

ēdē (cf. 6.35) ‘already,’ ‘by now.’

ousēs tēs hōras ‘the hour being’: the participle is causal, ‘because the hour was…’ (cf. 6.35 for a similar construction ēdē hōras pollēs genomenēs).

Translation:

Entered may need to be translated ‘arrive at,’ while ‘went into the temple’ may be quite satisfactory, since the object in this case is a building.

Temple is quiet generally translated as ‘God’s house,’ though there is in Greek a distinction between hieron including the entire temple area and naos, the sanctuary itself. In some instances, however, the temple is called ‘the big house of worship’ (Bambara), in order to contrast this with ‘the small houses of worship,’ which is the designation of ‘the synagogue.’ In some languages it is sufficient to designate the temple as ‘the holy place’ (Loma (Liberia)) or ‘the sacred house’ (Futa-Fula).

As it was already late may be placed after the main clause, e.g. ‘he went out to Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.’

For the translation of the twelve see 3.14.

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 .