The Greek term that is translated in English as “bread” or “loaf” is translated in Samo, it is translated as “Sago,” which serves “like ‘bread’ for the Hebrews, as a generic for food in the Samo language. It is a near-perfect metonymy that has all the semantic elements necessary for effective communication.” (Source: Daniel Shaw in Scriptura 96/2007, p. 501ff.)
In Chol it is translated as waj, the equivalent of a tortilla. (Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)
John Beekman (in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 180f. ) explains: “The word ‘bread’ in Scripture primarily occurs as either a specific term for bread (including the Lord’s Supper), or as a generic term for food. It is not surprising, however, the some aboriginal groups use something other than bread as the staff of life. The Chols, with their cultural focus in the cultivation of corn, use waj, a type of thin corn flake. Since a meal is not complete without this main item of food, the term has been extended to include any other foods which may be served along with waj. While bread is known to them, its use is limited to a few occasions during the year when it functions as a dessert. In translating this term in the Chol New Testament, consistent use has been made of the word waj whenever the function of bread as a basic food was in focus. John 6:35, “I am the bread of life,” was thus translated with this word. If the word for bread had been used, it was feared that the Chol would compare Christ to the desirable, but not absolutely necessary, dessert.”
Robert Bascom adds his thoughts to this in relation to other Mayan languages (in Omanson 2001, p. 260): “In many Mayan languages, ‘bread’ can be translated waj or kaxlan waj. The first term literally means anything made from corn meal, while the second term literally means ‘foreigner’s waj,’ and refers to the local wheat-based sweet breads which are so popular within the broader European-influenced culture of the region. On the one hand, waj would be a better dynamic equivalent in cases where ‘bread’ meant ‘food,’ but in cases where the focus is literal or the reference well-known, kaxlan waj would preserve a flour-based meaning (though in biblical times barley was more in use than wheat) and not insert corn into a time and place where it does not belong. On the other hand kaxlan waj is not the staff of life, but refers to a local delicacy. In cases such as these, it is even tempting to suggest borrowing pan, the Spanish word for ‘bread,’ but native speakers might respond that borrowing a foreign word is not necessary since both waj and kaxlan waj are native terms that cover the meaning (though in this case, perhaps not all that well).”
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated into English as “bless” or “blessed” in relation to food or drink is translated into San Mateo del Mar Huave as “place holiness on,” into Chol as “give it his good word” in Central Tarahumara, and into Southern Subanen as “pray(ed) about it” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida 1961), and into San Blas Kuna as “put (one’s) mind to (one’s) Father” (source: Claudio and Marvel Iglesias in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 85ff.).
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 14:22:
Uma: “While they were eating, Yesus took bread and he prayed-over-it saying thank you to God. After that, he chunked it and offered it to them, he said: ‘Take it, eat it. This is my body.'” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “While they were eating, Isa took bread and after he had given thanks to God, he broke it (in pieces) and gave it to them. He said, ‘Take it. This bread is my body.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And while they were still eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, and he gave thanks to God, and he broke it and gave it to his disciples, and he said, ‘This is my body; eat it.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “While they were still eating, Jesus took some bread and thanked God. Then he broke-it-repeatedly-into-pieces and gave it to his disciples saying, ‘Take this, because this is my body.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “When they were still eating, Jesus picked up bread and then gave thanks to God. After he had given thanks, he divided it and then gave it to those disciples of his. He said, ‘Here, take it and eat it, for this is my body.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Willy Wiedmann, the artist, commented on this picture: “In spite of some difficulty, and unlike Leonardo da Vinci [see here ] I did not set my last supper in a theatrical scene with Jesus in the center behind an elongated table with all the disciples, with two at each end so that that there are 11 seated behind the table. And not like the panel by Juan de Juanes (1623-79) [see here ] in which the six disciples left and right are very dynamic figures. And also not like Martin Schongauer’s Last Supper [see here ] with a slightly shorter table (also incidentally very similar to Juanes in the attitudes of the figures) and two figures seen from the back in the foreground of the panel. Instead I have given the Master the middle place to the foreground, with his back to us to finally leave the controversial Jesus-existential questions unanswered. Slightly symbolically it means that he is leaving his world. The iris color is meant to transfer the rainbow to Jesus, that God once linked to Noah (my kingdom is not of this world). I attempted to present answers that correspond to the characters of each individual.”
Image and text taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here .
For other images of Willy Wiedmann paintings in TIPs, see here.
Painting by Wang Suda 王肅達 (1910-1963),
Copyright by the Catholic University Peking, China.
Text under painting translated from Literary Chinese into English:
Beginning of the Holy Communion
You have this as food and this is my body.
Image taken from Chinese Christian Posters . For more information on the “Ars Sacra Pekinensis” school of art, see this article , for other artworks of that school in TIPs, see here.
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
The narrative portion of this verse is built upon a succession of three participles and three finite verbs: esthiontōn … labōn … eulogēsas eklasen kai edōken … kai eipen ‘while (they) were eating … (he) taking … blessing he broke and gave … and said.’
labōn (cf. 6.41; 8.6; 14.23) ‘taking’: from the table, where it would be with the food.
eulogēsas (cf. 6.41) ‘blessing’: as noticed in the study of the verb in 6.41, eulogeō and eucharisteō (next verse) both refer to the same action of ‘blessing God,’ i.e. praising God, being both the equivalent of the Hebrew barak. The Jewish “blessing” which was spoken over the bread was, “Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, king of the world, who causest bread to come forth from the earth” (Jeremias).
eklasen (cf. 8.6) ‘he broke (into pieces).’
labete ‘(you) take (it),’ i.e. the piece of bread which Jesus gave to each of them.
touto estin to sōma mou ‘this is my body’: whatever interpretation be given to this saying, the translation must faithfully represent the plain meaning of the words. Such translations as ‘this means my body’ (Moffatt), or ‘this represents my body’ (Williams) are not to be recommended.
Translation:
He should be rendered as ‘Jesus’ in a number of languages since the immediately preceding third person singular referent is the one who is to betray the Son of man.
For bless see 6.41 and 11.9, 10.
Take may require an object, e.g. ‘take this’ or ‘take these pieces of bread.’
Body must not be translated as ‘corpse.’ The closest equivalent in some languages is ‘my meat and bones’ (which is equivalent to body) or ‘myself,’ also used to identify the living body in which one dwells.
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 .
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