The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated “boat” or “ship” in English is translated in Chichimeca-Jonaz as “that with which we can walk on water” (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.), in Chitonga as a term in combination with bwato or “dugout canoe” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72), and in Tangale as inj am or “canoe-of water” (inj — “canoe” — on its own typically refers to a traditional type of carved-out log for sleeping) (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin).
In Kouya it is translated as ‘glʋ ‘kadʋ — “big canoe.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains how the Kouya team arrived at that conclusion:
“Acts chapter 27 was a challenge! It describes Paul’s sea voyage to Italy, and finally Rome. There is a storm at sea and a shipwreck on Malta, and the chapter includes much detailed nautical vocabulary. How do you translate this for a landlocked people group, most of whom have never seen the ocean? All they know are small rivers and dugout canoes.
“We knew that we could later insert some illustrations during the final paging process which would help the Kouya readers to picture what was happening, but meanwhile we struggled to find or invent meaningful terms. The ‘ship’ was a ‘big canoe’ and the ‘passengers’ were ‘the people in the big canoe’; the ‘crew’ were the ‘workers in the big canoe’; the ‘pilot’ was the ‘driver of the big canoe’; the ‘big canoe stopping place’ was the ‘harbour’, and the ‘big canoe stopping metal’ was the ‘anchor’!”
In Lokạạ it is translated as ukalangkwaa, lit. “English canoe.” “The term was not coined for the Bible translation, but rather originated in colonial times when the English arrived in Nigeria on ships. The indigenous term for a canoe was modified to represent the large, ocean-going ship of the English.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Hebrew and Greek that is typically translated/transliterated in English as “unclean spirit” or “evil spirit” is translated in Paasaal it is translated as gyɩŋbɔmɔ, which is also the term used for “demon (see here. Wyɩŋbɔmɔ are “beings that are in the wild and can only be seen when they choose to reveal themselves to certain people. They can ‘capture’ humans and keep them in hiding while they train the person in herbalism and divination. After the training period, which can range from a week to many years, the ‘captured’ individual is released to go back into society as a healer and a diviner. The gyɩŋbɔmɔ can also be evil, striking humans with mental diseases and causing individuals to get lost in the wild. The Pasaale worldview about demons is like that of others of the language groups in the area.” (Source: Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
“In Thai society, those who are possessed by evil spirits are usually the weak or mentally unstable. This man is shown as freed from his spiritual and physical chains. Even though he is naked Jesus is not ashamed to be close to him.”
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 5:2:
Uma: “In that land of Gerasa, there was a person who was possessed by an evil-spirit. His dwelling was in the graves. He couldn’t be kept bound even with chains, for no kidding was he strong. Sometimes his feet and hands were bound, but he could always break the ropes and chains. Because he was so strong, no-one dared to guard him. Day and night he kept wandering among the graves and in the mountains, and he called out and wounded himself with rocks. So, just as Yesus got-off/descended from the boat, this possessed person appeared from the graves.” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “When Isa got out of the boat, a person/man came to meet him who came from the burying places. This person/man was demon possessed.” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And when Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a man who came from the burial caves.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Then Jesus got-out-of the boat.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “As Jesus got out of the boat, he was met by a person coming from the cemetary, who was possessed by an evil spirit.” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Instead of Gerasēnōn ‘Gerasenes’ of the great majority of modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus and Vogels have Gadarenōn ‘Gaderenes’ (the correct reading in Mt. 8.28).
Exegesis:
tēn chōran tōn Gerasēnōn ‘the region of the Gerasenes’ (cf. 1.5 for chōra ‘region’): for the exact identification of this region, which is disputed.
hupēntēsen (only here in Mark) ‘he met,’ ‘he encountered’; sometimes in a hostile sense (cf. Lk. 14.31).
ek tōn mnēmeiōn ‘out of the tombs,’ i.e. ‘coming out of the tombs’ (cf. Goodspeed, Manson, The Modern Speech New Testament).
For difficulties involved in expressions of ‘going to the other side,’ see 4.35.
The country of the Gerasenes may be variously translated, depending upon the usage of the receptor language in question, e.g. ‘land where the Gerasenes lived,’ ‘land which belonged to the Gerasene people,’ ‘region inhabited by the Gerasene tribe.’
The apposition involved in the expressions to the other side … to the country … may be treated in some instances as two paratactically combined clauses: ‘they went to the other side of the lake; this was the land of the Gerasene people.’
For problems involved in verbs for ‘coming’ and ‘going’ see 1.14. In many languages one must translate came to the other side as ‘arrived at the other side’ and come out of the boat as ‘went out of…’ or ‘climbed out of….’
The word tombs refers either to cave-like rooms cut into the rock or small mausoleum-like structures, which might provide some shelter for the demoniac. If people have a custom of burying the dead in such places, there is generally no problem, except where, as in one language, the informants insisted that the demoniac could not come out of more than one tomb at a time, hence, ‘met him, coming out of the tomb’ or ‘met him, coming from where the tombs were.’ On the other hand, if people bury only in holes in the ground, it would be quite misleading to imply that the demoniac came out of the graves in the ground. In such instances, the closest equivalent is usually ‘came from where the dead were buried,’ i.e. from the cemetery.
For unclean spirit see 1.26.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.