The name that is transliterated as “Elijah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “whirlwind” (according to 2 Kings 2:11) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)
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 name that is transliterated as “John (the Baptist)” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language and Mexican Sign Language as “baptize” (source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)
“John the Baptist” in Mexican Sign Language (source: BSLM )
In German Sign Language (Catholic) it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying a Catholic baptism by sprinkling on the head.
In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the letter J and the sign signifying “shout,” referring to John 1:23. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“John” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
A question of cultural assumptions arose in Tuvan. The instinctive way to translate this name denotatively would be “John the Dipper,” but this would carry the highly misleading connotation that he drowned people. It was therefore decided that his label should focus on the other major aspect of his work, that is, proclaiming that the Messiah would soon succeed him. (Compare his title in Russian Orthodox translation “Иоанн Предтеча” — “John the Forerunner.”) So he became “John the Announcer,” which fortunately did not seem to give rise to any confusion with radio newsreaders! (Source: David Clark in The Bible Translator 2015, p. 117ff.)
In Noongar it is translated as John-Kakaloorniny or “John Washing” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Following is a Syriac Orthodox icon of John the Baptist from the 18/19th century (found in the Cathedral of Saints Constantine and Helen, Yabrud, Syria).
The wings are often depicted in icons of John the Baptist because of his status as a messenger. The scroll that John the Baptist holds quotes John 1:29 and reads (translated into English): “I saw and witnessed concerning him, ‘Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.’”
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 )
“In the religious cultures of Asia, it is often believed that people are blind because of their past karma. The blind often resort to begging in order to survive. Here the blind man stretches out his arms in a polite way to receive a donation but instead he connects with a healing touch. The onlookers are shocked to see Jesus making physical connection with a lowly beggar with bad karma.”
Like many languages (but unlike Greek or Hebrew or English), Tuvan uses a formal vs. informal 2nd person pronoun (a familiar vs. a respectful “you”). Unlike other languages that have this feature, however, the translators of the Tuvan Bible have attempted to be very consistent in using the different forms of address in every case a 2nd person pronoun has to be used in the translation of the biblical text.
As Voinov shows in Pronominal Theology in Translating the Gospels (in: The Bible Translator 2002, p. 210ff.), the choice to use either of the pronouns many times involved theological judgment. While the formal pronoun can signal personal distance or a social/power distance between the speaker and addressee, the informal pronoun can indicate familiarity or social/power equality between speaker and addressee.
Here, individual or several disciples address Jesus with the formal pronoun, expressing respect. Compare this to how that address changes after the resurrection.
In most Dutch as well as in Western Frisian and Afrikaans translations, the disciples address Jesus before and after the resurrection with the formal pronoun.
Following are a number of back-translations of Mark 8:28:
Uma: “They said to him: ‘There are some who say you are Yohanes the Baptizer come back to life. There are also some who say you are the prophet Elia. There are also some who say you are a prophet of long ago who has come back to life. ‘” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
Yakan: “They answered, they said, ‘There are people who say that you are ko’ Yahiya who bathed people being alive again. Others also say that you are ko’ Nabi Eliyas. And there are also some who say that you are ko’ one of the prophets of old.'” (Source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “And they answered, they said, ‘There are some who say that you are John the Baptist raised from the dead, and some say that you are ancient Elijah, – and others say that you are one of the ancient prophets of God.'” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “‘Some say that you (sing.) are Juan the Baptizer. Others say that you (sing.) are Elias, and others also say that you (sing.) are one of the prophets of long-ago,’ they answered.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Tagbanwa: “His disciples replied, saying, ‘Some say you are Juan who was baptizing. Well as for others, they say you are Prophet Elias. Well there are those too who say you are one of the prophets of the past who has come alive again.'” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
Choapan Zapotec: “… ‘Some say, John the Baptist, who lives again, and others say that you are Elijah who lives again, and others say that you are a man who preached God’s word a long time ago who lives again.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):
Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Instead of eipan autō legontes hoti ‘they told him (that)’ of all modern editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus has apekrithēsan ‘they answered.’
Exegesis:
hoti (the first one) is recitative, introducing direct speech, and thus not translated.
Iōannēn ton baptistēn, kai alloi lian, alloi de hoti heis tōn prophetōn ‘John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, One of the prophets.’ Cf. 6.14-16 for these three estimates of Jesus.
By the use of quotation marks a translation can make clear the nature of the answer given by the disciples: their own words include the whole phrase beginning with ‘John the Baptist’ and ending with ‘prophets.’ In their answer they quote three opinions about Jesus held by different people, and these three are separately included in quotation marks as quotations also.
Iōannēn … Ēlian ‘John … Elijah’: in the accusative case, presupposing the same grammatical construction as of the previous verse, i.e. hoi legousin se einai Iōannēn ‘some say you are John’ kai alloi legousin se einai Ēlian ‘and others say you are Elijah.’
alloi de hoti heis tōn prophētōn ‘but others, One of the prophets’: here the direct form is used, and heis ‘one’ is in the nominative case (Textus Receptus, wrongly, has the accusative case), presupposing alloi de legousin hoti su ei heis tōn prophētōn ‘but others say you are one of the prophets.’
hoti is recitative, introducing direct speech (‘One of the prophets’), and thus not translated.
Translation:
Told may be ‘answered.’
John the Baptist must in some languages be introduced in such a way that it will not appear that this was the conclusion of the disciples, e.g. ‘some men say John the Baptist….’
Baptist, since it is often translated by a verb form, must be carefully treated. In one language, for example, the wrong aspect of the verb was used and the resultant meaning was that John was still baptizing at the time of this conversation – something that was entirely contradictory to the events narrated in Mark 6. In Southern Subanen, for example, this phrase must be ‘John who was baptizing.’
Others say Elijah may require expansion, e.g. ‘others say, Jesus is Elijah’ or ‘others say that you are Elijah,’ depending upon the use of direct or indirect discourse.
Others one of the prophets may likewise need some filling in of elliptical elements, e.g. ‘still others say, He is one of the prophets’ or ‘still others say that you are one of the prophets.’
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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