addressing God

Translators of different languages have found different ways with what kind of formality God is addressed. The first example is from a language where God is always addressed distinctly formal whereas the second is one where the opposite choice was made.

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight

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.

In these verses, in which humans address God, the informal, familiar pronoun is used that communicates closeness.

Voinov notes that “in the Tuvan Bible, God is only addressed with the informal pronoun. No exceptions. An interesting thing about this is that I’ve heard new Tuvan believers praying with the formal form to God until they are corrected by other Christians who tell them that God is close to us so we should address him with the informal pronoun. As a result, the informal pronoun is the only one that is used in praying to God among the Tuvan church.”

In Gbaya, “a superior, whether father, uncle, or older brother, mother, aunt, or older sister, president, governor, or chief, is never addressed in the singular unless the speaker intends a deliberate insult. When addressing the superior face to face, the second person plural pronoun ɛ́nɛ́ or ‘you (pl.)’ is used, similar to the French usage of vous.

Accordingly, the translators of the current version of the Gbaya Bible chose to use the plural ɛ́nɛ́ to address God. There are a few exceptions. In Psalms 86:8, 97:9, and 138:1, God is addressed alongside other “gods,” and here the third person pronoun o is used to avoid confusion about who is being addressed. In several New Testament passages (Matthew 21:23, 26:68, 27:40, Mark 11:28, Luke 20:2, 23:37, as well as in Jesus’ interaction with Pilate and Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well) the less courteous form for Jesus is used to indicate ignorance of his position or mocking (source Philip Noss).

In Dutch and Western Frisian translations, however, God is always addressed with the formal pronoun.

See also female second person singular pronoun in Psalms.

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

Even at the time of his translation, Jerome likely was not the only one making that decision as this recent article alludes to.

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff.)

See also Moses and Elijah during the Transfiguration.

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 1:8

Remember: The concept of remembering is a very common and important one in the Old Testament. It occurs several times in this book (4.14; 5.19; 6.14; 13.14, 22, 29, 31). The primary idea is recalling events that took place in the past, but this concept is often used with a present or future sense; that is, the past should be recalled so that action will be taken in the future. The action that is called for may be a reward or it may be punishment. Here Nehemiah pleads with God or urges God to “think about” or “reflect on” what he said to Moses in the past and to take action accordingly. The word naʾ is used in Hebrew with the imperative verb Remember to indicate urgency. Good News Translation has translated this as “now,” while Bible en français courant renders it “yet.” New Jerusalem Bible translates “I beg you.” In modern English usage, Contemporary English Version translates “Please.” See the comment on verse 6 above.

Word is the object of the verb Remember. Nehemiah asks God to recall the word that he commanded to Moses. However, although the Hebrew word for word is singular in form, it does not refer to a single word (compare Ezra 1.1). Instead, it refers to the covenant agreement that God made with his people from which Nehemiah quotes an essential part. In some languages the object of the verb will be the “thing” that God told to Moses, and in others it will be necessary to use a plural form, for example, “words.”

Which thou didst command thy servant Moses: Note the repetition from the preceding verse. Although command is an appropriate translation of the Hebrew verb here when applied to commandments and decrees in the previous verse, a literal translation perhaps should not be used in this context. For example, for the first part of this verse, New International Version translates “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses,” while Contemporary English Version says “Please remember the promise you made to Moses.” Nehemiah cites the blessings that will result from keeping the covenant between God and Israel and the curses that will result from not keeping it.

Saying: This translates the Hebrew infinitive construction that introduces the quotation that Nehemiah will repeat. Most English versions omit a direct rendering of this expression because it is unnecessary. It follows the verb of speaking that has already been translated as command (Good News Translation “told”). The whole introduction to the quotation may be rendered “Remember nevertheless the word that Moses addressed to us on your behalf” (Bible en français courant).

If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples: The pronouns you (first occurrence) and I are emphatic in Hebrew, giving a solemn tone to this statement. Good News Translation makes explicit that God was speaking to the Israelites and not to Moses alone by rendering you as “you people of Israel.” A covenant agreement is based on a condition. If something takes place, there will be a direct consequence of that event or act. The condition here is unfaithfulness. The Hebrew word for unfaithful here is a verb whose basic meaning is “to act treacherously, to be faithless” (see Ezra 9.2, where Revised Standard Version has “faithlessness”; 10.2, where it has “broken faith”; and 10.10, where it has “trespassed”), and it is used for breaking an oath or a covenant. Some languages may say “If you [plural] are not straight….” The result of this act will be that I will scatter you among the peoples. The action of scattering is to cause people to disperse in different directions so that they are no longer together. This is the same verb that is used when God caused humankind to scatter all over the world from the Tower of Babel (Gen 11.4, 8-9). Nehemiah recognized that the condition had been fulfilled. Indeed, the people of Israel had been scattered among the peoples because they had been unfaithful to the covenant relationship with God.

The Hebrew word ʿam in the singular means “people” or “nation” and is often used to refer to the people of Israel in contrast to other nations (see Ezra 1.3; 8.15). The plural form ʿammim as used here and rendered peoples refers to “other nations” (Good News Translation) or “foreign nations” (Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant).

Nehemiah summarizes Deut 30.1-4 in verses 8b-9 but his words are recorded as though he is directly quoting what God said to the people of Israel when he established the covenant with them. The text uses a direct quotation within a direct quotation. In some languages it may appear to be more natural style to restructure this second level quotation in the form of indirect quotation; for example, “You told him that if we were unfaithful…” (Contemporary English Version). However, doing this may have the effect of weakening the impact of the words because they are no longer direct as they are in the original text. Translators will need to use the appropriate form of quotation to make the levels of quotation and their meaning clear and strong.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .