41On the next day, however, the whole congregation of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”
The name that is transliterated as “Aaron” in English is translated in Catalan Sign Language and Spanish Sign Language as “stones on chest plate” (according to Exodus 28:15-30) (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)
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.)
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:
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).
But on the morrow all the congregation of the people of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron, saying: The Israelites still complained after the deadly message, so the conjunction But fits well here. New Revised Standard Version renders on the morrow as “On the next day” (similarly Good News Translation). For the Hebrew word rendered congregation (ʿedah), which is better translated “community,” see 1.2. For the verb murmured, see verse 14.2.
You have killed the people of the LORD: Good News Translation says “You have killed some of the LORD’s people” to describe the situation more accurately, since not all of his people were killed during the preceding events. However, this clause in Hebrew is an instance of hyperbole, so we do not recommend Good News Translation‘s model here. Its rendering diminishes the people’s exaggerated, even irrational emotional outburst. In fact, Moses and Aaron did not kill anybody; the rebels died due to the direct punitive action of the LORD. But Moses and Aaron are treated like scapegoats here—the people wanted to blame someone for the frustration that they were feeling. You renders an emphatic Hebrew pronoun, which may be expressed by saying “It is you who…” or “You two are the ones who….”
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.