snow (color)

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The Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic that is translated in English as “(as white as) snow” is translated in San Miguel El Grande Mixtec as “(as white as) volcano frost,” the only white kind of frost that is known in that language (source: Nida 1947, p. 160.). Likewise, it is translated in Chichewa as matalala or “hail stones,” since “hail in Central Africa, when it occurs, is also white” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 72).

In Obolo it is translated as abalara: “white cloth” (source: Enene Enene), in Bambam and Bura-Pabir as “like the white of cotton” (source: Phil Campbell in Kroneman 2004, p. 500 and Andy Warren-Rothlin), in Muna as “white like cotton flowers” (source: René van den Berg), in Sharanahua as “like fresh Yuca root” (source: Holzhauen / Riderer 2010, p. 72), in Tagbanwa as “white like just broken waves” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation), in Chitonga as “as the cattle egret ” (source: Wendland 1987, p. 130), in Nabak as “white as a white cockatoo ” (source: Grace Fabian ), and in Cerma “white like the full moon,” except in Psalm 51:7 where the Cerma translators chose “wash me with water until I shine” (source: Andrea Suter in Holzhauen / Riderer 2010, p. 36).

In Gbaya, in most cases an ideophone (term that expresses what is perceived by the five senses) is employed to depict strong intense whiteness (either ndáká-ndáká or kpúŋ-kpúŋ are used for the ideophones), sometimes in combination with “cotton.” Interestingly, for Rev. 1:14 where the color of the hair of the “Son of Man” is described, the use of cotton was questioned since it “would create the unpleasant image of an untidy person with disheveled hair or of a mourner with unkempt appearance.” It was eventually used, but only with a footnote that gives additional information by mentioning the French loan word neige for “snow.” In the two cases where the color white refers to the color of the skin of leprosy (Num. 12:10 and 2 Kings 5:27), the image of hail is used in the first to describe the pale white of leprous skin, while the ideophone ndáká-ndáká is used for dramatic effect in the second. (Source: Philip Noss)

See also frost and this devotion on YouVersion .

hyssop

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated in English as “hyssop” is translated in Lokạạ as yisoki. Yisoki “is the name of a local bitter herb that is used for ritual cleansing in the traditional religion. It was, therefore, perceived by the translators as functionally adequate for ‘hyssop.’ The translation is thus symbolic in that it uses an indigenous Lokạạ botanical term and simultaneously indexical in that the translators believed that the translation points to the functional significance of the incipient term.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

Translation commentary on Psalm 51:7

The psalmist prays for forgiveness: Purge me with hyssop. The verb is the intensive form of the verb “to sin,” and means (as Anderson picturesquely puts it) “to de-sin” or “un-sin.” Hyssop was a small bush plant used for sprinkling water or blood on things and people in ceremonies of atonement and purification (see Exo 12.22; Lev 14.1-7; Num 19.1-6, 16-19). Good News Translation has chosen to abandon the literal language and give the meaning, since it is not ritual purification the psalmist prays for but inner forgiveness. So Bible en français courant “Cause my fault to disappear, and I will be pure.”

The verb wash is the one used in verse 2a.

In the parallel lines of verse 7, line b‘s metaphor whiter than snow represents going beyond line a‘s I shall be clean. The intensification may be reflected by rendering line b, for example, “More than that, wash me and I will be whiter than snow.”

The expression wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow presents the translator with several problems. In some areas where snow is unknown or where, in spite of the presence of snow, it is not used as a proverbial likeness of something that is very white, it is necessary to avoid the word snow. In some languages it may be satisfactory to use some other article for comparison. However, in this case it is not the suitability of comparison of whiteness so much as it is the meaningful use of the comparison that is important. Consequently the translator must select for his language the solution that is the most natural and meaningful for the readers. One may say, for example, “and I will be white as…,” where the dots represent some local object known for its whiteness, or one may say “and I will be very white.” It is also appropriate to translate “and I will be very clean,” since it is the purification by the removal of sin that is in focus. If it is necessary the translator can also employ a simile to indicate the figurative aspect of the cleanliness.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .