Hard cases: idioms, word play, gender and untranslatable words

Program / Course 5: Biblical Languages / Lesson 5.3

What you will learn

• Recognize four kinds of translation difficulty: idiom, word play, gender and words with no English equivalent.
• Explain how translators handle each with notes, paraphrase or compromise.
• Describe the debate over gender in translation without taking sides unfairly.
• See why a footnote on a pun or a rare word is a mark of honesty.

The big idea

Some features of Hebrew and Greek cannot pass into English without loss. Idioms mean something other than their words. Puns and plays on sound depend on the sound of the original. Grammatical gender in the original and gender in English do not match. And certain words, such as hesed or logos, have no single English equivalent. Translators handle these by choosing one sense, adding a note or compromising. Seeing the problems helps a reader trust honest notes and distrust claims of an easy equivalent.

Key terms

Idiom

A fixed expression whose meaning is not the sum of its words, such as to bow the knee.

Pun (word play)

A use of words that sound alike or have more than one meaning to create a double effect.

Inclusive language

Wording that uses terms like people or humankind instead of man or men where the original refers to both sexes.

Grammatical gender

The classification of nouns as masculine, feminine or neuter. It does not always match the sex of what is named.

Gloss and note

A short explanation of a translation choice, placed in a footnote or in the margin.

Calque

A word or phrase made by translating a foreign expression piece by piece, so that it sounds odd in the new language.

Background

Every language has features that other languages lack, and the Bible is full of them. An experienced translator expects to meet four kinds of trouble. The first is idiom. The second is word play, which the biblical writers used often. The third is gender, where the practice of English has changed in recent decades. The fourth is the word with a wide field of sense, which no single English word covers. In each case the translator loses something, and the question is what to keep.

Honest translators say so. Footnotes that say Hebrew has a play on words here or Greek literally says are the translator’s way of telling readers that something was lost. A reader who ignores them misses much of the richness of the text.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Idioms

Hebrew and Greek idioms often make little sense when carried word for word into English. Old Testament writers speak of the nose burning for anger, the hardening of the neck for stubbornness and the bowels yearning for compassion. The King James Version of Colossians 3:12 speaks of bowels of mercies, from the Greek splagchna, the inner organs regarded as the seat of feeling. Modern versions put tender mercies or compassion.

A translator can keep the image and trust the reader to understand it, replace it with its sense, or keep it and add a note. Each choice has costs. The image may be lost on the reader, or the sense may be lost to the image. The best translators choose according to their aim and tell the reader.

Step 2: Word play

In Genesis 2:7 the Hebrew has adam, the man, formed from adamah, the ground. The sounds link the human being with the earth. English can preserve the link only by a device, such as human from humus, or by a note. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, in the Greek, that Peter is Petros and that on this petra he will build his church. In Aramaic, which Jesus probably spoke, the same word kepha would have been used for both. The sense of the rock has been understood differently across the churches. Catholics generally hold that the rock is Peter himself. Many Orthodox writers hold that it is Peter and his confession together, and many Protestants hold that it is Peter’s confession or Christ. The Greek play on words is part of the evidence in this debate, but it does not settle it.

Another pun is in John 3:3. The Greek word anothen can mean from above or again. Jesus’ hearer Nicodemus takes it as again, and the Gospel may be using the double sense on purpose. The King James Version has born again, and many modern versions put born from above, or give both in a note.

Step 3: Gender

Hebrew and Greek use masculine forms for groups that include both sexes. The Greek word adelphoi means brothers but is used in letters to churches that included women. The Hebrew word adam can mean a male person or humankind. For many centuries English did the same with man and brothers. In recent decades, usage has changed, and many readers now hear such words as excluding women.

Translators therefore face a real dispute. One view holds that a translation should keep the masculine form of the original wherever it appears, because the text’s wording carries meaning, and because changing it involves interpretation. The other view holds that a translation should say what the original said to its readers, and that brothers or man would now give a wrong impression, so that brothers and sisters or people is more accurate where the context shows both sexes. Versions such as the New Revised Standard Version and the updated New International Version use inclusive wording in such cases, while others, such as the English Standard Version, keep the masculine forms more often. The question has been debated warmly in several churches, and the Catholic instruction on liturgical translation has addressed it for worship texts. Some cases are clear and others are matters of judgment.

Step 4: Words with no English equivalent

Some words carry a field of meaning that English splits. Hesed in Hebrew combines loyalty, kindness and covenant faithfulness, and the King James Version uses mercy, kindness and lovingkindness for it. Logos in Greek means word, message, reason and account, as in John 1. Shalom means peace but also wholeness and welfare. Selah in the Psalms is a term whose meaning is unknown, perhaps a musical or liturgical direction, and many translations leave it untranslated. Hallelujah is carried over from Hebrew into nearly every language.

A translator may choose one English word, vary the word by context, transliterate the original or add a note. A reader should know that the word is an English choice and should check the range of the original word before building an argument on it.

1. Does this phrase make literal sense, or is it an idiom?
2. Is there a play on sound or sense that the English hides?
3. Does the original word include both sexes, and how does the translation treat it?
4. What are the main English renderings of this word across the translations I have?
5. Does a footnote tell me something was lost?
6. Am I treating a choice by the translator as if it were the original?

Examples

Different perspectives

Catholic

The Catholic Church has addressed inclusive language in its instruction on liturgical translation, which asked for fidelity to the masculine terms of the original in certain cases, while accepting wording suited to a general audience where the original meant both sexes. On the rock of Matthew 16:18, Catholic teaching holds that Peter is the rock.

Orthodox

Orthodox translators generally prefer close adherence to the Greek and the liturgical tradition, and the use of masculine terms for God is firmly retained. Orthodox commentators on Matthew 16:18 often see the rock as Peter’s confession, together with Peter himself.

Protestant

Protestants are divided on inclusive language. Some prefer the more literal masculine forms and see changes as unnecessary, while others hold that inclusive renderings convey the sense better. Both positions are held by evangelical and mainline scholars.

Jewish

Jewish translators too face the question of masculine forms in Hebrew. Some modern Jewish translations adjust gendered language for people while keeping traditional language for God.

Scholarly

Linguists agree that grammatical gender and sex differ, and that English usage has changed. They disagree about how far a translation should follow current usage, and about how much of a word’s range is lost by each choice.

Why it matters

These hard cases show that translation is a human art with limits. A reader who sees them is better prepared to read notes, compare versions and avoid arguments built on a single English word. The reader is also better prepared to disagree courteously about debates, such as the one over gender, where good people differ.

Common misunderstandings

Knowledge check

Think it through

1. Which hard case in this lesson surprised you most?
2. How do you want a translator to treat you as a reader when a pun is lost?
3. What would you want to know before judging a translation on the matter of gender?
4. How can people who disagree about Matthew 16:18 still read the text together fairly?

Independent assignment

Four hard cases in the text

In your own notebook, write 350 to 500 words. Find one example of each type in this lesson, using the verses named or others: an idiom, a word play, a passage with a gender question and a word with a wide range. Copy each from at least three translations. Note the choice each makes and any footnote. Write which choice you find most helpful and why, and what you cannot judge without the original. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study

• Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth See the discussion of translation and the differences among versions.
• Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church The Catholic Catechism on the interpretation of Scripture and the reading of Matthew 16:18.
• Jewish Publication Society, The Hebrew Bible in English (JPS translation) Compare how this translation handles wordplay in Genesis.
• Genesis 2:7 The adam and adamah play.
• Matthew 16:18 Peter and the rock.
• John 3:3 Again or from above.
• Colossians 3:12 Bowels of mercies in the King James Version.