Lost in Translations

#54: “Lost in Translations” by Brendon Wahlberg
We should always be aware that when we read an English Bible, we are reading a translation of the original language. The actual wording may vary, depending on which translation we have before us. It can be eye-opening to choose a passage and compare how it reads in different translations. Some will be very literal, and others will be loose paraphrases in modern English. Even the meaning of the passage can seem to change, depending on the translation. Let’s try a comparison, shall we?
To make this more interesting, let’s choose one of the most difficult-to-understand passages in the entire Bible, Exodus 4:24-26. This is a brief story of how Moses is attacked by God on the way back to Egypt. God is suddenly ready to kill Moses. Only the strange intervention of Moses’ wife saves the life of her family.
Here it is, in the translation we use at Calvin, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). “On the way, at a place where they spent the night, the Lord met him and tried to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' feet with it, and said, "Truly you are a bridegroom of blood to me!" So he let him alone. It was then she said, "A bridegroom of blood by circumcision.”
This is a strange little story, which raises many questions. Scholars have argued over its meaning and proper translation for many years. For example, when Moses’ wife says “bridegroom of blood”, what does she mean? Why did God try to kill Moses? How did Moses’ wife stop it? Why did she touch Moses’ feet with the…ahem…object? Let’s look at some more translations and see if that helps us to understand.
The King James Version (KJV) is the classic of English literature, but some find its language to be too old fashioned: “And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said , Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.” Indeed, to modern ears, the KJV, with “thou art”, may feel like a small step backwards in understanding.
The NRSV and the KJV are fairly literal translations. But there are other translations which (for better or worse) put aside strict faithfulness to the original text in favor of a more readable, contemporary experience. One of these is the New Living Translation (NLT), which has been sold under the title “The Book” (as seen on TV). The NLT has this: “On the journey, when Moses and his family had stopped for the night, the Lord confronted Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah, his wife, took a flint knife and circumcised her son. She threw the foreskin at Moses' feet and said, "What a blood-smeared bridegroom you are to me!" (When she called Moses a "blood-smeared bridegroom," she was referring to the circumcision.) After that, the Lord left him alone.” Reading a paraphrase like the NLT can be easier, as you can see. Sadly, in this case, easier English does not help with our deeper questions.
Let’s look at another paraphrase, and see how other translators handled the mystery. This one is from “The Message” translation (another paraphrase). “On the journey back, as they camped for the night, God met Moses and would have killed him but Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off her son's foreskin, and touched Moses' member with it. She said, "Oh! You're a bridegroom of blood to me!" Then God let him go. She used the phrase "bridegroom of blood" because of the circumcision.” Here is a difference. The other versions have Zipporah tossing the…ahem…object at Moses’ feet. But “The Message” version recognizes that “feet” might be a biblical euphemism for genitals, and has Zipporah touching the…object…to Moses’…item. However, the reason for doing either act is still very murky, and the meaning of “bridegroom of blood” is still elusive.
Curiously, it does not help us very much to go to a Jewish translation; the Jewish Publication Society Bible (JPS) is just as cryptic as most of the rest. “At a night encampment on the way, the Lord encountered him and sought to kill him. So Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin, and touched his legs with it, saying, “You are truly a bridegroom of blood to me!” And when He let him alone, she added, “A bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision.”” A footnote states only that “Meaning of verses 26-26 uncertain.” One might think the JPS version would offer more insight into the Hebrew text.
Here is a translation from the “Contemporary English Version.” Notice how this version’s footnotes (which I inserted) offer two very different versions of some of the verses, in an attempt to make the whole story clearer. “One night while Moses was in camp, the Lord was about to kill him. But Zipporah circumcised her son with a flint knife. She touched his [Either Moses or the boy] legs with the skin she had cut off and said, "My dear son, this blood will protect you." [Or "My dear husband, you are a man of blood" (meaning Moses).] So the Lord did not harm Moses. Then Zipporah said, "Yes, my dear, you are safe because of this circumcision." [Or "you are a man of blood."] But there is quite a difference between saying to her son, “you are safe” and saying to her husband, “you are a man of blood”. Which is correct? It is amazing how ambiguous or uncertain the ancient languages can be for us in the present. Each of these translations may be able to make the English a little clearer, but we are still confused as to what the story actually means, because the translators are not sure. Because it can be hard to recover the meaning of certain ancient words and expressions, sometimes no one is sure.
Yet another interesting translation inserts explanations and clarifications right there in the text. This is the “Amplified Bible” and the words in brackets are added by the translator: “Along the way at a [resting-] place, the Lord met [Moses] and sought to kill him [made him acutely and almost fatally ill]. [Now apparently he had failed to circumcise one of his sons, his wife being opposed to it; but seeing his life in such danger] Zipporah took a flint knife and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it to touch [Moses'] feet, and said, Surely a husband of blood you are to me! When He let [Moses] alone [to recover], Zipporah said, A husband of blood are you because of the circumcision.”
Okay, with that last version, we are far from the familiar NRSV where we started, but we are starting to get down to what some scholars believe is the meaning of the passage. There is no definitive explanation, but we can take a look at a couple of interpretations that make sense. A possible explanation begins with the commandment (in Genesis 17:12-14) to circumcise one’s children. “Throughout your generations every male among you shall be circumcised when he is eight days old, including the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring. Both the slave born in your house and the one bought with your money must be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.’”
As the Amplified Bible version suggests, Moses has failed for some reason to carry out the commandment and circumcise his son Gershom. Was he forgetful, or, as the Amplified Bible suggests, did his wife object and prevent it from happening? It is possible to speculate that Zipporah, who was a Midianite, objected to the operation for cultural or personal reasons. In the passage, God is ready to kill Moses. Is it because of this failure? Moses was the special messenger of God. Perhaps Moses, of all people, could not be allowed to get away with not observing a central commandment of the Covenant. Moses, and maybe also his son, are to be “cut off.” The Amplified Bible version suggests that God afflicted Moses with severe illness. Perhaps for that reason, it was up to his wife to take action when Moses could not. Grabbing a flint knife, Zipporah does what she must in order to save her family. Was she furious and afraid? Did she hurl the results at Moses’ feet in anger, calling him a bloody husband, upset at being forced to do what she did? Was that the meaning of the enigmatic phrase, bridegroom of blood?
There is another possible meaning, say other scholars. Perhaps Zipporah never objected to the circumcision, and it was an oversight that it was never done, or an omission by ignorance. Look at the Contemporary English Version again. There the translation suggests that Moses’ wife took quick and heroic action to protect her son. I found a discussion online by someone named Rabbi Hord, who suggested that the Hebrew which is translated as “bridegroom of blood” (hatan dimim), has roots in an older language called Akkadian (spoken in Midian), where it means “to protect”. If this is true, then perhaps Zipporah never called Moses a Bridegroom of Blood at all, but merely said that she was protecting him with her actions.
So now we have seen some of the different meanings that can result from reading different English Bibles. All of the translations above are, nevertheless, still generally similar to each other. To see just how different a pair of translations can be, take a quick look at the following two translations of Matthew 6:9-13.
KJV: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
The Message: “With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what's best— as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Wow.