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Multilingual Heros
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How does many language knowledge benefit people?
You may or may not know first hand how any person you know benefits from their knowledge and experiences associated with knowing other languages.
Bible people are examples of people in general. Many can show concrete benefits in their lives as they lived their many walks of life in good and also in bad times.
Many Bible Heros were fluent or knew some words in other languages for a variety of reasons. These Bible Heros are the best role models for us. They are marked: Hero
There are many other "normal" Bible role models of people who went about their everyday lives. Sometimes they made good decisions, sometimes bad ones. They are indicated with: Example
The polyglot Bible Villains warn us in the Bible cautionary tales. They are labeled with: Villain
These Bible men, women and children teach us as a by-product of their stories in what kind of situations and why knowledge of languages is beneficial. Multilingual people can be in similar situations today! The key is God's Word.
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New: The evangelist Luke, physician
Luke was particularly interested in the healing ministry of Jesus, who healed body and soul. Commentators state that he was probably Gentile by birth and well educated in Greek culture. He was writing about Jesus, a Jewish man. He quoted about what happened in Zechariah's house, what happened with Mary and Elizabeth and what was said by Simeon and Anna. He could only have found out all the details without misunderstandings, if he interviewed all of them personally in their mother tongue.
Memorable words: Luke must have identified the healer/physician to others (like the repentant sinner about the Lord in Hosea 6:1.
We can identify healer/physicians to others now.
a) He will heal us.
b) He will bind up our wounds.
a) Er wird uns auch heilen.
b) Er wird uns auch verbinden. - German
a) Il nous guérira.
b) Il pansera nos blessures. - French
a) Egli ci guarirà.
b) Egli ci fascerà. Italian
a) Nos sanará.
b) Nos vendará. - Spanish
New Gomer, Hosea's wife
Gomer, at least bi-cultural and bi-lingual, became the forgiven wife of Hosea.
She had said, "I will go after my lovers."
Later she said, "I will go back to my husband."
Hosea paid for her, like a slave, with money and grain to buy her back from her "Baal", her owner, master and lord. Hosea then gave her strict instructions as to her subsequent conduct.
Gomer was a follower of the Canaanite, Phoenician and Syrian Baal religion that included human sacrifice and temple prostitution. Her grandmother, whose name may have been "Sacred Raisin Cake", probably was the one who named Gomer's mother by the sensual name Diblaim, a "Cluster of figs". Then at least 3 generations of Gomer's family were involved with the cultures and languages of Jews and the Canaanites.
Memorable Gomer words:
a) I will go after _______. Hosea 2:5/+
b) I will go back to _____. Hosea 2:7/+
a) J'irai après ______.
b) Je retournerai vers _____. - French
a) Seguirò _____.
b) Ritornerò a ______- Italian
a) Iré tras _____.
b) Regresaré a ______.-Spanish
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Multilingual Heros and Villains of New Testament Times
Hero: Jesus Christ is a worthy multilingual Hero - He communicates with all the languages of the Holy Spirit. During his earthly time, he particularly communicated in his heart language of Aramaic, which is similar to Hebrew. His parents probably taught young Jesus some Egyptian too which they had learned in Egypt. He grew in wisdom and in knowledge. Recently I heard on TV that Jesus grew up near a trading "big city" where they spoke a lot of Greek. If Joseph and Jesus wanted to get commissions for carpentry work, they would have to be conversant in Greek too.
Jesus grew in stature and in wisdom. He amazed the teachers at the temple. One way that would do it, would be to use original languages of Bible commentaries of the times of Jesus and of the times before that, that the scholars knew.
For his ministry on earth and his friendships with his disciples, he also knew enough about other languages. He communicated with the Samaritan woman at the well. He travelled extensively and came across foreigners too. At the time of his passion, Jesus was in various courts where the languages included Latin/Roman and Greek.
Even in death, his cross was labelled in three scripts.
As a human, Jesus learned languages wisely as he came across them and as he needed them.
As God, Jesus knows all godly communication.
Here is a memorable quote Jesus used to comfort his disciples and us that we in turn can use to comfort our friends:
I will come back. John 14:(3)
Jeg kommer igen. - Danish
Je reviendrai. - French
Ich komme wieder. - German
Ritornerò. - Italian
Vendré otra vez. - Spanish
Heros: Mary and Joseph - Jesus' parents spoke Aramaic, - yet...to fit in they must have spoken some Egyptian when they fled their homeland to Egypt. Mary was thankful to God in this God provided situation too. She would exclaim: My spirit rejoices in God my Savior. They fled after they were warned by the Angel of the Lord that Herod wanted to kill their son. Had they learned Egyptian before they left? Probably not. Yet in Egypt they needed to speak, particularly so they would accept and understand the instructions for carpentry work. Perhaps they even took on Egyptian names during the time of refuge in Egypt. Certainly a change of names would keep the Holy Family safer from Herod's spies, safeguarding especially their son. She could have learned her song in Egyptian too.
Mary's husband was a special caregiver, talked about often in relation to others. Luke 1:27; Mat 1:16; Luke 3:23(Matt 13:55; Matt 13:55) He was an action man. Carpenter, probably a carpenter's son, son of Jacob, descendant of David, Jesus' supposed father and husband to Mary. He had a mother and other relatives. People talked about him with questions. Isn't he the carpenter? Mark 6:3 Yet, he DID have a name.
A memorable Joseph phrase that reminds us gently that all people have names is:
a man named Joseph Luke 1:27
un homme nommé Joseph - French
ein Mann mit Namen Joseph - German
un uomo chiamato Giuseppe - Italian
imieniem Józef - Polish
un hombre que se llamaba José - Spanish
A memorable Mary phrase that can be used today with or without reference to God, our Saviour, especially when someone shouts out "Are you happy yet?" is:
My spirit rejoices! Luke 1:47
Mon esprit se réjouit. - French
Ich bin glücklich. - German
Il mio spirito esulta. - Italian
exultavit spiritus meus - Latin
Mi espíritu se alegra. - Spanish
Became heros: The Magi Some say the magi had the names of Baltazar, Kaspar and Melchior. The magi spoke their native languages. They were well learned men who wrote too in the languages from the EAST and places that led through the EAST- perhaps Persian, African and some Asian languages - They probably spoke a common language, a lingua franca, otherwise how would they understand each other and agree to travel. Perhaps we know the traditional names of the magi because they were so different and quite "unpronouncable", so much so that people challenged each other to learn them. If people did not forget their names because of oral history traditions, then we might even be able to determine their origin.
The magis' knowledge in all areas along with their communication language knowledge kept them in their influential stations of life AND in their case led them to the KING of KINGS. Somehow they were even not deterred by looks...the humble looks of this NEW king.
A memorable phrase from the NT Magi story that helped them reach their goal to find THE new king and one that helps us now to keep our calendars and appointments is:
the exact time Matthew 2:7
préciser le moment - French
genau die Zeit - German
il tempo con esattezza - Italian
el tiempo exacto - Spanish
Heros: Anna, the prophetess; Simeon Luke 2:32 + 36-38
Examples: and the temple priests and other personnel
They spoke many languages to communicate with the various Jews who came to visit from many lands. Simeon was seeking to see the Messiah before his death. He knew that God had a plan for the Gentiles, so he must have talked to them and found out that God was preparing them. He knew that Jesus was a light for revelation to the Gentiles. Anna, the prophetess, first addressed anyone and spoke to those who would really listen! They became good at telling the origin of various people by their languages, accents, habits and clothes.
Became a hero: The Syro-Phonecian was Greek and lived near Tyre and Sidon. She was arguing with Jesus in a home not her own, about healing her daughter who was home. Perhaps she learned her colourful language, because she spoke many languages. She needed to, to fit into all the cultures impacting on her life. Her daughter was healed. Wouldn't you think that this loving mother taught her daughter the languages she knew? Mark 7:24-30
Memorable words of the Syro-Phonecian Greek woman's argument and words we can use even today to agree and object with finesse are:
Yes. But _____. Mark 7:28
Oui. Mais_____. - French
Ja. Aber _____. - German
Sì. Ma _______. - Italian
Tak. Lecz ____. - Polish
Sí. Pero _____. - Spanish
Evet. Ama ____. - Turkish
Became a Hero: The Samaritan woman at the well
She was a multicultural woman as she was interested different people. This even at the "lowest" point in her life, when she chose or was forced to go to the well at noon, the hottest and most unpleasant time of the day.
She communicated with Jesus, who normally would be shunned and excluded from her group. She spoke with Jesus in the common trade language and/or her dialect.
This Samaritan identified Jesus as a Jerusalem-centered believer, perhaps by some means such as symbols, speech, habits and clothes.
Re: John 4:1-26
A memorable Samaritan woman quote that was perhaps technically true is:
I have no husband John 4:17
Unë nuk kam burrë. - Albanian
我 没 有 丈 夫. - Chinese
Je n'ai pas de mari. - French
Ich habe keinen Mann. - German
Non ho marito. - Italian
Não tenho marido. - Portugese
У меня нет мужа. - Russian
No tengo esposo. - Spanish
Sina mume. - Swahili
Villain: Judas Matthew 10: 2, 6-8
Was he multilingual? First Judas was with the apostles healing, cleansing, driving out demons, who speak in various tongues. He did not need to go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans, so he did not need to know those languages, except if those people were seeking him or the apostles out. Judas handled the money for Jesus' group, so he may have known about currency exchanges at least for donations coming from far away Jewish communities. This was good so far. Judas' choice to betray Jesus was not good however. Worse was that he did not repent of his betrayal in the manner of Peter. There were 2 languages used in the betrayal by Judas--Hebrew, his heart language and Latin, that the Roman authorities spoke.
Memorable words spoken by Judas that can be used for good...
Greetings. Matthew 26:49
Buď zdráv. - Croatian
Salut. - French
Sei gegrüßt. - German
Bonswa. - Haitian (Good evening.)
Salve. - Italian
Vær hilset. Hallo. - Norwegian
Witaj. - Polish
Радуйся. Здравствуй. - Russian
Salve. - Spanish
Selâm. - Turkish
Examples: The moneyexchangers and merchants at the temple of Jerusalem
Jesus overturned the tables at the temple market, since he insisted that the temple itself be a house of prayer. Did these merchants and moneyexchangers learn from the experience? Did they repent, change their way to put God first? All of them had been vying for customers in the "wrong" location and they probably sold items both for religious worship and for peddling rooms at inns etc. Just about anything for profit. They had multilingual and sales skills to make a living among competitors and among the temple visitors from near and far away. If they all decided to move their market, then they all would be on an equal footing. Did they? It doesn't say. Those that repented immediately could not stay where they were. They had skills and the choice to set up shop and/or work outside the temple area selling items and services in God's plan. They would need to learn the extra key words necessary in their new job in the various languages of visitors to have an edge on their unilingual colleagues. They could learn from others who knew key wordings already. They could learn on the job by asking their customers:
What is this? and
How do/can you say:____ Jeremiah 2:23/John 14:9
Comment dis-tu:_____? Comment dirais-tu:______?- French
Wie sagst du:_____? Wie kannst Du _____ sagen?- German
_____ which means _____ and
How much?
The costs (are):______. Ezra 6:4 (truncated)
Les frais (seront):______. - French
Die Kosten (sind/(trägt)):______. - German
La spesa (sia):______. Italian
El gasto (sea):______. Spanish
I will give you the price of it in money. 1 Kings 21:2
Je te paierai la valeur en argent. - French
Ich gebe dir Geld als Kaufpreis dafür. - German
Ti darò l'equivalente in denaro. - Italian
They would need to know numbers, simple arithmetic their customers could understand, various currencies and their names. They would get to know the value of their items to their customers. If of good value they would be bought and if too expensive or of poor quality, not. They would be aware of new techniques, fashions etc. and visible traditions of various customers.
Became a hero: The Prodigal Son
Jesus told this story, that surely features a "ficticious" person made up of composite features of the majority of people.
The Prodigal Son went as far away as he possibly could as fast as he could. He set off ...
to a distant land Luke 15:13
pour un pays éloigné - French
in ein fernes Land - German
per un paese lontano - Italian
a un país lejano - Spanish
In this distant land he made many mistakes. He flaunted his money. He may have thought he was better than the people where he was, after all they kept pigs. They did not believe in the One God of the Hebrews. He probably didn't make an attempt to learn the language and relied on people in the land who spoke his language. He was a taker and didn't think of being a giver. He therefore made no deeper relationships. He wanted to forget his past, so he may have drunk, filled his time with silly activities. He did not look for a job before the famine struck that whole land. Then the young man tried to pull in favours. He allied himself with one man, who had probably used him, who probably couldn't help him anyway, since in a famine he needed to look after #1, himself, what was his and maybe if he was nice enough, his family. Nobody gave the prodigal any food, not even the leftovers. Maybe people didn't understand him and his needs and were offended that he hadn't learned to speak their language enough. But then, the prodigal had few choices and probably couldn't help but learn a few offensive words in the language of his host. He could figure out that the words were hateful by the tone of voice, by the eye contact, the body language and by the heinous laughter. He'd have to ask for the exact meanings. So he learned swear words and basic survival words such as water, food, roof...and ...help me.
The prodigal had left for a distant country for the wrong reasons. Contrast Joseph in Egypt and the Ruth and Naomi stories. They built themselves a survival net in the new country and kept their basic survival net in the old. This included the improvement and at least the keeping of the knowledge of their new and their mother tongues. These people had to leave their familiar surroundings and chose to go to distant lands for good enough reasons.
Villainous Model, feared or liked:
Pilate - He was sent to Judea - to understand plots and to govern, he learned at least the minimum local language.
-he knew the official language
-he ordered a trilingual sign on Jesus' cross
When he "recognized" the kingship of Jesus, did he repent of giving into the wishes of the mob because he was afraid...perhaps to loose his job? We will not know his ultimate relationship with God who could even forgive his actions.
Became Heros:Simon, of Cyrene and his sons Rufus and Alexander Mark 15:21
God had a plan for this family. Simon and his sons became Jesus witnesses by seeming 'chance'. They went about their days in Jerusalem as visible minority people. Then the father was picked out of the crowd to carry the cross. Picked out and 'picked on'? Humiliation or opportunity? That experience empowered them to witness about Jesus in their home area of African Cyrene and in all the places that they travelled. Why was this family in Jerusalem? If they were traders, they spoke a few languages and some words in many. They were in key positions to have prepared the way for the Holy Spirit in many new believers.
Potential heros: The 4 soldiers who gambled for Jesus' robe understood Roman orders and dealt with people in Judea. They may have come from various countries, speaking their mother tongues as well as snipets of languages of where there units were stationed. Joining the Roman army meant more security of food, lodging, travel opportunities etc. They enjoyed status and the hated occupier status. In this line of work, they had to do some menial and distasteful work...like guard duty of executed prisoners. But...someone had to do it...and joining up would have given them the right to become Roman citizens. Did they repent? They were Jesus witnesses! Maybe they did not recognize the importance of Jesus at the time...but the robe or gambling again or seeing believers would remind them of the innocent man and the signs at his death. God can certainly forgive their types of sins! John 19:23- 24
Became a hero: The Roman Centurion who recognized the true Jesus when he was dying on the cross and repented - gave orders in Roman/Latin and dealt with Judeans
He, along with those who beat their breasts in repentance, were credible witnesses in years to come for all kinds of people from the "ends of the earth".
They could testify as to Jesus' behaviour, prayers, statements as well as the signs that happened at Jesus' death. Darkness, the temple curtain being torn, the sun stopping and the quakes.
Mark 15: 39, 44-45; Luke 23: 47/48
Became heros: The 11 apostles who saw the risen Jesus at a meal - were asked "to go to the ends of the world and PREACH to all creation." Mark 16:15 - They would have to learn many languages to do that!
Heros: The disciples in Acts 2:5-12 spoke with tongues of fire, so that each listener heard them in their own tongue in God's way. Parthians, Medians, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Cappadocians, people from Pontus, from Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Libiyan Cyrene, Rome, Crete and Arabia.
Became heros: These listeners from just about everywhere re: Acts 2:5-12 were able to speak to each other "in tongues" and because some spoke 2 or 3 languages and someone was available to translate to a few at a time.
Heros: Peter and John preached in the Samaritan villages.
In villages you have more unilingual people than at crossroads and cities. So Peter and John had to speak the varieties of local Samaritan language too.
Acts 8:25
Hero: Dorcas(her Greek name) Acts 9:36-39
She, like many multilingual people, had at least 2 names. Her other one was Tabitha (her Hebrew/Aramaic) name. Her name had a meaning and so she would have a name in any place where a Gazelle is known. If she would live in an English-speaking place now, her name would be Gazelle.
Dorcas lived in Joppa, a Greek area, and was healed using her Hebrew name.
She dealt with widows of all kinds, including widows of sailors, and their children and of course with anyone buying her fine needlework pieces. She was well liked and communicated in the common languages well enough for her purposes.
Became a hero: Cornelius, the Centurion in the Italian Regiment in the Book of Acts, Chapter 10
- was known by people in all the Hebrew areas; good reputation
- had to deal with his Roman superiors
- had to deal with his soldiers
- had to deal with his regiment when they wanted to make unwelcome advances or fraternize with the governed Hebrew people
- was not perturbed to seek help from those staying with craftspeople, such as tanners
(The Centurion's family and servants)
- was not perturbed to seek out Hebrews, when in prayer the angel of God told him to do this
- had various Gentiles come together to meet Peter and those with him to be ready for whatever God had in store.
They received the Holy Spirit, spoke in tongues and then were baptized.
Hero: Manaen, foster brother of Herod Antipas in Acts 13:1
Herod Antipas grew up a child at the multilingual palace in Jerusalem. Manaen heard many languages spoken by envoys and others. This Herod studied with his brother Archelaus in Rome. It is possible that Manaen studied in Rome too, returning "home" with his two brothers after their studies. He surely would have been an asset to their "study group". Many years later, after Stephen was stoned, believers, including Manaen (unless he came a little later or had been there already), were scattered to the hubs of the world, in this case Antioch. Men from Cyprus and Cyrene came there too. Acts 11:19-20
Barnabas and Saul, who later was known as Paul, also went to Antioch for a year. Acts 11:26
Manaen was part of this multi-cultural believers' group of leaders. They laid hands on Barnabas and Saul. After these 2 left with an John Mark as assistant, they would have had to replace them in the prayer group to have enough men for a quorum. So Manaen would have prayed with the others to replace the 2 and the John Mark in his faith capacity. It's likely other knowledgeable multi-cultural people joined them, since God wanted the believers to spread the Word.
Hero:Simeon, "the black", from the church at Antioch, in today's Turkey
Heros: Lucius, "from Cyrene", in northern Africa at Antioch, that was supposed to be founded by a Syrian in 300 B.C.Acts 13:1
These were men listed with Manaen. They were of African origin and probably spoke a variety of languages, probably not the same. They also spoke a common tongue. They were among those who laid hands on Saul/Paul and Barnabas to pray for the Holy Spirit to equip them for their commission of missionary work.
Villain: Elymas (his translated name), aka Bar-Jesus, sorcerer, false prophet Acts 13:6-12
He was working in the capital of Cyprus, Paphos, with the Pro-consul of Rome Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. Elymas tried to withstand Saul/Paul and Barnabas but was blinded by God.
Hero: Timothy Acts 16:1
Timothy came from a bicultural family.
Acts 16:1: He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.
He most probably spoke Hebrew and Greek.
He probably also spoke the Lycaonian language, since Timothy "lived" in Lystra. (Acts 14:8,11)
Became Heros: The commissioned believers who were sent out two by two.He sent them out two by two and gave them authority. Mark 6:7
Il les envoya en mission deux par deux, en leur donnant autorité. - French
Jeweils zu zweit sollten sie in seinem Auftrag durch das ganze Land ziehen. Er gab ihnen die Vollmacht. - German
He/Jesus sent them out. Each one for a purpose to reach everybody. The pairs were picked for their spiritual and other gifts after prayer.Two could help each other with languages. If both speak a common language, and each speaks another one, they could minister in 3 languages. They could also teach each other the language they didn't know before from each other. The Spirit of God can pave the way. With God anything IS possible. Or if each partner speaks the first language very well and the other language only a little, they can help each other learn quite quickly. It's a matter of co-operation. The language exchange would be sure to satisfy the partners!
Hero: Lydia, the Purple Seller Acts 16: 14,40
- was in Phillipi, Macedonia
- dealt with various customers, suppliers, tailors and fine dressmakers, such as Dorcas or her professional friends
- prayed at the water's edge
- understood Paul praying, who was praying with the Jews
Hero: The desciple John on Patmos John, a Hebrew was exiled on a Greek prison island in the Great Sea (Mediteranean) by Rome. He proclaimed the Good News publicly...probably in the local language (Rev 1:9). He also supernaturally spoke in the language of the angel sent by God (Rev. 1:1).
Surely John was also interested in learning Latin, the language of his accusers so he could defend himself in any trial.
Any co-prisoners would have spoken other languages. It would be in their interest to help each other and communicate.
He wrote to the seven churches in the province of Asia (today's Turkey) Rev 1:4
What was his crime?
Didn't he bow to the "God" Emperors?
Members of 2 churches of Revelations
Would-be heros: Members of 5 churches of Revelations
In Revelations John wrote to the 7 churches in the Roman province of Asia--today's Turkey. 2 of the churches were found without fault.
The 7 churches included former Gentiles, who spoke various languages, since they were in ports or at crossroads.
(The "order" of the heros is under construction...
Multilingual Bible Heros...)
Heros: The writers of the Gospels and other Bible books
They saw and heard the witnesses of Jesus tell their testimonies in various tongues and dialects and wrote down in Greek for us to understand God's son better.
Examples: The copyists, interpreters, translators, guardians and distributors of Scripture
Bereans, who studied the Scriptures daily and who compared the meanings of words, phrases etc.
People of God were and are interested in accuracy, in true meanings re: word studies within and between languages. But there are some who do this for their own purposes. People like Simon, the sorcerer would(Acts 8:9 and 19). Notice his aims were foiled.
Examples: parents who give their children Biblical names or their variants
Parents have given their children Biblical names for a variety of reasons. Faith reasons, tradition, they like the meaning or the pronunciation, the length of the name is good or...these names are international for children of bi/multicultural backgrounds. Joseph, Peter, Aaron, Paul, Mary, Elisabeth, Rose, Pearl, (Rhoda), Rosemary...and many more. These children benefit, since they have automatic names in many languages today.
> Time Frame: around the beginning of the first Century A.D.
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Became heros: The scattered because of the persecution of Stephen people of Acts 11:19 spoke in the language of the Jews and encountered other people. In Antioch people spoke Greek. In Phoenicia and Cyprus they spoke other languages or dialects. These people were able to communicate or learned whatever language they needed when they arrived. They proclaimed the Good News where scattered.
Became a hero: Paul, the Apostle was able to ask: "Do you speak Greek?" (Acts 21:38)and when the answer was yes, he was able to continue his legal arguments in that language. Of course, he also spoke his parents' language, Aramaic. He appealed to the Emperor in Rome, who spoke Latin. Years previously, Paul had persecuted Christians in many places. He had been a strict Pharisee and had lived in cosmopolitan Jerusalem. Mother and Father both came from Jewish families.
Philemon? and his mentor???
Philip, the apostle, was able to deal with Greek visitors in John 12:20 before the Holy Spirit came and gave language gifts at Pentecost. Seems he was able to deal with general problems visitors had at other times too.
Later, he travelled quite a bit. In Acts 8:5 he travelled in Samaria. In Acts 8:26/27 he explained the Scriptures to the Ethiopian Eunuch in his language or the eunuch spoke and understood Aramaic. In Acts 8:40 Philip travelled to Azotus. Philip must have picked up key words and phrases to get by better. Philip was well read. He referred to what was written about Moses and quotes in the law in John 1:45. Jesus had asked the disciples to minister to the lost sheep of Israel. Philip was very outgoing everywhere he went. He certainly could discuss the law with fellow "Law" readers in all the places he travelled. Philip had many people who could explain texts to him! Each local Law Reader would be able to teach about commentaries and the text in the local languages! What a way to learn!!
A memorable question Philip asked (and the given answer) was:
a) Do you understand what you are reading? Acts 8:30
A suitable request answer was:
b) How can I, unless someone explains it to me?" Acts 8:34
a) Comprends-tu ce que tu lis?
b) Comment le pourrais-je, si je n'ai personne pour me l'expliquer?
- French
a) Verstehst du auch, was du liest?
b) Wie soll ich das denn verstehen, wenn es mir noch niemand erklärt hat!
- German
a) Capisci quello che stai leggendo?
b)E come lo potrei, se nessuno mi istruisce?
- Italian
a) ¿Entiendes lo que lees?
b) ¿Y cómo podré, si alguno no me enseñare?
- Spanish
The Ethiopian Eunuch represented the Ethiopian Queen, the Kandake (Candace). The people who get sensitive jobs like that must be aware of culture and languages. For such official and diplomatic errands, the Eunuch would be selected since he was already trained and fluent in common languages. He would endeavor to learn more. He may have used the services of translators some of the time. If he did, he learned from them. He spoke at least enough Aramaic to get by. The time frame of his Bible story is during his return trip home. Hadn't he just bought the scroll he was reading? Ethiopians would generally be very interested in the Law scrolls. They have traditions that claim that Solomon sent sons of his government people to the Queen of Sheba's realm a thousand years before. Maybe he knew he was one of their descendants. The Eunuch had already been busy studying the scroll as Philip came up to him. Philip explained words and ideas, pointed out important selections, answered questions-- all in just ONE SITTING. The Ethiopian understood and decided on his action plan.
A useful memorable phrase in this story for when you need a higher up decision maker (who may just speak a language you know or knows of using tranlators) is:
an important official Acts 8:27
un haut dignitaire - French
un funzionario - Italian
um oficial importante - Portuguese
Multilingual Bible Villains -
they were heros for some people -
The signmaker who made the sign on Jesus' cross -
(S)he was able to write in 3 languages.
Was (s)he a villain? Did (s)he repent as others around Jesus at the cross? God can forgive the sins of the signmaker.
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Multilingual Heros and Villains of Old Testament Times
Cautionary Examples: The people of Babel
God confused the speech of people at Babel.
Why? Because they abused power. Also because some of them wanted to be greater than God.
God took away the power of understandable speech. He took away a skill set that they always had before.
Taking this obvious knowledge away should have made the people think to re-evaluate their lives and their relationship with God.
The people of Babel had the choice to repent just like every sinner.
Became a hero: Moses was brought up at the Egyptian court, where he was exposed to ambassadors. He had some low key on-going relationship with his biological family while growing up, where he learned Hebrew. Then he escaped to Midian, where he lived for 40 years and married, learning the language there. Moses truly was a multilingual role model.
Zipporah...?
Jonah, the reluctant hero, and the sailors who wanted to chuck him overboard...
Jonah spoke his home language well and was gifted by God to proclaim information understandable to the people of Nineveh. He tried to go in the opposite direction to Tarshish (likely Spain). Jonah didn't need the language of Nineveh going to Tarshish. On the way he spoke with ship owners, dockworkers, sailors and passengers.
No person was disturbed by his nationality, as long as he paid his passage or worked. Sailors weren't disturbed by his nationality, until their ship was in trouble! They get to be very good at telling where people come from by their accents, customs, dress and manners.
They were a bit baffled by Jonah and just wanted to confirm their hunch of where Jonah came from.
They asked:
"What is your country?" Jonah 1:8
Jonah needed help with this question asked most likely in various languages at the beginning of his journey. But not later!
He couldn't help learning some foreign words quite well ... suitable in Tarshish and in Nineveh and everywhere in between.
Jonah is a talented multilingual role model.
Became a hero: Brother Joseph in the old testament - He spoke to his Hebrew family, to the trading Ishmaelites during his slavery-time, prisoners from many origins, and with the Egyptians when he conducted government business. He needed excellent and varied language skills to keep that level of trust and responsibility. Notice he was always in demand! Today searchers are still trying to identify his Egyptian name, which may be totally different. (Just witness O.T. Daniel's names!)
> Time Frame: End of Book of Genesis time - Middle Bronze Age...
Example: Joseph's Hebrew Interpreter Genesis 42:23
The verse says that Joseph used an interpreter even though he could understand Hebrew perfectly well. This means that
a) Joseph's Interpreter was THE BEST. Joseph could pick the absolute best interpreter among all the interpreters for language and for diplomatic purposes, since he could evaluate their knowledge himself quite objectively. He probably picked a Hebrew/Egyptian bicultural, bilingual interpreter. He may have had a mother from one group and a father from the other.
b) The Hebrew Interpreter was not present when the brothers talked among themselves, or he would have translated for Joseph, both the good and the bad. The brothers would have had their guard up.
c) The interpreter had status at court. He would be available to translate at normal business and diplomatic times. He would be on call at any time for Joseph in emergencies, especially if Pharaoh wanted something relating to Hebrew concerns.
d) Joseph found that he could get informal and unfiltered information from other language speakers when they thought no important person could understand and their guard was not up. He found out about what the his brothers had really said, when he was sold, for example. ************************************************************
Must have become a hero or he would not have "saved":
Tola Leader of Israel (came from an army family)
+After the time of Abimelech a man of Issachar, Tola son of Puah, the son of Dodo, "rose" to "save" Israel. He lived in Shamir, in the hill country of Ephraim. He led Israel twenty-three years; then he died, and was buried in Shamir.
Judges 10:1-2
Was Tola a multilingual leader?
The clues:
- He was living in the territory of a different tribe of Israel than his own. He had to deal with dialect differences among those he was leading and with the opponent groups too. To do this he may have been able to adjust accents at will.
- Tola also had an easy name to pronounce, as did his father and his grandfather. The names are easy to say by children and strangers and easy to remember. Could be that the family had a multilingual background, especially as some members may have been servants (enslaved) or traders of dyes. They would have knowledge of the enemy and customer groups to be able to stand their ground. They would have had a greater range of coping strategies than mono-cultural people.
"Tola" can easily be said in many languages.
It has the same or similar spelling in
English, Albanian, Italian, Norwegian, and Swedish
Scripts can render it in unfamiliar ways:
Тола - Ukrainian;
The vowels in each language can be a little different:
and the T's can be said more aspirated, more staccato, harder or softer, and maybe more like a "th".
If one language has no T's, a different "close" consonant is substituted.
Then there is:
Tola or Thola in French and German;
Thóla - Hungarian
Θωλα - Greek
Фола - Russian;
Puah is:
Pua or Puah in Italian
Pua or Poua in French
Puwa in German
Φουα - Greek
Pwa in Maori
Púa, Fúa or Fuvá in Spanish
Dodo has the same spelling in many languages and has the least variation.
It's the same in English, German, French, and Maori.
Δωδω - Greek
Dodó in Hungarian
Dódó in Icelandic
Додо in Russian
Dodo means "My uncle". So he was uncle of someone important or he fulfilled the role of uncle.
That person is not important enough now to warrant being named. But Dodo, even if he is not given his "real" name, is at least named by his role in life.
The name Pua is related to purple or red colour and being scattered, and Punic and/or Phoenecian. Many in the tribe of Issachar were scattered. This is another indication that Pua and his son Tola were multilingual.
Tola means "crimson grub worm". That worm started lowly and like "cream rose to the top" as a costly, desirable purple dye treasure. "Worm" can be a name, a nickname or a vile swearword. His name was probably used in all those ways.
As for today's international names...
Would we name anyone Dodo? I don't think so.
We would probably think of the extinct bird of New Zealand.
"Fais Dodo" is soft baby talk in French for "Go to sleep".
And "You're a dodo!" means that you did something stupid.
Pua? Maybe...
It is a Hawaiian word--seems it means flower or young.
But--If it tastes bad or is disgusting, we might say that word while spitting it out.
or Tola?
Looks like it is a Polish girl's name meaning "priceless"!
The moral of naming is that any word pretty well can have a pleasant or a horrible meaning. But now you can check out the suitability of names in the languages a person uses. If it is not good, a nickname or adopted name is probably in order.
Just think--how would you like to have the Vietnamese name of Dung?
The Psalmist prayed in Psalm 22:6-8 words that Tola must have prayed.
But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:
"He trusts in the LORD ;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."
And the Lord must have answered just as he answered in:
Isaiah 41:14
Do not be afraid, O worm _____,
O little Israel,
for I myself will help you," declares the LORD.
Tola rose up the ranks, must have been liked by various factions, and stayed in the job quite a long time. He came after the murderer Abimelech. God must have honoured Tola's family's faithfulness during the difficult times that had just been. Tola's term was after and then awhile before the people of Israel did "evil" again in the eyes of the Lord. He did not die on the battlefield far from his home. He was buried in his "hometown" Shamir (meaning prison), so he probably died there an old man quite peacefully.
Tola had been a "saviour"-leader of his people somewhat in the manner of Moses and Joseph. They had had their weaknesses. We can be sure Tola had his.
Tola left a legacy of peaceful living to his appointed, chosen or "risen to save" successor Jair (My light), from Gilead, who was not of Tola's family, who led the Israelites for 22 years, before the people did the "evil" again.
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Role Model: An Egyptian slave of the Amalekites communicated with David and his men when he was abandoned by his master when he was "of no further use". and left starving for 3 days. He helped liberate David's two wives and his men's wives and children from the Amalekites. He helped liberate HIMSELF.
He spoke Egyptian (at least some) and the language of the Amalekites. He spoke some Hebrew or he at least he knew how to ask for an interpreter.
1 Samuel 30:9-19 TF: ~1010 B.C.
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Role Model: Bathsheba - This royal mother was an "exotic" woman. She probably spoke another language as her family language of origin; she communicated with her first husband - a Hittite; she managed a household and lived in Jerusalem, where she needed to communicate in this Hebrew area.
Became a hero: The Queen of Sheba - could converse with ambassadors, her trading people who travelled the "incense route", her nomadic or sedentary peoples as well as King Solomon. She was able to rule the various ethnic peoples on both sides of the Red Sea. How? By consensus, by voting, by being informed....?
Hero with a flaw: King Solomon - his mother taught him at least her tongue, some Hittite (Uriah's language) and Hebrew/Aramaic; Then he must have learnt at least a few words in the many language of his many wives. He must have also have learned some words when speaking to the many judges who deal with all comers of the public of his realm.
He negotiated with King Hiram and other royal leaders, often through Ambassadors or special interest group visitors. The king loved nature. He rode out early every morning. He would surely have wanted to speak to any expert naturalist, no matter of what origin.
Examples: Solomon's royal queens, wives, concubines in the women's quarters had to communicate. The easiest would be for all of them to speak Hebrew and keep their own language. Did they keep using their language? Surely they had family and their country ambassador visits regularly. They may have taught Solomon and others such as the royal scribes their languages. Surely these women always had helpers and were supervised. Since they lived together, it would be best to make the best of the situation. Those who wanted could learn some words and phrases from the other women in passing or by being taught. Language always comes in a topic and using the specific structures. Learning any language items helps with learning more.
Examples: King Hiram's and King Solomon's sailors - These men worked on bicultural, bilingual teams on Solomon's boats. They needed to communicate accurately with each other, so King Solomon's men would learn from their colleagues. They needed to communicate well even in storms and other emergencies. They needed to communicate in all their ports of call, including the Red Sea ones and the country of "Ophir".
Examples and a hero: Huram who became a hero, since he had WISDOM, knowledge and skill and others of Solomon's exotic craftspeople and tradespeople - Among these skilled workers of the master level was Huram, specialist in bronze metal work and fabrics. His father was a metal worker and had taught him. Huram was from the Phoenecian port city of Tyre under King Hiram. He was from a bicultural background. Of his family, Huram's father was from Tyre-- his mother was from "Naphtali" one of the 12 Hebrew tribes! Huram learned both his parents' languages, so he felt comfortable being sent to work in the plain of Jordan and in Jerusalem in his "second" language, his mother's tongue. 1 Kings 7 13 >
Became a hero: Huram's widowed mother
Huram's widowed mother was so important she was mentioned in the Bible. Yet she was not named. We can imagine her story by the clues given. Perhaps she had too many names to mention in the Bible if it was to be short enough-- she had at least a Phoenecian and a Hebrew name. Perhaps again she was known mostly by her heritage or her roles as the "Hebrew Woman", as
the "Good" Metal Worker's wife, as
Master Huram's mother or as
that "Bronze" or "Utensil" seller.
She moved a lot in her life. She had lived with or a least visited with "Naphtali" relatives when young, moved to the metal worker area of Tyre when she married, became widowed there, then she most likely moved again with her son (and perhaps with his growing family) when he accepted working on the Temple commisions of Solomon to the plain of Jordan where most of the metal casting was done according to 1 Kings 7:46. She visited Jerusalem to admire her son's work for the temple as it was installed and when finished.
She may very well have been a catalyst in her son getting the work for the Jerusalem temple. She had friends in the metal worker community and would have known from her Hebrew friends that Solomon was looking for the best master workers. She most certainly would have made him aware of this opportunity. She may even have tipped the balance in persuading her son to move closer to her roots. Everything had started small. She had done her daily part in Huram's upbringing so he could gain knowledge, skill and WISDOM. Surely she kept the first bronze item Huram made for her. She may have challenged him to try new methods of fine detailing bronze casting. When he was young, he would have had more time to try out something others would consider undoable. He may have worked extensively on perfecting his way of making spherical objects like fruit and detailed flowers with veins in the petals and leaves. He would have tried to cast even stamens and dew on the flowers. He would have tried to cast all kinds of animals--to show their interesting features for aestetic and even teaching purposes. Maybe Huram's mother had even been involved extensively in the family business! She would not have been allowed to do the heavy men's work. Maybe she was really good at preparing moulds with the fine detailed work for casting. It would have helped her husband and then her son finish his work faster. Huram would have been able to predict the excellent quality his mother would insist on doing for the GLORY of GOD.
All this early work and co-operative working shaped his bronze specialty and came in handy when he cast thousands of pomegranates and hundreds of lilies, and 12 bulls for the temple items. This work did not overwhelm him. Streamlining the work and delegating all but the most expert work must have helped him. By the time he accepted King Solomon's commissions, he had already worked on numerous commissions for King Hiram, many experts in various fields of knowledge and other notables.
We can also imagine Huram's mother to have been a mentor to others, such as any daughter-in-law, grandchildren, cousins, nieces, nephews and metal worker orphans. That would have given her a purpose every single day of her life. Among all her "skills" she would have passed on was her knowledge of languages. She would have told her story of how that knowledge made the scope and magnitude of their historic bronze work possible. She would have taught all those she cared for the most important vocabulary words for those she mentored. They were BRONZE and METAL in as many languages as possible. Where did she learn this? In the port city of Tyre many would known "What is it?" in many languages. She had learned little by little what she knew.
Even today producers, traders, jobbers, sellers and buyers have an edge when they know multilingual material names to find those people that change raw materials into something beautiful and useful in this global economy.
(of) gold, silver and bronze Exodus 25:3
ar, argjend dhe bronz - Albanian
ذَهَبٌ وَفِضَّةٌ وَنُحَاسٌ - Arabic
zlato, srebro i tuč - Croatian
kultaa, hopeaa ja pronssia - Finnish
(de) l'or, (de) l'argent et (du) bronze - French
Gold, Silber und Bronze - German
oro, argento e bronzo/rame - Italian
aurum et argentum et aes - Latin
złoto, srebro i brąz - Polish
ouro, prata, bronze - Portuguese
золото и серебро и медь - Russian
oro, plata, bronce - Spanish
vàng, bạc, và đồng - Vietnamese
igolide, nesilivere, nobhedu - Xhosa
Examples: The horsetraders for King Solomon bought horses and horse paraphrenalia in Egypt and Kue, supplied the realm, and sold to the Hittites and Arameans.
They had a good business going in import and export.
They spoke other languages, specializing in horse talk. To get valuable information, they wouldn't always let on that they understood anything the sellers or buyers were saying to each other.
They were professionals--they were called "royal merchants".
They were good marketers, since even the Bible writer of 1 Kings 10:27-29 and 2 Chronicles 1:16-17 knew the average going price for a horse and a chariot. The writer thought it so central to the traders' way of life, that the prices were quoted in the Bible.
around 1,000 B.C.
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Became a hero: Naaman's captive (slave) servant girl - this young girl spoke her own language and the language of the Syrian, Naaman. Surely her eloquence and courage, in speaking and encouraging Naaman's wife, laid the foundation of her saving her people who were captive under Naaman and his king. She learned and really used whatever language talent she had persuasively.
>Time Frame: around 560 B.C.
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Hero: Daniel - Daniel was part of the Hebrew elite. He was hand-picked as a youth when he was taken into Babylonian captivity to go to what can only be described as the top university of the realm. He spoke and probably wrote the language of the Israelites and then he learned the language and literature of the Babylonians for 3 years.
Like many bi- and multi-cultural and multi-lingual people he had a name in each language. We know of two names - one in his language, Daniel and one in Babylonian, Belteshazzar.
Daniel had to decide whether to assimilate or to differentiate. That is always a fine line. He decided to be true to God by not compromising the requirements of the Covenant between God and his Hebrew people. And he decided to follow other customary ways that did not interfere with his faith.
Daniel held top postitions among his captors. He certainly was a blessing to his people.
Re: Daniel 1:4 and 1:6
Examples and Would-be Heros: Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were 3 of Daniel's friends. They studied with him and were of the Israelite nobility too. They studied the Babylonian language and literature too, so they could help and support each other.
They were like family, when their real family members were far away. What a study group!
Each of them also had 2 names.
Hananiah = Shadrach; Mishael = Meshach; Azariah = Abednego. Re: Daniel 1:6
These names are so different from their birth names, that these must have been conferred on them by their captors.
But they must have been afraid to pray publicly daily like Daniel did, when a "royal ban" against certain prayers was issued.
> Time Frame: around 605 - 536 B.C.
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Naomi and Ruth - first the mother-in-law-to-be and her young family went to live in Moab among the Moabites; then after many years and the death of the men in the family, when there was a famine, one daughter-in-law of two moved back to the mother-in-laws land
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Became a hero: Queen Esther, aka Hadassah - Everyone saw something truly "special" in her, including the harem eunuch at Xerxes' court when she was almost unknown. He immediately singled her out from among the accomplished beauties for unique "treatment". This eunuch treated her as his "champion-candidate" for Queen. She must have been excellent in many interpersonal skills. This includes being able to "communicate" with various "beauty contestants" from the up to 127 provinces. Ability and ease with languages would certainly be an asset for any Queen in diplomatic situations.
Example: The Eunuch Hegai who was in charge of the harem for King Xerxes found himself in charge of all the beauty contestants of 127 provinces and their care including a year-long beauty treatment. He was able to communicate well with most people in a few languages and at least a little in the main lingua francas of the realm. He realized the potential of young Esther, since he must have seen a good education, friendliness and lots of curiosity. He hand-picked 7 female servants "from the King's palace" to assist her. There weren't hundreds of well-trained servants who could be spared from the palace. So these 7 "from the palace" were not chosen to do the beauty treatments. They were there to help her learn. They were private tutors for knowledge of court procedures and etiquette, conversation, literature and writing of various languages... and other arts such as dance. These 7 servants, some of whom may have been slaves, must have fared better knowing more than one language. Knowing any language in common with Esther would have helped the Queen-in-training learn another one that only the servant knew.
Re: Esther 2:2-17)
Hero: Mordecai - This Hebrew leader in exile was an "official" at the king's gate. There many languages were spoken - Mordecai understood the plot against Xerxes hatched by Bigthana and Teresh; What language did they speak? The names could give us clues. Maybe one was local and one was from a far away place.
Examples: The Jewish people in King Xerxes realm, the learned and the illiterates too - This sub-group of subjects attended their holy meeting places, where each and every person spoke their language. This language could serve as a code language too. They also spoke at least the language of the province where each one lived.
> Time Frame: around 559 - 330 B.C.
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Became a hero: Nehemiah, governor, was "spokesperson" for his Hebrew people to the king in Susa. Nehemiah approached him speaking Persian. That means he was at least bilingual. (Nehemiah 1:1) With this talent, Nehemiah was very successful in a position of trust and responsibility. He enjoyed a leave of absence (~446-443 B.C.), received a necessary written notice and funds so his people could rebuild in Jerusalem.
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(Those at the city gates...)
Elijah? Elisha?
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