Today's Scripture Reading (February 13, 2023): Amos 5
Not everything is
translatable into North American societal expectations or language. My phrasing
is intentional because English is not always at fault; sometimes, it is the
language, but sometimes it is just all the meaning and expectations we might
load into a word or even a product. For instance, Pepsodent toothpaste
struggled with an advertising campaign in one Southeast Asia area because they
promised that the toothpaste "whitens your teeth." White teeth are
highly sought after in our culture. White teeth are good. There was nothing
wrong with the translation of the goal of the Pepsodent advertisement except
that, in this area, the locals chewed betel nuts because black teeth were
considered more beautiful than white. Pepsodent was trying to sell something the
people didn't want because they missed societal expectations.
Another great example was the
Coors beer "Turn it Loose" campaign in Spain. Unfortunately, the
translators forgot to check the phrase in Spanish. Instead, they turned their
wonderful advertising phrase into a common expression that people used to
indicate someone was suffering from diarrhea. I guess there is more than one
way of "turning it loose."
One last example goes to
Parker Pens. Parker executives decided to use the phrase "It won't leak in
your pocket and embarrass you" when they expanded into the
Spanish-speaking part of Mexico. They chose the word "embaraza,"
thinking it meant "embarrass." Again, a little homework might have
helped, but "embaraza" doesn't mean embarrass; it means impregnate.
Parker's advertising slogan became "Parker Pens won't leak in your pocket
and make you pregnant." Now, that is some incredible ink in those pens.
Some phrases in the Bible
also don't translate well into English. And this is one of them. There is a
seriousness in this passage, but also a bit of a pun that we miss reading the
verse only in English. On the serious side, Amos tells Israel that the problem
isn't a place; it is what is inside of them. So don't bother going to Bethel,
the place where God met with Jacob, because God will not meet you there. And
don't bother going to Gilgal, where Israel's sin was forgiven in the days of
Joshua. And the same goes for Beersheba, where the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob had a spiritual connection with God. A change in place was not what
Israel needed. The required change would have to take place inside the people
before any pilgrimage would matter.
As for the pun, it takes
place in the second half of the verse. Gilgal can mean wheel, and Bethel means "House
of God. So that last part of the verse, which reads "For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing,"
might be better phrased as "For Gilgal (wheel) will roll into exile, and
the House of God (Bethel) will become the House of nothing (Bethaven)."
Sometimes, it is all in the translation,
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading:
Amos 6
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