When a single mistranslation
can change the world - Horned Moses
It is commonly thought that
translation mistakes are ordinary and most of the time insignificant. We think
that in the worst of the cases a translator could lose his/her job or wipe out
any possibility for an advantageous contract. We have no idea how a
mistranslation could be dangerous.
According to the book “111
errori di traduzione che hanno cambiato il mondo”- written by R.G. Capuano – a
single mistake could cost a life, overthrow a government, make up religious
belief or slaughter millions of people.
One of the most famous and
curious mistake was related with the biblical figure of Moses. In the book of
Esodo it is told about his ascension to Mount Sinai where he received the
famous Tablets of the Law. What is really interesting
about this episode – concerning its translation – concerns his aspect when he
met his brother Aronne. In fact, Moses was not aware that his face was radiant
because of the light of God.
The word “radiant” is the key.
As we know nowadays, the
Hebraic alphabet does not possess vowels and – like the modern Arabic, it is
composed mainly by consonants. The differences in sounds are highlighted by small
symbols that are not always evident.
In the old Hebraic language, radiant
was “qaran” althought it was written “qrn”. Even if the context was really
clear, Saint Gerolamo chose another way of translating this words. He decided
that “qrn” was not coming from “qaran” but from “qeren” that means horn.
The face of Moses turned into
horned instead of being radiant. But why did Saint Gerolamo opted for this
translation instead for the most logical one?
In the
ancient time, horns were a symbol of power and this “knowledge of the world –
one of the most important skill that a translator needs to possess – misled
him.
This mistranslation influence
many people for almost 8 centuries.
One of the most important artists that was influences by this translation
was Michelangelo. In his statue of Moses, we can spot two small horns, coming
out from his long hair.
Another important fact that
could be led to this mistranslation is the idea that Christians had about the
Jews.
It is reported that in the middle
age, they were usually associated with the Devil and in various countries –
such as Germany- they wear forced to wear a hat that reminded of a horn.
Naturally, history teaches us
that human being commit atrocities using pretexts. In this case, if the
mistranslation never occurred, probably the people would have found another
pretext to torture the Jews, but we will never know.
Francesco
Ferretti
