源于《出埃及记》的8个词组（中英双语）

长期以来，一直有着改编自《圣经》和基督教手稿的电影，如《出埃及记》、《耶稣受难记》、《摩西十诫》，甚至是不太相关的《蒙提·派森之布莱恩的一生》也取材于此。

2013年，我们测试了读者对圣经（及莎士比亚）的了解程度，看大家是否能够辨识出有哪些日常表达是源于圣经或莎士比亚的。《出埃及记》（the Book of Exodus）（旧约全书第二部，第一部为创世纪）本身就蕴含着丰富的语料，那就让我们看看出自英文版《出埃及记》的用词和短语吧。

 

Exodus 成群迁徙

While the earliest known examples of Exodus in English have a capitalized initial letter and refer to Christian and Jewish Scripture, the word comes from the Greek exodus, from ex- ‘out of’ + hodos ‘way’. This refers to the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, led by Moses, and is also applied more widely (as exodus) to any mass departure of people.

现在已知最早出自英文版《出埃及记》的一个词就是 Exodus，首字母大写，指代基督徒和犹太人的词，这个词源于希腊语 exodus，由 ex-“...之外”+ hodos“路”组成。这个词是说以色列人在摩西的带领下离开埃及，还可以更广泛地用于大批人口的迁徙。

 

Bricks without straw 无米之炊

Before the Israelites were led out of Egypt, one of their mistreatments (while in slavery) was being forced to make bricks without straw (Exodus 5). This has led to the proverb ‘you can’t make bricks without straw’ – meaning that nothing can be accomplished without proper or adequate material or information. This is actually based on a misinterpretation of the chapter, where in Pharaoh commands the Israelites togather their own straw, rather than to make bricks without using any.

以色列人离开埃及之前，其中一名奴隶（当时正值奴隶时代）被强迫在没有稻草的情况下制作砖头（在《出埃及记》第五章）。这个词组引申出了“巧妇难为无米之炊（you can’t make bricks without straw）”这句谚语，是说没有合适或足够的材料或信息，无法完成一件事。实际上，这个用法是对这一章节的误读，在该章节中法老要求以色列人各自将稻草聚集一处，而不是要求他们不用稻草就制造砖头。

Manna from Heaven 天赐食粮

After the Israelites left Egypt, they wandered in the desert for forty years. During this period, Exodus 16 states, food was miraculously provided each day. In verse 4, God tells Moses ‘“I will rain down bread from heaven for you”’, and (v.31) ‘The people of Israel called the bread manna. It was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey.’ Subsequently, manna has taken on the figurative meaning of spiritual nourishment or ‘something beneficial that appears or is provided unexpectedly or opportunely’, whether tangible or abstract.

以色列人离开埃及后，在沙漠里徘徊了四十年。《出埃及记》第16章描述称，在这四十年间，竟然每天都有足够的食物。在第4首韵文中，上帝告诉摩西“我会从天上降面包雨给你们”，（v.31）“以色列人把这些面包称为天赐面包。这些面包像芫荽子一样白，像用蜂蜜做的煎饼一样美味”。于是，manna 就被比喻为“精神食粮”或“出乎意料或及时提供利益的东西”，这些东西可以是具象的也可以是抽象的。

Promised Land 应许之地

The Israelites weren’t just in the desert for a wander – they were headed for the Promised Land. This was the land of Canaan, promised to Abraham and his descendants in Genesis 12:7 and elsewhere, and eventually occupied by the Israelites. As with manna, promised land has taken on the more general meaning of ‘a place or situation in which someone expects to find great happiness’; for example, ‘Italy is the promised land for any musician’. Less commonly, the same use is given to land of milk and honey (as the Promised Land is prophesied as being a ‘land flowing with milk and honey’ when Moses sees the burning bush).

以色列人在沙漠上并不是为了闲逛的，他们是要前往应许之地。那是迦南的一片乐土，在创世纪12:7中被赠予了亚伯拉罕及他的子孙，但最终被以色列人占有。和天赐食粮一样，应许之地具有更广义的含义，就是“让人觉得能够获得巨大幸福的地方或情形”。例如“意大利是所有音乐家的乐土”。相近的表达还有 land of milk and honey，但这种表达比较少用（出现这种表达是因为，有预言称，当摩西看到火焰中的荆棘，应许之地正“遍地流着牛奶和蜂蜜”）。

Golden calf 金牛犊

The Israelites were distracted from their plan. Aaron made an image of gold in the shape of a calf, in response to Israelites’ plea for a god while they awaited Moses’ return from Mount Sinai, where he was receiving the Ten Commandments. Subsequently, golden calf has come to have the broader meaning ‘an unworthy or inappropriate object of worship, typically wealth’.

以色列人在完成计划的过程中并非一心一意。亚伦在人们等待摩西拿着十诫从西奈山回来时，为回应以色列人对上帝的请求，而塑了一头金色公牛。于是金牛犊就有了更广义的含义，指“没有价值或不合适的祷告对象，通常指财富”。

Burning bush 火焰中的荆棘

Which brings us onto the bush in question! Before Moses led the Exodus, Exodus 3 tells of how God spoke to him through a bush that was on fire (‘Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight – why the bush does not burn up.”’). This event is commonly known as ‘Moses and the burning bush’, and the term burning bush has subsequently been adopted for various shrubs or trees with bright red leaves or fruits, and plants including the gas plant and the North American spindles of the genus Euonymus such as the wahoo.

这让我们不禁质疑起荆棘！《出埃及记》第三章描述了，在摩西引领着出埃及之前，上帝通过火焰中的荆棘与他对话（摩西心想：“我要去看看这个奇怪的现象，为什么荆棘永远都烧不完。”）这就是著名的“摩西与火焰中的荆棘”，而火焰中的荆棘这个表达开始表示长着红色树叶或水果的灌木或树木，燃气电厂等工厂，以及火树等北美卫矛属细茎植物。

Moses basket 摩西提篮

Moses’ early days also contributed to the English that we use today. The Pharaoh had ordered that every Hebrew boy should be killed at birth; to avoid this fate, Moses’ mother hid him in the bulrushes in a ‘papyrus basket’ (Exodus 2:3). The legacy of this make shift cotis the term Moses basket, denoting ‘a carrycot or small portable cot made of wickerwork’.

摩西婴幼儿时期的故事也为当代英语语言提供了素材。法老下令将所有希伯来男孩扼杀在摇篮里。为了保护摩西，摩西的母亲把芦苇铺在“莎草纸做的摇篮”里，并将摩西藏在芦苇里（出自《出埃及记》2：3”）。于是这种临时的婴儿床就被称为“摩西提篮”，现在用于表示“用柳条编制的手提式婴儿床或便携式小型婴儿床”。

Passover 逾越节

The Jewish festival of Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, is observed in the spring, from the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan for either seven or eight days. The term ‘passover’ comes from the story of the ten plagues God sent upon Egyptians in order to secure there lease of the Israelites. The final plague was the death of each Egyptian firstborn; Jewish households were instructed by God to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb: ‘the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you.’

 

犹太节日，逾越节是为了纪念 Exodus，通常在春天，从希伯来尼散月15日开始持续七到八天。“passover”一词来源于上帝帮助让以色列人离开，而对埃及人散播十种瘟疫的故事。最后一种瘟疫是让所有埃及的新生儿一出生就死亡；犹太人家庭根据上帝的指示，用羊血在门框上画上标记：“羊血会告诉我你们在那个房子里，我看到羊血标记就会走过你们的房子。”