The translation of רָפָע ˁāpār ‘dust’ in the Latvian Bible

This paper investigates the translation of ʕāpār ‘dust’ in the Latvian Bible, from Johann Ernst Glück’s first translation in 1689 to the present. After surveying the history of translation in Latvian, we address the lexical semantics of ʕāpār ‘dust’, noting the senses and translation equivalents. We then examine Glück’s approach to translation and the subsequent revisions. Glück rendered ʕāpār as pīšļi ‘dust’ in 97 of the 110 occurrences of the word, yet he also translated the term with seven other translation equivalents, including zeme ‘earth’ and putekļi ‘fine dust’. Subsequent revisions have followed Glück in employing pīšļi ‘dust’ as the principal translation equivalent. However, changes in the semantics of pīšļi ‘dust’ and putekļi ‘fine dust’ coupled with a reevaluation of Glück’s translation strategy, have prompted a steady move from pīšļi as the primary translation equivalent. The paper concludes with proposals for future revisions of the Latvian Bible.