The Writing on the Wall

Are there Xhosa/Zulu words in the Bible? Yes, there are. And I would argue that you cannot fully understand certain parts of Scripture without knowing or having some understanding of the idioms and contexts certain words can be used in their original language. Now speaking about the Bantu languages.

The infamous words written by NiNis hand (or a messengers hand) in Daniel 5,25, will not make a lick of sense when read in the so-called ancient Hebrew (צקמקׁ). Truth be told, thats probably why it was left in the Bible by the translators of the ancient Xhosa scrolls. Either, it could not be translated or a more likely outcome - NiNi decided to leave it there as a clue for those who ponder. Whatever the case might be, if we apply Xhosa and look at the words, meaning for meaning, we will find a different though richer language, as the writing on the wall does mean something ! (You can slide in the image below)

Mene Mene - transgressor (a trifler, jugler)

Tekele - yo go overboard, when someone is said to `itekele` it means to overboard (Itetyile means something is offside).

Uphanzile - means having your possessions taken away from you (you loose all your prosperity and wealth). You can also say uphalele, which means to loose all riches but was not dispossessed from previously having been rich.

Uxolo lube nani