Jair the Manassite: this translates the Hebrew “Jair son of Manasseh,” and that is how it is translated by New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible. But Jair does not appear to have been the son of Manasseh; 1 Chr 2.21-22 says that Segub, the son of Machir’s daughter, was Jair’s father (making Machir his great-grandfather and Manasseh his great-great-grandfather). So it is better to translate “Jair a descendant of Manasseh” (Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, New International Version) or “Jair, from the tribe of Manasseh” (Good News Translation).

The border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites: it is better to translate “the border of Geshur and Maacah,” or “the territories of Geshur and Maacah” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). They were small Aramean states south of Mount Hermon. An alternative translation model for the first part of this verse is “Jair, from the tribe of Manasseh, conquered the entire region of the Argob, which was also called Bashan. This region goes as far as the territories of Geshur and Maacah.”

Called the villages after his own name, Havvoth-jair: the Hebrew name means “villages [or, settlements] of Jair.”

As it is to this day: that is, at the time this account was written (see 2.22).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .