Zanoah, Adullam, and their villages: The Hebrew expression for villages is the second one that was noted in verse 25 above. It is the word that refers to small towns or “hamlets” (Revised English Bible, Jerusalem Bible). Here it is in the plural with the pronoun their. Because the phrase “and its villages” last occurs before this at the end of verse 28, it seems logical to take and their villages with the three towns in verse 29 and the first two towns in this verse. This is the implied understanding of many versions (so Bible en français courant, New Jerusalem Bible). It should be noted that the preposition “in” occurs with each of the three towns in verse 29, while Zanoah and Adullam occur without a preposition in Hebrew. And their villages according to Hebrew logic then refers to the three towns named after the last preposition “in,” as rendered by Revised Standard Version, which should read “and in Jarmuth, Zanoah, and Adullam, and their villages.”

Lachish and its fields: Lachish was located in an area of fertile land about 34 kilometers (21 miles) southwest of Jerusalem. For its fields, see verse 25 above.

Azekah and its villages: Its villages is literally “her daughters” (see verse 25 above). It is interesting to note stylistically that each of these last three locations is identified differently, the first by its surrounding hamlets, the second by its fields, and the third by its villages. This three-way distinction is lost in both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, while New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and Revised English Bible retain it.

So they encamped from Beersheba to the valley of Hinnom: Good News Translation understands this last sentence to be a summary statement about the area where the people of the tribe of Judah settled and lived. The clause “That is to say” in Good News Translation represents the Hebrew connective conjunction, which is rendered less emphatically as So in Revised Standard Version and as “Thus” in Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible.

They encamped is the language of metaphor. It gives the picture of being in the wilderness around the tabernacle. New American Standard Bible retains the picture with “they encamped” (also Chouraqui, BNT). Darby gives the meaning “camped” in a footnote, and Nouvelle Bible Segond translates “They installed their camp.” But many translations use a prosaic or common verb, such as “they settled” (Contemporary English Version, New Jerusalem Bible), “they settled down” (Luther), “They established themselves” (Osty-Trinquet, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), or “they occupied” (Revised English Bible). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch restates the whole sentence as “The settled territory of the people of the tribe of Judah extended from Beersheba in the south to Hinnom Valley in the north,” and this may be a suitable model for some translators to follow. In this context the English expression “to camp” or “to encamp” is misleading because it indicates a temporary event and not permanent settlement as is described here.

Beersheba and the valley of Hinnom are the southernmost and northernmost points of the boundary of Judah. The valley of Hinnom curves from the west of Jerusalem near the present Jaffa Gate to the south of the Old City and joins the Kidron Valley. Good News Translation and Bible en français courant provide information to the reader about the southern location of Beersheba and the northern location of the Hinnom Valley. Translators can make the information about direction explicit, and a map can be provided as a help to the reader.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .