It makes instruction shine forth like light, like the Gihon at the time of vintage: Obviously light does not fit well in a series of names of rivers. It is easy to see what has gone wrong here. Ben Sira wrote the Hebrew word for “Nile,” which could easily be mistaken for the Hebrew word for “light.” This is verified by the Syriac version. Virtually all recent translations make the change that Good News Translation has made, and we strongly urge it. There is more to this textual problem. First, the Hebrew word in question is a general term for a river, stream, or channel, not actually the name of the Nile River, although it is used in the Bible most often for the Nile. Second, the Gihon River is identified with the Nile in the Greek version of Jer 2.18. The two lines of this verse may refer to the same river. This opens up several options: (1) We may mention both rivers (Good News Translation and others). (2) We may mention both rivers but try to make them sound identical (“like the Nile, the Gihon River”). (3) We may mention only the Nile since the Gihon is less well known. (4) We may mention only the Gihon since the Hebrew of the first line said only “river.” If the Gihon and Nile are identical, option (1) is misleading. Option (2) is fine, if you can do it. Option (3) has to be ruled out. The author is talking about the rivers of Eden here, and the Gihon is named in Gen 2.13. Option (4) is attractive. Some possible models will be suggested below. The Greek word rendered shine forth is a strange word to find in this context; it may have come into the Greek after the mistaken reference to light had found its way into the text. But it is there. Rivers do not radiate light; they reflect it. Good News Translation therefore says “sparkles.” You can see a river breaking up the reflected sunlight into sparkling rays as it ripples along. Instruction or “insight” may be better than Good News Translation “teachings,” however. The Law of Moses is certainly full of teachings. Ben Sira is saying something more—it is full of wisdom, of good sense, of insight. The time of vintage refers to “grape-picking time” (Good News Translation), which was in the autumn. While the Tigris, Euphrates, and Jordan did their overflowing in the spring, the Nile flooded in autumn.

Alternative translation models for this verse are:

• It sparkles with insight, like the Gihon River during the autumn grape harvest.

• It sparkles with insight, like the Gihon River, the Nile, during the autumn grape harvest.

If the second model would be clear to the reader, it is better than the first one. But if the reader will not realize that the same river has two names, a translator should stay with the first model. A footnote is necessary in either case. For the first model above, here is a possible note: One ancient version: like the … River; Greek: like the light. For the second model, this is a possible note: One ancient version: like … the Nile; Greek: like the light.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Sirach. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.