large numbers in Angguruk Yali

Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”

This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

Translation commentary on Genesis 16:12

This verse tells what kind of person the child will be and what will become of him.

He shall be a wild ass of a man: the wild ass or donkey is described in Job 39.5-8 as being free, untameable, living in the open desert. Here it is Ishmael’s style of life as a free and fearless Bedouin tribesman that is pictured in the expression wild ass of a man. Good News Translation “your son will live like a wild donkey” expresses the thought well.

If this expression is translated literally, it is possible that readers will focus on some inappropriate feature of it, such as eating grass, or having hooves and long ears. Or they may understand some quite inappropriate figurative meaning from it, such as being stubborn or stupid. Also in some areas these animals are unknown. It may be possible to substitute another suitable wild animal; but perhaps it will be preferable to shift to a more general expression and say, for example, “He will live like a wild animal.” If this is inappropriate, it may be necessary to say, for example, “He will live with no one able to control him,” “Nobody will be able to tell him what to do,” or “He will be ruled by no one.”

His hand against every man: the use of hand in this clause and the following one suggests conflict, violence, opposition, or, as Good News Translation says, “he will be against everyone.” The sense may also be expressed in terms of fighting; for example, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch say “he will battle with everyone.” Other translations have “he will be an enemy to everybody” or “he will not be friends with anybody.”

This line is completed in Hebrew by the reciprocal and every man’s hand against him; that is, “and everybody will fight against him.” The manner of phrasing is due to the repetitive poetic structure and may require adjustments in some languages. For example, it may not be necessary to repeat that “everybody will fight against him.”

And he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen: this line is probably intended to be parallel to the two clauses before it. Here, however, kinsmen is a more limited term than every man (Hebrew “all”); literally it is “brothers,” but here again the term includes other relatives. Translations differ in their understanding of over against, which is literally “in the face of” or “in front of.” Furthermore, this expression as used in 1 Kgs 11.7 has the sense of “to the east of.” Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, interpret “in the face of” to mean “separated from,” and so Good News Translation has “He will live apart from all his relatives.” On the other hand New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New International Version, New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible, Moffatt understand the expression to refer to living as an enemy of his relatives. New English Bible, Revised English Bible, New Revised Standard Version say “He will live at odds…,” New Jerusalem Bible “in defiance of,” New International Version “in hostility,” Moffatt “defying all his kinsmen.” The later group of translations has the advantage of making this line more parallel with what comes before it and is recommended to translators. One example of the way this is expressed in translation is “… and he will not stay peacefully with his relatives.”

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Patrick Krayer (in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 73ff.) suggests a different approach to the translation of this verse:

A principle in meaning-based translation is, if the form distorts the meaning, change the form and keep the meaning. We have seen that the meaning of pere’ in Gen 16.12 gets distorted by the use of its direct equivalent in English and the intent and beauty of the promise is lost in the translation of the subsequent lines. As we seek to ameliorate this conundrum, this is one proposal towards capturing the positive aspects of God’s promise:

He (will be) a free man,
his hand (will be free) from everyone
and everyone’s hand (will be free) from him,
and he will live in the presence of all his kin.

The promise to Hagar was intended to comfort and encourage Hagar because God had seen and was responding to her suffering (Gen 16.11). Being told she was to have a son would fulfill Hagar’s aspiration for this pregnancy. In addition, her son would have many descendants, and they would live under the blessing of God (Gen 16.10; 17.20). They would live free from the threat of being dominated by the peoples living around them, and those peoples would not fear being dominated by them. Finally, though Hagar was a slave without honor, her son and his descendants would live with honor. We see this promise realized as we read further in Genesis. Ishmael stood with honor with Isaac at the burial of their father, Abraham (Gen 25.9).28 In addition, Ishmael had twelve sons just as Jacob did, and the Ishmaelites lived as a free and distinct people, settling in the Sinai Peninsula, in an area described as being from “Havilah to Shur which is before (ʿal-pǝnê) Egypt on the way to Asshur” (Gen 25.18). Genesis 25.18 closes by saying the Ishmaelites settled in the presence of (ʿal-pǝnê) all their kin.

The time has come for us to acknowledge that the traditional manner of translating Gen 16.12 has led to centuries of stigmatization of Arabs, primarily Muslim Arabs. Fresh reflection on this verse can lead to corrected translations and to the intentional elimination of any sacred justification for this stigmatization.