The town name that is transliterated as “Bethlehem” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the signs signifying “manger + town” (referring to Luke 2:7). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
In American Sign Language it is translated with the signs for “bread” and “house,” referring to the original meaning of “Bethlehem” as “house of bread.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Bethlehem” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 11:26:
Kupsabiny: “The soldiers who were brave were these: Asahel who was a brother to Joab, Elhanan son of Dodo who came from Bethlehem.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “These were his brave soldiers: — Joab’s younger brother Asahel, Elhanan son of Dodai from Bethlehem,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “These were the good soldiers: Asahel the sibling of Joab; Elhanan the child of Dodo of/from-Betlehem,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “These are the names of David’s mighty warriors: Asahel, the younger brother of Joab; Elhanan, the son of Dodo, from Bethlehem;” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The names in this list are thought to be those of the Thirty famous soldiers referred to earlier in this chapter. When compared with the parallel list in 2 Sam 23.24-39, there are some discrepancies that may be due to scribal errors. In some cases there may be two variants of the same name which may be harmonized in translation. But where the names are significantly different, translators must reflect the differences found in the text.
Existing translations follow different policies regarding the renderings of the names in these verses. Some keep the forms of the names in the Masoretic Text here in 1 Chronicles. Others change the forms to correspond to the forms in the Septuagint and the parallel text in 2 Samuel. Einheitsübersetzung, for example, states the following in a footnote for verses 26-47: “The names are sometimes distorted through errors in copying. The corrections for the most part are based on 2 Samuel and G [that is, the Septuagint].” But even those translations that correct the text here to correspond with the parallel text do not do so in all places where names are different.
Most of the places named in verses 26-41 are in Judah and the hill country west of Jerusalem. The places that are known in verses 42-47 are mostly from Transjordan (east of the Jordan River).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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