brother (older brother)

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in Kwere as sekulu, in Elhomwe as mbalaawo´, and in Mandarin Chinese as gēgē (哥哥), all “older brother.”

Note that Kwere also uses lumbu — “older sibling” in some cases. (Source for Kwere and Elhomwe: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)

In Lama it is translated as “older or younger brother.” (Source: Neal Brinneman)

See also older brother (Japanese honorifics).

complete verse (1 Chronicles 20:7)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 20:7:

  • Kupsabiny: “This man went around abusing/insulting the Israelites. Then Jonathan son of Shimea killed him. Shimea was a brother to David.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He taunted the Israelites, And Jonathan, son of Shimea, David’s brother killed him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When he mocked the Israelinhon, Jonatan the child of David’s sibling Simea killed him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When he made fun of the soldiers of Israel, Jonathan, the son of David’s older brother Shimea, killed him.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 20:7

And when he taunted Israel: The Hebrew verb translated taunted has a wide variety of meanings, but the basic sense is that of “stripping away.” In the present context it means “derided” or “mocked.” Contemporary English Version uses the English idiom “made fun of.” It may also be rendered “defied” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond) or “insulted” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). The text does not indicate the content of the taunt, but probably the giant was saying that the God of Israel could not protect them. Translators will probably need to render the name Israel in such a way as to ensure that there is no doubt in the readers’ minds that this refers to “the army of Israel” or “the people of Israel.” If it is translated literally, some readers may think that a single individual is intended.

Jonathan the son of Shime-a, David’s brother, slew him: The name Shime-a is given as “Shimei” in the parallel passage of 2 Sam 21.21. But both of these names are variants of the name “Shammah,” which appears elsewhere as the name of David’s brother (1 Sam 16.9; 17.13). Therefore translators are advised to use the form “Shammah” here, as Good News Translation and Bible en français courant have done. Contemporary English Version renders Jonathan the son of Shime-a, David’s brother simply as “David’s nephew Jonathan,” which may be helpful for other languages. In any case, it must be clear that David’s brother is Shime-a and that Jonathan is David’s nephew.

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 .