The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests” (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.), in Chuj as “family of Levi,” and in Desano as “grandchild of Levi” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
According to Anne Garber Kompaoré (in Le Sycomore 3/2009, p. 34ff. ), there are 4 ways to identify cardinal directions:
1. celestial bodies, especially the sun and certain stars
2. geographical landmarks, for example a mountain, sea, or river (depending on its position or the direction in which the water flows) etc.
3. climatic phenomena, such as the wind and the direction from which rain comes
4. bodily reference points, especially front, back, left, and right, in relation to celestial bodies or geographical landmarks
Following are examples of how these are practically implemented by various languages: (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)
Celestial Bodies
East and west are often translated by the rising and the setting of the sun (note that the origin of English and other Indo-European languages is “dawn” for “east” and “evening” [i.e. sun-down] for “west”):
Maan: “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down” (source: Don Slager)
Kankanaey: “from the coming-out of the sun “and “going-away of the sun” (source: Kankanaey back-translation)
Northern Emberá: “from where the sun comes up” and “from where the sun falls” (source: Charles Mortensen)
Ejamat “the side where the sun comes from” and “the side where it sets” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Tzeltal: “where the sun pours-out” (west) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Northern Ngbandi: “the sun behind the chief’s house” (east — the chief lives traditionally at the eastern side of the village, therefore he does not get the sunlight into his eyes) and “under the sun” (west)
Northwestern Dinka: “earth behind” (east — the place behind the earth, i.e. the area where the sun rises)
Jula: “salt village” (north — because salt comes from the north, from the Sahara Desert) and “kola village” (south — since kola comes from the coastal region to the south) (source: Garber Kompaoré)
Matumbi: “toward the beach” (East) (the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas), “north” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Acoli: “right” (of the local White Nile) (north) and “left” (of the White Nile) (south)
Zande: “interior (dry) land” (east); “place-inside-country” (north / south) — Zande, like a number of other languages, including Matengo and Hehe, traditionally only has three cardinal directions.
Belanda Bor: “lower place” (north) and “higher place” (south)
Turkana: “(up)stream” (north) and (down)stream (south)
Mono (DRC): “water place” (south) (source for this and five above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Climatic Phenomena
Shilluk: “opening westwind” (north) and “opening eastwind” (south)
Swahili used to have six directions. In reducing them to four, kusini and kaskazini which used to refer to south-west and north east respectively (the directions from where the two monsoons blow) have become the terms for “south” and north.” (source for this and one above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Bodily Reference Points
Nuer / Burun: “face” and “sun face” respectively (both: east)
Kalenjin: “eye sun” (east) (this and the one above indicate that the sun is “facing” the spectator from its position in the east:
Shilluk: doesn’t use a fixed position of the speaker, instead it has “eye sun morning” for east and “eye sun evening” for west
Mono (DRC): “foot-sun” (east — the start of the sun’s journey)
Burun: “sun leg” (west — the end of the sun’s journey)
Bari: “back” (north — when people are facing south, north is at their back) (source for this and above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Northern Emberá “the looking [left] hand” (north) and “the real [right] hand” (south) (source: Charles Mortensen)
Morelos Nahuatl: “from above” (north) and “from below” (south) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
When all four directions are mentioned, translators tend to avoid listing the four, sometimes verbose terms, and chose solutions like “all directions” (such as in Maan or Manya (source: Don Slager). Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) and Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).
The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture. Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 26:17:
Kupsabiny: “Six Levites were guarding each day the gate of the East, four were guarding the one of the North and the one at the South was also guarded by four guards. There were two Levites who guarded each storeroom.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Each day six Levites stood guard toward the east, four toward the north, four toward the south and two at the treasury.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “At the east there were six guards who were-guarding each-day, at the north four, at the south four, and at each storehouse two-each.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Each day there were six descendants of Levi who guarded the East Gate, four who guarded the North Gate, four who guarded the South Gate, and two at a time who guarded the entrances to the storerooms.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
On the east there were six each day is literally “On the east the Levites six.” The Septuagint reads “each day” instead of “the Levites.” The spelling of “each day” (layom) and “the Levites” (halewiyim) is similar in Hebrew, but probably the change in the Septuagint was deliberate to agree with the rest of the verse. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text (“the Levites”). But surely the words “each day” are implied here in the Masoretic Text and may be made explicit in translation as in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, which says “on the east, six Levites each day” (similarly New Revised Standard Version, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Revised Standard Version and New Jerusalem Bible follow the Septuagint by adding each day and by omitting “the Levites” (also Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Good News Translation substitutes the word “guards” for “Levites.” The east gate was also known as “the king’s gate” (1 Chr 9.18), and it was the most important gate.
Two and two at the storehouse: The meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is not certain. It may be understood in the following ways:
• (1) Two guards were on each side of the storehouse.
• (2) There were two doors in the storehouse and two Levites guarded each door.
• (3) There were two storehouses, each guarded by two guards (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). Good News Translation has added the words “four guards were stationed,” which is implied in the Good News Translation interpretation that there were two storerooms guarded by two guards each day. Contemporary English Version says “Two guards were stationed at each of the two storerooms” (similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), and Bible en français courant has “at the storehouses, two teams of two.” The Nouvelle Bible Segond rendering, “and four at the storehouses in two different places,” seems to follow this interpretation also.
• (4) New International Version gives a fourth possible meaning: “two at a time at the storehouse.”
• (5) Biblia Dios Habla Hoy presents a fifth possible meaning: “and two for every one of the storehouses.”
Since the meaning of this phrase in Hebrew is so uncertain, translators should chose one of the possible meanings and perhaps indicate in a footnote a few of the other possible meanings.
For storehouse see the comments on verse 15. The Hebrew noun here is plural, referring to “storehouses,” but the exact number of such buildings is not stated.
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 .
26:17a Each day there were six Levites on the east, four on the north,
Every day six Levites served as gatekeepers/doorkeepers for the East Gate. Every day four ⌊Levites⌋ served as gatekeepers/doorkeepers for the North Gate. -or-
From the descendants of Levi, six (6) guards ⌊at a time stood on duty⌋ at the ⌊temple’s⌋ eastern entrance/gate each day. Four (4) guards ⌊stood on duty⌋ at the northern gate each day.
26:17b four on the south, and two pairs at the storehouse.
Contemporary English Version: four were on duty on the south side. Two guards were stationed at each of the two storerooms,
Every day four ⌊Levites⌋ served ⌊as gatekeepers/doorkeepers⌋ for the South Gate. Every day two ⌊Levites⌋ served as gatekeepers/doorkeepers for each of the two treasuries. -or-
Four (4) guards ⌊stood on duty⌋ at the southern entrance/gate each day. Two (2) guards ⌊stood on duty⌋ at each storehouse.
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