Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 26:24:
Kupsabiny: “Shebuel who was from the house of Gershom son of Moses who was in charge of the storerooms of materials/things.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Shubael, descendant of Gershom, son of Moses was leader of the temple treasury.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Shebuel, the descendant of Gershom the child of Moises, was the leading officer of the storehouses of the temple.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “From the descendants of Amram, Shubael, a descendant of Moses’s son Gershom, was the leader who was in charge of the money chests.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).
In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:
The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).
In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: According to some translations of verse 20, those that read “their brothers” instead of “Ahijah,” the Gershonites were the “brothers” who were in charge of the Temple treasuries. But verses 23-28 place the Kohathites in charge. Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel were sons of Kohath (1 Chr 23.12), who was a son of Levi (1 Chr 23.6). The writer does not state in verse 23 that these four groups were descended from brothers who were sons of Kohath. However, Contemporary English Version makes this information explicit by saying “Other guards at the treasury were from the Kohathite clans of Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.”
And Shebuel the son of Gershom, son of Moses, was chief officer in charge of the treasuries: Shebuel was already mentioned in 1 Chr 23.16 as head of Gershom’s descendants. New International Version and Revised English Bible have “Shubael,” following the Vulgate and in keeping with the spelling of the name in 1 Chr 24.20 and 25.20. Other versions, such as Good News Translation, retain the spelling Shebuel here and change to that spelling in 24.20 and 25.20.
Gershom was one of Moses’ sons, the other being Eliezer (1 Chr 23.15). Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch reverses the two parts of verse 24 and translates the first part as “He was the son of Gershom, who was one of Moses’ two sons.” Since Moses was a son of Amram (1 Chr 23.13), New Living Translation renders verse 24a as “From the clan of Amram, Shebuel was a descendant of Gershom son of Moses.” The addition of the words “From the clan of Amram” is justified in light of verse 23.
According to verse 24, Shebuel was in charge of both the treasuries of the Temple and the treasuries of the dedicated gifts. Verse 22 stated that Zetham and Joel were in charge of the treasuries. Apparently these two men, along with Shebuel and Shelomoth (verse 26) formed some kind of commission in charge of the treasuries (see Ezra 8.33; Neh 13.13).
The structure of verses 23 and 24 in Revised Standard Version reflects that of the Hebrew, but the translation is awkward and difficult to follow. Good News Translation supplies additional information that is implicit and makes separate sentences of these two verses. In fact, each of these two verses begins a new paragraph in Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version.
Verses 24-28 indicate that the descendants of Amram were in charge of the treasuries. Verses 29-32 say that the descendants of Izhar and Hebron were officers and judges. But these verses do not say any more about the descendants of Uzziel. It is probably best to take verse 23 as a heading to all of verses 24-32, as New International Version does by the way in which the following verses are formatted.
La Bible du Semeur translates verses 23-24 as follows: “23 For the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites and the Uzzielites, 24 it was Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom, Moses’ son, who was the chief officer in charge of the treasuries.” American Bible is similar with “23 Over [the assignments pertaining to] the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites was 24 Shebuel, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, who was chief overseer of the treasures.” Compare also Bible en français courant, which says “23 For the clans of Amram, Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel, 24 Shebuel, a descendant of Gershom, himself a son of Moses, was the chief officer responsible for the treasuries.”
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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