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).

Judah, Judea

The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)


“Judah” and “Judea” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .

complete verse (1 Chronicles 27:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 27:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “Elihu who was a brother to David was leading the clan of Judah, Omri son of Michael was leading the clan of Issachar.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “[For] the tribe of Judah — David’s younger brother, named Elihu,
    [For] the tribe of Issachar — Omri son of Michael,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “For the tribe of Juda: Elihu the sibling of David.
    For the tribe of Issachar: Omri the child of Micael.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Elihu, David’s older brother, was the administrator of the tribe of Judah.
    Omri, the son of Michael, was the administrator of the tribe of Issachar.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Chronicles 27:18

27:18 over Judah was Elihu, one of David’s brothers; over Issachar was Omri son of Michael;

The leader⌋ of the tribe of Judah was David’s brother Elihu. ⌊The leader⌋ of the tribe of Issachar was Michael’s son Omri.
-or-
Elihu was ⌊the chief of the clan⌋ of Judah. Elihu was the brother of ⌊King⌋ David. Omri was ⌊the chief of the clan⌋ of Issachar. Omri’s father was Michael.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.