The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “daughter of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic patronymic or matronymic naming system . This means that for instance in Luke 2:36 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Anna the daughter of Phanuel” becomes “Anna Fanúelsdóttir” or in Jeremiah 52:1 “Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah” becomes “Hamútal Jeremíadóttir” where in both cases the “-óttir” means “daughter of.
In cases where “daughter of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage (or is uncertain), however, this system is not used. So in 1 Chronicles 1:50 “Mehetabel daughter of Matred daughter of Me-zahab” is translated as “Mehetabeel, dóttir Matredar, dóttur Mesahabs.” (Source: Halldór Elías Guðmundsson)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 15:10:
Kupsabiny: “He ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years. His grandmother was called Maacah of the house of Absalom.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He reigned 41 years in Jerusalem. Maacah, daughter of Abishalom was his grandmother.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Asa lived in Jerusalem, and he reigned for a period/[lit. inside] of 41 years. His grandmother was Maaca the grandchild of Absalom.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He ruled in Jerusalem for 41 years. His grandmother was Maacah, the granddaughter of Absalom.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
His mother’s name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom: See the discussion on verse 2. The translation of mother as “grandmother” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Bible en français courant, Osty-Trinquet, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, La Bible du Semeur) is an attempt to solve the difficulty of how Maacah could be the mother of both Abijah (verse 2) and his son Asa, since verse 8 and 2 Chr 14.1 state that Asa was Abijah’s son. 2 Chr 13.2, however, states that Abijah’s mother was “Micaiah the daughter of Uriel,” not Maacah the daughter of Absalom. It should be noted also that some interpreters correct the Hebrew text in verse 8 to say that Asa was the brother of Abijah rather than his son.
It must be admitted that in other introductions to the reigns of the various kings, the Hebrew word rendered mother does mean “mother” and not “grandmother.” Provan suggests that Asa was born from an incestuous relationship between the evil king Abijah and Abijah’s own mother Maacah, in which case Maacah would be the mother of both Abijah and of Asa.
While Provan’s suggested interpretation is possible, a more convincing interpretation is that found in this footnote in Bible en français courant:
The mother of the king is often named at the beginning of an account of his reign, because she most likely had some influence in the royal court. Maacah was able to maintain this role at the beginning of the reign of her grandson Asa, after the brief reign of her son Abijah (15.1-8).
This interpretation has been incorporated into the translation itself in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, which reads “The position of Queen Mother was maintained by his grandmother Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.” Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is quoted here since it provides a good model, but if translators do not wish to incorporate this interpretation into the text, then they may wish to include this information in a footnote, as Bible en français courant has done (similarly New Jerusalem Bible).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
15:10a and he reigned in Jerusalem forty-one years.
Asa ruled in Jerusalem for forty-one years. -or-
He/Asa was king in Jerusalem for forty-one years. -or-
His/Asa’s reign lasted for forty-one years.
15:10b His grandmother’s name was Maacah daughter of Abishalom.
His grandmother was called Maakah, and she/Maakah was the daughter of Abishalom. -or-
The grandmother of Asa was Maakah, the daughter of Abishalom. -or-
The mother ⌊of his father⌋ was Maakah, and Maakah’s father was Abishalom.⌊⌋
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