cardinal directions

The cardinal directions “east” and “west” are easy to translate into Maan here since the language uses “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down.” For “north” the translator had “facing toward the sun rising to the left,” and for “south” she had “facing toward the sun rising to the right.” So the listener had to think hard before knowing what direction was in view when translating “to the north and south, to the east and west.” So, in case all four directions are mentioned, it was shortened by saying simply “all directions.” (Source: Don Slager) Likewise, Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) or Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

Kankanaey is “from the coming-out and the going-away of the sun and the north and the south” (source: Kankanaey back-translation), Northern Emberá “from where the sun comes up, from where it falls, from the looking [left] hand, from the real [right] hand” (source: Charles Mortensen), Amele “from the direction of the sun going up, from the direction of the sun going down, from the north and from the south” (source: John Roberts), Ejamat “look up to see the side where the sun comes from, and the side where it sets, and look on your right side, and on your left” (source: David Frank in this blog post).

In Lamba, only umutulesuŵa, “where the sun rises” and imbonsi, “where the sun sets” were available as cardinal directions that were not tied to the local area of language speakers (“north” is kumausi — “to the Aushi country” — and “south” kumalenje — “to the Lenje country”). So “north” and “south” were introduced as loanwords, nofu and saufu respectively. The whole phrase is kunofu nakusaufu nakumutulesuŵa nakumbonsi. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff.)

“West” is translated in Tzeltal as “where the sun pours-out” and in Kele as “down-river” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Morelos Nahuatl, “north” is translated as “from above” and “south” as “from below.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

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.”

See also cardinal directions / left and right.

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 7:21

He set up the pillars: The Hebrew verb rendered He set has no explicit subject. Good News Translation says “Huram placed…,” so that readers will not mistakenly think that Solomon is the subject. Good News Translation also repeats from verse 15 the information that the pillars were “bronze.”

At the vestibule of the temple: The Hebrew preposition rendered at in Revised Standard Version does not specify exactly where the pillars were set up in relation to the vestibule. They may have been in front of the vestibule, which is likely, or inside the vestibule. Good News Translation avoids the problem by simply saying “in front of the entrance of the Temple.”

He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin … the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz: The Temple faced east, as did the entrance to it. So the pillars on the south and the north were positioned on each side of the entrance.

The name Jachin sounds like the Hebrew for “he [God] establishes,” and Boaz sounds like the Hebrew for “by his [God’s] strength.” Since these names have symbolic meaning, that information needs to be expressed; and there are several ways this may be done. Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, New Living Translation, and Contemporary English Version place the meaning in footnotes. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, La Bible du Semeur, and Gray transliterate the two names and place the translation of each name within parentheses in the text following the name. Peregrino does just the opposite of Good News Translation, translating the names in the text as “Firm” and “Strong,” and placing the Hebrew names in footnotes. This is certainly an acceptable solution for those translators who wish to adopt it.

Archaeological evidence shows that doors and gates in Mesopotamia had names that called upon the gods for blessings and protection. Cogan (2000, page 264), therefore, thinks that the two pillars may have had sentences inscribed on them, such as “He will establish the throne of David and his kingdom for his offspring forever” and “In the strength of YHWH shall the king rejoice.”

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 .