round

In Gbaya, the notion of something round is emphasized in the referenced verses with kirkiti, an ideophone that designates a round object.

In 2 Chronicles 3:5 it refers to the round stems of (artificial) palm trees around which chains were circled and in Zechariah 5:7 to a round lid that was lifted.

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

bronze

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “bronze” in English is translated in Newari as “bell-metal,” since bells are made of bronze in Nepal (source: Newari Back Translation).

See also bronze vessel.

complete verse (1 Kings 7:30)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 7:30:

  • Kupsabiny: “Each of those tables had four legs/stands made of bronze. The metal on which the stands/legs turned were of bronze. Each of them had a bronze basin which supported itself on four supports which were beautified with patterns on all sides.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Each cart had four bronze wheels with bronze axles. And each water tank was caused to stand on brass supports in its four corners. Those supports were decorated by threaded bronze garlands of flowers.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Each cart has four bronze wheels and has bronze axles. Every corner of the carts have supports for the rounded place-to-put of the bronze basin. The supports were- decorated with seems-like flowers that are interwoven. The rounded place-to-put is one and a half higher from the top of the cart, and the width of the opening/[lit. mouth] of-this two feet and three inches. Around the opening/[lit. mouth] (it has shaped decorations.) The walls of the cart are squares and not round.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Each cart had four bronze wheels and two axles made of bronze. At the top corners of each cart were bronze supports to hold up a basin. On these supports were also decorations of bronze wreaths.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 7:30

Moreover: For some unknown reason, Revised Standard Version has felt it necessary to use this transition word here for the common Hebrew conjunction. But it is worth noting that New Revised Standard Version has dropped the transition altogether. So it is quite possible to leave it untranslated in the receptor language as Good News Translation and most other modern versions have done.

Each stand had four bronze wheels and axles of bronze: Some languages may have difficulty in translating wheels and axles. In some cases the word for wheels has been borrowed from another language, but in other cases translators use the word for “legs” or “feet.” Axles are sometimes referred to as “turning things,” but in other cases as the “bones” that join the wheels.

At the four corners were supports for a laver: The Hebrew word translated supports is a term sometimes used for the slope of a hill or the shoulder of a human being. These supports were like legs on top of the cart on which the basin was held one cubit above the top of the frames and panels. This term may be translated “braces,” “props,” or “the things that hold.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates it as “brackets” (also Knox).

The English word laver is not common American English, and for this reason Good News Translation uses the more common term “basin.” These basins are sometimes also called “cauldrons.”

With wreaths at the side of each: Like the frames for the panels, the supports were decorated with spiral-shaped designs.

After writing about the wheels and axles (verse 30a), the writer describes the legs supporting the circular frame that held the basin of water (verses 30b-31). Then the writer returns to a description of the wheels in verses 32-33, followed in verse 34 by a return to the leg-supports. Some scholars suggest that a scribe mistakenly copied verses 30b-31 in the wrong place, and that this incorrect copy became the basis for the existing form of the text. On the basis of this assumption, New American Bible has reordered the verses by placing verse 30b after verse 33 and verse 31 after verse 35. For translation reasons New American Bible may be a useful model. Such a reordering of verses certainly makes a less confusing description. This rearrangement of verses gives the following order:
27-29 The ten stands and their panels
30a, 32-33 The wheels and axles
30b, 34 The leg-supports

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Kings 7:30

7:30a Each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles

Each base had four bronze wheels with bronze axles.
-or-

He/They attached⌋ bronze wheels and bronze rods to ⌊the bottom of⌋ each water cart.

7:30b and a basin resting on four supports,

Each base had/held a water bowl/container with four feet/legs.
-or-
On each cart/wagon was a water basin. It was held up by four ⌊metal⌋ posts

7:30c with wreaths at each side.

These had circle/spiral shaped patterns built/cast into on all sides.
-or-
with decorative spirals molded/formed into each side.

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