son of

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “son of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic naming system . This means that for instance in Matthew 16:17 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Simon son of Jonah” becomes “Simon Jónasson” or in Isaiah 8:2 “Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” becomes “Sakaría Jeberekíason” where in both cases the “-son” means “son of.”

In cases where “son of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage, however, this system is not used. So in Matthew 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” is translated as “Jesú Krists, sonar Davíðs, sonar Abrahams.”

The referenced verses all have at least one instance where the Icelandic patronymic or matronymic naming system is used. (Source: Halldór Elías Guðmundsson)

See also daughter of

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 10:67

In the one hundred and sixty-fifth year Demetrius the son of Demetrius came from Crete to the land of his fathers: The one hundred and sixty-fifth year corresponds to 147 b.c. (see the comments on 1Macc 1.10). For Demetrius the son of Demetrius, Good News Bible has “Demetrius the Second, the son of Demetrius the First.” However, Demetrius~II did not become king until later (see 1Macc 11.19), so translators will have to decide if it is a problem to refer to him as “Demetrius the Second” at this point. For most languages it will probably be helpful. An alternative model that avoids this problem is “the son of King Demetrius, also named Demetrius.” Crete is a large island in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Greece. It is approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the coast of Palestine. The land of his fathers is of course Syria, which Good News Bible helpfully names. It is obvious that Demetrius took a ship from Crete to Syria. So we may translate came from Crete to the land of his fathers as “sailed from the island of Crete to Syria, the land of his ancestors.”

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.