Jerusalem

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:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

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)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 1:35

They stored up arms and food: Continuing from the previous verse, this clause may be rendered “… by stockpiling [or, amassing/collecting great quantities of] weapons and food.”

And collecting the spoils of Jerusalem they stored them there: This reference to loot may be placed in parentheses, since the spoils have nothing to do with the fortifications; for example, “(They also used this fort as a place to store all the loot [or, valuable possessions/things] they had stolen from Jerusalem).”

And became a great snare: The subject here is not the fort (so Good News Bible), but the men in the fort. For practical purposes the meaning is the same, so Good News Bible is not really wrong. But the next verse does describe the fort, and it seems best to preserve the distinction by rendering this clause as “There they waited like a trap ready to spring [or, to catch a victim].” The Greek word for snare refers to a trap for catching animals. It is used as a metaphor here. Translators may change it to a simile as in the model above, or they render it nonfiguratively as in Good News Bible, which says “threat.”

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• … by stockpiling [or, amassing] weapons and food. (They also used this fort as a place to store all the loot [or, valuable things] they had stolen from Jerusalem [or, from the people of Jerusalem].) There they waited like a trap ready to catch a victim.

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.