Judah, Judea

The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)


“Judah” and “Judea” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 15:40

A paragraph break is appropriate here, as in Good News Bible.

So Cendebeus came to Jamnia and began to provoke the people and invade Judea and take the people captive and kill them: The Greek connector rendered So (literally “And”) may be omitted. Cendebeus went to Jamnia (see 1Macc 4.15) and used that town as a base of operations to harass the Jews (the people), most of whom lived inland. In the clause take the people captive, the reference is to individual Jews, not to all the Jews. Contemporary English Version expresses the last half of this verse well with “He invaded Judea and killed everyone he captured.”

An alternative model for this verse is:

• Cendebeus led his army to Jamnia, where he began to cause trouble for the Jews. He invaded Judea, and killed anyone he captured.

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.