gentiles / nations

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The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also nations.

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 3:10

But Apollonius gathered together Gentiles and a large force from Samaria to fight against Israel: The Greek connector rendered But is literally “And,” which is a weak way of connecting what follows with the preceding material. This connector may be omitted here. The translational problem in this verse is whether the Samaritans are to be included among the Gentiles. Good News Bible assumes so by translating Gentiles and a large force from Samaria as “a Gentile army, including a large force from Samaria.” In Revised Standard Version‘s rendering it sounds like there are two separate groups. The author is referring to Samaritans and pagans, that is, people who did not worship the God of Israel (and Samaria). Translators must decide this largely on the basis of how they translate Gentiles (see the comments on 1Macc 1.11). If their word can be used to include worshipers of the God of Israel who were not Jews, Good News Bible may be followed. If such a word cannot be appropriately used to refer to the Samaritans, who worshiped the God of the Jews, then the translation must reflect that. Translators could then say “A man named Apollonius collected an army [or, group of soldiers] consisting of Gentiles [or, non-Jews] and a large number of Samaritans to fight the people of Israel.” We may also restructure the verse as follows:

• A man named Apollonius decided to lead an army to invade Israel. So he assembled a group of soldiers consisting of Gentiles and a large number of Samaritans.

It will also be helpful to include a footnote informing the readers who these Samaritans were. This could read as follows: “The Samaritans lived in the region between Galilee and Judea. Because of differences in understanding the Law of Moses, there was much bad feeling between Jews and Samaritans.”

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.