family / clan / house

The Hebrew terms that are translated as “family” or “clan” or “house” or similar in English are all translated in Kwere as ng’holo or “clan.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the English translation by Goldingay (2018) it is translated as “kin-group.”

See also tribe.

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 .

complete verse (2 Chronicles 17:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 17:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “The listing of those soldiers going by their houses was like this: A person called Adnah was in charge of three hundred thousand (300,000) soldiers.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “They were enlisted according to their own families, like this —
    The captains from Judah —
    Adnah, there were 300,000 soldiers who took training with him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “His soldiers were listed according to their families. Adnah was the commander of 300,000 good soldiers who of/from-Juda, which were grouped into 1,000.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The leaders and numbers from each tribe were as follows:
    From the tribe of Judah,
    Adnah was the leader of the soldiers, and he commanded 300,000 soldiers.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”

This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 17:14

This was the muster of them by fathers’ houses: The English word muster is a technical term referring to the registration or enrollment of military personnel. But the Hebrew noun here has a wider range of meanings, including “list of personnel and their duties,” which may include military duties, as it does here. This was the muster of them may be expressed in more common language as “These soldiers were listed” (New Century Version) or “Here is a listing of them” (Complete Jewish Bible). By fathers’ houses means the listing was done by clans. For fathers’ houses, see the comments on 1 Chr 5.13. In many languages this literal expression is better rendered “ancestral clans” (New Living Translation), “family groups” (La Bible du Semeur), or simply “families” (God’s Word, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Bible en français courant renders this whole clause as “These soldiers were grouped according to their family of origin.”

Of Judah, the commanders of thousands …: A list of commanders follows according to clans, beginning with those from the tribe of Judah (verses 14b-16) and concluding with those from the tribe of Benjamin (verses 17-18). Commanders of thousands seems to be the most natural understanding of the Hebrew words here. Some other renderings that express this sense are “chiefs of thousands” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) and “commanders of units of 1,000” (New International Version). For this whole phrase New Century Version has “From the families of Judah, these were the commanders of groups of a thousand men.” It is also possible to understand the Hebrew to mean “There were a thousand officers from Judah” ( NET Bible), but this is unlikely given the context.

Adnah the commander, with three hundred thousand mighty men of valor: The first commander in the list is Adnah, who had 300,000 soldiers under his command.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 2 Chronicles 17:14

17:14a These are their numbers according to the houses of their fathers:

His army was enrolled according to their clans in this way:
-or-
These are the soldiers from each clan.

17:14b From Judah, the commanders of thousands:

From Judah there were commanders over groups of a thousand soldiers.
-or-
The commanders of thousands from the clan of Judah were:

17:14c Adnah the commander, and with him 300,000 mighty men of valor;

Adnah was in charge of three hundred thousand soldiers.
-or-
{There was} Adnah, who led three hundred thousand (300,000) soldiers,

© 2021, 2022 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.