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 19:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 19:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “He chose councilors/judges in all the big cities of Judah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Furthermore he appointed judges in all the walled cities.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He appointed judges in each stone-walled/fortified city of Juda.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He appointed judges throughout Judah, in each of the cities that had walls around them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 19:5

He appointed judges in the land in all the fortified cities of Judah, city by city: The Hebrew term for judges (shaphat) is the same one used in 1 Chr 23.4 and 2 Chr 1.2 (see the comments there). In this context it refers to those who decided legal cases. The name Jehoshaphat contains within it the element “shaphat,” which means “to judge” in Hebrew. His name means “Yah [= Yahweh] has judged.” The fortified cities were cities that were protected by high, strong walls (see the comments on 2 Chr 17.2).

Revised Standard Version‘s overall wording of this verse follows the structure of the Hebrew, but it may be seen as awkward if translated literally into other languages. Since all the … cities and city by city say essentially the same thing, it may be more natural to translate this meaning only once. Similarly, the land and Judah refer to the same geographical area. So the meaning of this verse may be rendered by saying simply:

• Jehoshaphat appointed judges in all the land of Judah, in each one of its strong cities with walls.

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 19:5

19:5a He appointed judges in the land,

He appointed judges throughout the country
-or-
He chose people to become judges

19:5b in each of the fortified cities of Judah.

in all the fortified towns of Judah.
-or-
in every town of Judah that had walls around it.

© 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.