1Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old; he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “daughter of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic patronymic or matronymic naming system . This means that for instance in Luke 2:36 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Anna the daughter of Phanuel” becomes “Anna Fanúelsdóttir” or in Jeremiah 52:1 “Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah” becomes “Hamútal Jeremíadóttir” where in both cases the “-óttir” means “daughter of.
In cases where “daughter of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage (or is uncertain), however, this system is not used. So in 1 Chronicles 1:50 “Mehetabel daughter of Matred daughter of Me-zahab” is translated as “Mehetabeel, dóttir Matredar, dóttur Mesahabs.” (Source: Halldór Elías Guðmundsson)
In Aekyom, years are counted as “turtles” (ambum).
Norm Mundhenk tells this story:
“Recently I was checking some New Testament material in the Aekyom language of western Papua New Guinea. It seemed relatively clear until suddenly we came to a passage that started, ‘When Jesus had 12 turtles, …’ Surely I had misunderstood what they said.
“‘Did you say that Jesus had 12 turtles?’
“‘Let us explain! Around here there is a certain time every year when river turtles come up on the banks and lay their eggs. Because this is so regular, it can be used as a way of counting years. Someone’s age is said to be how many turtles that person has. So when we say that Jesus had 12 turtles, we mean that Jesus was 12 years old.’
“It was of course the familiar story of Jesus’ trip with his parents to Jerusalem. And certainly, as we all know, Jesus did indeed have 12 turtles at that time!”
In Tok Pisin, krismas (derived from “christmas”) is taken as the fixed annual marker, so Jesus had 12 “christmases” (Jisas i gat 12-pela krismas pinis) or Abram (in Gen. 12:4) had 75 (Abram i gat 75 krismas) (source: Norm Mundhenk). In Noongar it is biroka kadak or “summers had” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
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:
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)
The name that is transliterated as “Hezekiah” in English means “the Lord my strength,” “the might of YHWH,” “strength of the Lord.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
It is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs for “king” and “facing the wall” referring to Isaiah 38:2. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that signifies a model, a parameter for his life, referring to “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done” of 2 Kings 18:3. (Source: Missão Kophós )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 29:1:
Kupsabiny: “Hezekiah had twenty-five years when he started the rule, and he ruled in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. His mother was called Abijah who was daughter of a man called Zechariah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became king. He reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah, daughter of Zechariah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Hezekia was 25 years old when he became king. He lived in Jerusalem, and he reigned within the (period) of 29 years. His mother was Abia the child/(daughter) of Zacarias.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became the king of Judah. He ruled from Jerusalem for 29 years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of a man whose name was Zechariah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
This verse follows the common formula that is used to summarize the reign of a ruler of Israel or Judah by stating Hezekiah’s age when he took over (twenty-five years old), the length of his reign (twenty-nine years), his capital (Jerusalem), and the name of his mother (Abijah). See the comments on 2 Chr 13.2.
The Hebrew name Hezekiah means “Yahweh strengthens.” Instead of Hezekiah, the Masoretic Text reads “Jehizkiyahu,” but the context shows that Hezekiah is the intended name (see the comments on 2 Chr 28.27).
Instead of the name Abijah, the parallel text of 2 Kgs 18.2 has the shorter form “Abi.” The most common form of the name is “Abijah.” It is probably better to use this longer form in both passages in order to avoid confusing the reader, who might otherwise think that two different persons are meant.
Zechariah is literally “Zecharyahu” (Bible de Jérusalem). There are more than thirty people named Zechariah in the Old Testament, including another person in verse 13. Neither of these people is the prophet who wrote the book of Zechariah. It is possible that this Zechariah is the same person mentioned in Isa 8.2.
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 .
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