12Then the Levites arose, Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah;
The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” and in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 29:12:
Kupsabiny: “Then, the Levites got up and started the work. The Levites who came from the house of Kohath were Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah. And those of the house of Merari were Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel, those of the house of Gershon were Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then these Levites went forward to do the work — From the Kohathites — Mahath son of Amasia and Joel son of Azariah. From the Merari-ites — Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel From the Gershonies — Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So these Levites began to work: (From) the family of Kohat: Mahat the child of Amasai and Joel the child of Azaria. (From) the family of Merari: Kish the child of Abdi and Azaria the child of Jehalelel. (From) the family of Gershon: Joa the child of Zima and Eden the child of Joa.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then these descendants of Levi started to work in the temple: From the descendants of Kohath there were Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah. From the descendants of Merari there were Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel. From the descendants of Gershon there were Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Then the Levites arose: While the Levites were in the open square east of the Temple (verse 4), they may have sat down. But since the Hebrew verb rendered arose is often used to indicate the beginning of action, here it may be translated “set to work” (Revised English Bible) or “started to work” (New Century Version, God’s Word). For this whole clause NET Bible has “The following Levites prepared to carry out the king’s orders.”
The words of the sons of in verses 12-14 refer to members of clans (so Good News Translation, Parole de Vie). As the format in Good News Translation makes clear, these three verses list Levites from seven different clans. There were two Levites from each of the clans of Kohath (see 1 Chr 6.18), Merari (1 Chr 6.19, 29-30), and Gershon (see 1 Chr 6.20-21). There were also two from the clan of Eli-zaphan, who was a descendant of Kohath (see the comments 1 Chr 6.18), and two from each division of the singers: Asaph (see 1 Chr 6.39), Heman (see 1 Chr 15.17), and Jeduthun (see 1 Chr 16.41).
Several of the Hebrew names in these verses have longer forms that are not represented in most versions. Translators should render these names according to the decisions they have made regarding the transliteration of Hebrew names into the receptor language.
Azariah (verse 12): A more exact transliteration here is “Azaryahu” (Bible de Jérusalem, La Bible Pléiade).
Jeuel (verse 13) is the form of the name in the Masoretic Text. However, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh follows the corrected form in the margin of the Masoretic Text, which is “Jeiel.”
Zechariah (verse 13): A more exact transliteration here is “Zecharyahu” (Bible de Jérusalem).
Mattaniah (verse 13): A more exact transliteration here is “Mattanyahu” (Bible de Jérusalem, La Bible Pléiade).
Jehuel (verse 14) is the form of the name in the Masoretic Text. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and La Bible Pléiade follow the corrected form in the margin of the Masoretic Text, which is “Jehiel.”
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 .
Then the Levites started to work ⌊in God’s house⌋. -or-
⌊After King Hezekiah said this⌋ the people of ⌊the clan of⌋ Levi began to work.
29:12b Mahath son of Amasai and Joel son of Azariah from the Kohathites;
From the clan of Kohath, there was Amasai’s son Mahath and Azariah’s son Joel. -or-
⌊These are the Levites who began the work in Yahweh’s house.⌋ From the clan of Kohath, there were Mahath the son of Amasai and Joel the son of Azariah.
29:12c Kish son of Abdi and Azariah son of Jehallelel from the Merarites;
From the clan of Merari, there was Abdi’s son Kish and Jehallelel’s son Azariah. -or-
From the clan of Merari, there were Kish the son of Abdi and Azariah the son of Jehallelel.
29:12d Joah son of Zimmah and Eden son of Joah from the Gershonites;
From the clan of Gershon, there was Zimmah’s son, Joah, and Joah’s son Eden. -or-
From the clan of Gershon, there were Joah the son of Zimmah and Eden the son of Joah.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.