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 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)
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 15:33:
Kupsabiny: “He was 25 years old when he began to rule. He ruled in Jerusalem for sixteen years. His mother was called Jerusha, who was a daughter of Zadok.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He was twenty-five years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Jotam was 25 years old when he became king. He lived in Jerusalem, and he reigned within a (period) of 16 years. His mother was Jerusha the child of Zadok.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He was 25 years old when he started to rule, and he ruled from Jerusalem for 16 years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The usual formula to introduce a king is continued in this verse with the following information:
• (1) Jotham’s age at the beginning of his reign: twenty-five years old.
• (2) Length of his reign: sixteen years. There are difficulties in establishing the time when Jotham ruled, since various biblical texts seem to provide conflicting information (see verse 30 and 2 Kgs 17.1). The sixteen years probably include the time when he ruled with his father Uzziah (about 750–742 B.C.) as well as when he ruled alone after his father’s death (about 742–735 B.C.).
• (3) His capital: Jerusalem.
• (4) His mother’s name: Jerusha.
• (5) His grandfather’s name from his mother’s side: Zadok.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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