The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “son of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic naming system . This means that for instance in Matthew 16:17 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Simon son of Jonah” becomes “Simon Jónasson” or in Isaiah 8:2 “Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” becomes “Sakaría Jeberekíason” where in both cases the “-son” means “son of.”
In cases where “son of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage, however, this system is not used. So in Matthew 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” is translated as “Jesú Krists, sonar Davíðs, sonar Abrahams.”
The referenced verses all have at least one instance where the Icelandic patronymic or matronymic naming system is used. (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 16:5:
Kupsabiny: “Then, Rezin, the king of Syria, prepared himself with Pekah son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, and they went to surround/besiege Ahaz in the city of Jerusalem and they fought (him), but they did not defeat (him).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Rezin, King of Aram and Pekah, son of Remaliah, king of Israel went to wage war against Jerusalem. They besieged Ahaz. But they were not able to defeat him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “While Ahaz was-reigning in Juda, King Rezin of Aram and King Peka of Israel, child/(son) of Remalia, attacked Jerusalem, and they besieged it. But they did- not -win-over Ahaz.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “While he was the king of Judah, King Rezin of Assyria and King Pekah of Israel came with their armies and attacked Jerusalem. They surrounded the city, but they could not conquer it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
The transition word Then reflects the Hebrew adverb expressing either a temporal relationship (the next step in a sequence of events) or a logical one (the result of something previously stated). Although Good News Translation leaves it untranslated, most modern versions take it as a temporal transition as in Revised Standard Version.
Rezin king of Syria: See the comments on 2 Kgs 15.37. As noted there, some translations spell the name Rezin as “Razon.” Whichever spelling of the name was used in 15.37 should be used here also. Translators should remember that in some languages it may be more natural to place the title before the proper name rather than after it: “King Rezin of Syria” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version).
Good News Translation omits the phrase the son of Remaliah since it occurred earlier in verse 1. This may be a helpful model for other languages.
Came up to wage war: In some languages this expression will be more naturally rendered by a single verb or expression with military connotations, such as “attacked” (Good News Translation) or “launched their campaign” (New Jerusalem Bible). The writer does not give the reason why Syria and Israel went to war against Judah, but these two kings were probably trying to overthrow Ahaz in order to get Judah on their side against Assyria.
Jerusalem refers to the people living in Jerusalem at that time. Jerusalem was, of course, the capital of the southern kingdom and the principal residence of King Ahaz.
They besieged Ahaz but could not conquer him: Here the name of the king of Judah is used to represent the entire population of the city of Jerusalem. Likewise, the pronoun him represents Ahaz and all his supporters. If this is unnatural in the receptor language, proper adjustments should be made in translation. Some may say “Ahaz and his people” or something similar. The Syriac version has the pronoun “it” (referring to Jerusalem) instead of the name Ahaz, and the parallel passage in Isa 7.1 likewise refers to the city rather than to the king. This is the basis for the New Jerusalem Bible rendering “They besieged it but could not reduce it.”
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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