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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 21:1:
Kupsabiny: “Manasse began to rule Judah when he had/was twelve years. He ruled from the city of Jerusalem for fifty-five years. His mother was called Hephzibah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king He reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-five years. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Manase was twelve years when he became king. He stayed/lived in Jerusalem, and he reigned for a period/[lit. inside] of 55 years. His mother was Hefziba.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to rule. He ruled Judah for 55 years from Jerusalem. His mother was Hephzibah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The standard formula to introduce a king of Judah or Israel includes the following information here about Manasseh: his age at the time he came to power, the length of his reign, his capital, and his mother’s name (compare 1 Kgs 14.21; 2 Kgs 8.26).
He reigned fifty-five years: When the dates for the kings who ruled before and after Manasseh are calculated, it is difficult to explain the number fifty-five. The number “forty-five” seems to fit better. One way to solve the chronological problem is to assume that the first ten years of the young King Manasseh’s rule overlapped with the reign of his father Hezekiah. The dates given in different translations for Manasseh’s rule vary considerably because of this problem. The section heading in Peregrino, for example, gives the dates 698–643 B.C. New Jerusalem Bible, however, gives the dates 687–642 B.C. All interpreters, however, are agreed that the text says fifty-five years, and this is what must be translated in the receptor language.
The text mentions only the name of Hephzibah, the mother of Manasseh, but nothing is said of her father (Manasseh’s grandfather) or her place of origin. She is the only one of the specifically named queen mothers for whom no such information is given, and she is not mentioned at all in the parallel passage in 2 Chr 33.1.
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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