1Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign; he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath.
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 22:1:
Kupsabiny: “Josiah began to rule when he was/had eight years. He ruled from Jerusalem for thirty-one years. His mother was called Jedidah, daughter of Adaiah who was from the city of Bozkath.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Josiah was eight years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem thirty-one years. His mother’s name was Jedidah daughter of Adaiah. She was from Bozkath.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Josia was eight years old when he became king. He lived in Jerusalem, and he reigned for a period/[lit. inside] of 31 years. His mother was Jedida the child/(daughter) of Adaya from/of-Bozkat.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Josiah was eight years old when he became the king of Judah. He ruled from Jerusalem for 31 years. His mother was Jedidah and his grandfather was Adaiah from Bozkath town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The standard formula is again used to introduce the reign of the next ruler of Judah. Although Josiah was only eight years old, the citizens of Judah made him king after his father was assassinated (2 Kgs 21.24). His reign was a relatively long one and he was also considered a good king.
The mother of Josiah was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah. Adaiah was the father of Jedidah. She was from the town of Bozkath, which was located somewhere in the lowland area of Judah (see Josh 15.39). In most languages it will be advisable to specify in translation that this was a town, as Good News Translation has done.
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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