36Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah.
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 23:36:
Kupsabiny: “Jehoiakim began to rule when he had twenty-five years. He ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was called Zebidah, daughter of a man called Pedaiah from Rumah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king. He reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Zebidah, daughter of Pedaiah. She was from Rumah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Jehoyakim was 25 years old when he became king. He lived in Jerusalem, and he reigned for a period/[lit. inside] of eleven years. His mother was Zebida the child/(daughter) of Pedaya who comes-from-Ruma.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
As in verse 31, the usual formula to introduce a king is used here for the reign of Jehoiakim by giving his age (twenty-five years old), the length of his reign (eleven years), and his capital (Jerusalem) as well as information about his mother.
The name Zebidah is corrected to “Zebudah” (Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Jewish Publication Version, New King James Version ) in the margin of some Hebrew manuscripts. But since this is the only occurrence of this name, the difference in spelling is of little significance.
Since six other people in the Old Testament have the name Pedaiah, and all are men, there is no doubt that this is the father of Zebidah and not her mother.
Rumah is mentioned nowhere else in the Old Testament, but the first-century Jewish historian Josephus mentions a town by this name in Galilee; and this is confirmed also by other extra-biblical sources. So Good News Translation correctly identifies Rumah as a “town.” Translators may need to add a classifier term to make this clear to readers.
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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