18Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.
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 24:18:
Kupsabiny: “Zedekiah began to rule when he had twenty-one years. He ruled in/from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was called Hamutal, daughter of Jeremiah who lived in the city of Libnah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, He reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hemutal, daughter of Jeremiah. She was from Libnah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Zedekia was 21 years old when he became king. He lived in Jerusalem, and he reigned for a period/[lit. inside] of 11 years. His mother was Hamutal the child/(daughter) of Jeremias who came-from-Libna.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “When Zedekiah was twenty-one years old, he became king, and he ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal; she was the daughter of a man named Jeremiah from Libnah town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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