Tigris

The Tigris river , which flows from today’s Turkey through Syria and Iraq was transliterated in many early English translations and most other languages with a long translation history as Hiddekel or similar from the Hebrew Ḥiddéqel before using the current geographic designation of today. An exception is the European Portuguese 2009 edition of the “Good News Bible” (BÍBLIA para todos Edição Comum) that reverted back to Hidéquel, partly because the geographical Portuguese term “Tigre” also means “tiger” (as in the large cat).

A new oral translation into Yao / Ciyawo, spoken in Mozambique, uses Dijlah, a transliteration of the Arabic دِجلَة. Tobias Houston (2025, p. 236) explains: “On a practical level, ḥiddeqel, Tigris, and Tigre are unfamiliar to the Yawo as names of a real river in modern-day Iraq. Although the actual river in Iraq is indeed called Tigre in Portuguese and Tigris in English, this holds little significance for most Yawo people, who are unacquainted with either term. Consequently, to align with the Yawo’s Islamic identity and the reality of influence from the Arabic language, the new Mozambican Ciyawo translation of Genesis has opted for a different approach by using the term Dijlah (دِجلَة), the contemporary Arabic name for this very same river. The name Dijlah appears to derive from earlier etymologies. It bears some resemblance to the Aramaic Diglath (דִּגְלָת)—a form carried over into Greek texts such as Josephus’s Antiquities, also transliterated as Diglath (Διγλἀθ). Given the Yawo people’s predisposition to Arabic influences in their language, and considering that Yawo men, in particular, occasionally travel to the Middle East to study Arabic and Islam, the choice of Dijlah is both logical and practical. Indeed, this translation strategy demonstrates a keen awareness of the Yawo’s existing cultural and religious narrative frames and that their frames are not our frames.”

complete verse (Daniel 10:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 10:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then on the twenty fourth day of the first month, I stood on the bank of river Tigris.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “On the 24th day of the first month of that year, while I was standing on the bank of the great river Tigris,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “On the 24th day of the first month, I was-standing there beside great River of Tigris.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When those three weeks ended, on April 23, my companions and I were standing on the bank of the great Tigris River.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Daniel 10:4

The actual vision of Daniel begins with this verse. Verses 2 and 3 should be seen as preparation for the vision but not as a part of the vision itself.

The first month: this does not refer to the month of January, as may be understood in many languages. The first month in the Jewish calendar is Nisan, which corresponds approximately to mid-March to mid-April in our present system. According to some commentators the dating is significant because of the two great celebrations, Passover and Unleavened Bread (Exo 12.1-20), which occurred during this month. These celebrations were associated with Israel’s past deliverance, and Daniel is thinking about future deliverance of his people. This information can be given in a footnote. It is also wise to provide the reader with a complete table of Old Testament calendar systems along with other readers’ helps or as a part of the glossary. Good models for this are provided in New Jerusalem Bible or in the footnote at Exo 12.4 in the New International Version Study Bible, although permission from the copyright holder is required to simply copy such tables.

That is, the Tigris: this is taken by some commentators as a later addition to the text. But since the “great river” in the Old Testament is usually the Euphrates (see, for example, Josh 1.4), this clarification is necessary for translation reasons in any case. The Hebrew name for this river is Hiddekel (as in King James Version here and at Gen 2.14), but most versions adopt the better known Persian name “Tigris.”

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .