firstborn

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “firstborn” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • “he/she that opens the gown” in Batak Toba (because formerly a woman stopped wearing a gown and started using a bodice after the birth of her first child)
  • “he/she that damages the stalk (i.e. the body)” in Uab Meto (source for this and above: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • “the oldest son of all” in Mezquital Otomi
  • “oldest child” in Isthmus Zapotec (source for this and one above: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • “firstborn child, who was a boy” in Elhomwe (to make clear, without ambiguity, that Mary did not have daughters before) (source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In Bawm Chin, the term can imply the existence of younger siblings, so a translation is needed that brings out the fact that Jesus is superior to all else, not just the first of a series. (Source: David Clark)

See also only begotten son / (one and) only son and firstborn.

hate

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “hate” or a form thereof is translated in Tabasco Chontal as “don’t want to see [the person who is hated].” (Source: John Beekman & Harwood Hess in Notes on Translation, March 1963, p. 1ff.)

See also hate.

complete verse (Deuteronomy 21:16)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 21:16:

  • Kupsabiny: “If it is like that, it is not acceptable for that person to make the son of the woman he loves inherit the things that the firstborn whose mother is not loved should receive.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “when he gives shares of the inheritance to his sons, he must not show partiality, giving the share of the first born to the son of the wife who is loved rather than to the son of the wife who is not loved.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When he now divide his possession/property to his children, the share for his first-born child must not be given to the child of the woman whom he loves. He should surely give it to the first-born even-though its mother he does not love.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “On the day when that man decides how he will divide his possessions for his sons to possess after he dies, he must not favor the son of the wife that he loves by giving him a bigger share, the share that the older son should receive.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 21:16

Then on the day may also be expressed as “when,” or even “later, when…” (Contemporary English Version).

When he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons: here the Good News Translation translation “children” for sons is not exact. The daughters play no role in the distribution of the man’s estate; the assumption is that daughters get married and so will be taken care of by their husbands. An alternative model for this first sentence is “Later, when the man divides the property among his sons, ….”

In preference to: this translates a Hebrew idiomatic phrase, “over the face of,” which indicates preference (also in 5.7). This final sentence may also be expressed as “he is not to show partiality to the son of his favorite wife by giving him the share that belongs to the first-born son.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .