Esau

The name that is transliterated as “Esau” in English means “covered with hair,” “hairy.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Finnish Sign Language and American Sign Language it is translated with the signs signifying “hairy forearm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm, Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Esau” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also hairy (like Esau).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Esau .

complete verse (Deuteronomy 2:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 2:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “God helped like that the grandchildren of Esau who live in the hills of Seir to destroy the people of Horites. After that, those people lived in the land of the Horites until today.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He also did like this for the descendants of Esau who were living in Seir. He destroyed the Horites before them. Having driven them out, the Edomites have been living in their place until this day.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Just-the-same as that the LORD helped the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir. For the Lord had- the Horhanon -destroyed. They drove-out the Horhanon and have-lived-in their land until now.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Yahweh had done the same thing for the descendants of Esau who live in the hilly area of Edom. He got rid of the Hor people-group, with the result that the Edom people-group took their land from them and started to live there. They still live there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Honorary "are" construct denoting God ("destroy")

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme are (され) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, horobos-are-ru (滅ぼされる) or “destroy” is used.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 2:20 - 2:22

Verses 20-23 are another explanatory note that disrupts the narrative. It is well to place these verses within parentheses, as Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, and others do. The speech of Yahweh resumes at verse 24.

Verse 20 speaks of an ancient race of giants known by some as Rephaim and by others as Zamzummim. The suffix -im is the Hebrew pluralizer. For Rephaim see verse 11. The origin of Zamzummim is uncertain; some think it was an insulting term used by the Ammonites, but this cannot be proved. This name will have to be transliterated, like any other personal name.

In verse 21 a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim is exactly like the wording in verse 10. The rest of the verse is virtually like verse 12, except that here Yahweh is named as the one who destroys them. Dispossessed them means “to drive out” or “dislodge” the inhabitants. Good News Translation has “took over their land.”

Verse 22 describes the same kind of event with the same kind of language. At the end of the verse, and settled in their stead even to this day is better expressed by Good News Translation “and settled there, where they still live.”

To this day: some translations may wish to imitate Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, which here and elsewhere includes a footnote:
to this day: that is, until the time this account was written.

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 .

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 22:2

And if … or if …: here the people are told what to do if the owner of the animal lives a long way off or is unknown. The directions are quite clear, and there are no particular problems with the structure of the discourse or the meaning of the words. By saying “its owner,” Good News Translation (also Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) neatly handles the problem of trying to translate your brother. In languages like English, that differentiate between the neuter it (the animal) and the masculine he (the owner), there is no problem in making it clear which is referred to. But where there is no neuter form, a translator must make sure that there is no confusion in determining who or what the pronouns refer to.

An alternative translation model for this verse is:

• If the owner of the animal lives too far away, or if you [singular] don’t know who owns it, take the animal home with you. When its owner comes looking for it, give it back to him.

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 .