desert / wilderness

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The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “desert” or “wilderness” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • Mairasi: “a place where noisiness is cut off (or: stops)” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Muna: pandaso bhalano pr “big barren-field” (source: René van den Berg)
  • Balinese: “barren field” (source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 75ff. )
  • Wantoat: “uninhabited place” (source: Holzhausen 1991, p. 38)
  • Umiray Dumaget Agta: “where no people dwell” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “where no house is” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Amri Karbi: “waterless region/place” (source: Philippova 2021, p. 368)
  • Ocotlán Zapotec: “large empty place” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Pa’o Karen: “jungle” (denoting a place without any towns, villages and tilled fields) (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. )
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
  • Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

See also wilderness and desolate wilderness.

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Deut 2:8)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.

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 2:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 2:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “So, we passed by the cities of Elath and Ezion-geber but we did not follow the road of the Arabah. We went to pass through the land of our relatives those who were the grandchildren of Esau who lived in the hills of Seir. Then, the we headed towards the wilderness of Moab.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Since it was like that we turned away from the land of our elder and younger brothers, the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir. Not taking the Araba road coming from Elath and Ezion-geber we turned and took the desert road toward Moab.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Therefore we (incl.) just passed-by our (incl.) kinsmen who were the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We (incl.) did- not -pass-through on the road of the Valley/Plains of Jordan, which comes-from the towns of Elat and Ezion Geber. When we (incl.) traveled on the road of the desolate-place of Moab,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So we continued to travel. We avoided going through the hilly area where the descendants of Esau live. We stayed away from the road through the Jordan River Valley past Ezion-Geber and Elath towns, and we turned and traveled northeast toward the desert area where the Moab people-group lives.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Deuteronomy 2:8

So we went on, away from our brethren: this may mean that the Israelites departed, leaving behind the Edomites (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, New Jerusalem Bible); or it may mean, more precisely, “So we passed by our kin” (New Revised Standard Version; also Revised English Bible “So we went on past our kinsmen”; also Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, Bible en français courant). It is difficult to determine which meaning is intended. The Hebrew text is not at all clear, and it appears to embody an inconsistency. It seems to say that the Israelites bypassed Edom (see verse 1), even though the verb used is one that means ordinarily “to go through” (as in 2.4); it is not the verb that normally means “to go around” (see 2.3). But with the verb goes the preposition “from” (as in Num 20.21), which makes the Hebrew say that the Israelites avoided going through Edom. So Contemporary English Version has “We went past the territory that belonged to our relatives, the descendants of Esau.” This is what the Hebrew seems to mean, and is recommended to the translator; but the other meaning “went away from” is also possible.

Our brethren the sons of Esau who live in Seir: as in verse 4. It is difficult to know why Good News Translation has omitted this bit of information; perhaps it was regarded as unnecessarily repetitive.

Away from the Arabah road from Elath and Ezion-geber: the Hebrew here is also unclear, and the translations vary. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh is quite literal but makes sense: “away from the road of the Arabah, away from Elath and Ezion-geber.” Bible en français courant is similar: “We also avoided the road of the Arabah and the sites of Elath and Ezion-geber.” Good News Translation‘s “So we moved on and left the road that goes from the towns of…” is a possible rendering of the Hebrew text. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is even freer: “So we went northward through the territory of our kinspeople, the descendants of Esau, but did not use the road that goes from Ezion-geber and Elath through the Arabah to the Dead Sea.”

We turned and went: this may be stated more naturally, “We resumed our journey,” “We kept on going.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “We marched on in the direction of….” As Good News Translation makes clear, Moab was to the north (see map, page xii).

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 .