cardinal directions

The cardinal directions “east” and “west” are easy to translate into Maan here since the language uses “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down.” For “north” the translator had “facing toward the sun rising to the left,” and for “south” she had “facing toward the sun rising to the right.” So the listener had to think hard before knowing what direction was in view when translating “to the north and south, to the east and west.” So, in case all four directions are mentioned, it was shortened by saying simply “all directions.” Manya uses a similar nomenclature for the cardinal directions. (Source: Don Slager)

Likewise, Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) or Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

Kankanaey is “from the coming-out and the going-away of the sun and the north and the south” (source: Kankanaey back-translation), Northern Emberá “from where the sun comes up, from where it falls, from the looking [left] hand, from the real [right] hand” (source: Charles Mortensen), Amele “from the direction of the sun going up, from the direction of the sun going down, from the north and from the south” (source: John Roberts), Ejamat “look up to see the side where the sun comes from, and the side where it sets, and look on your right side, and on your left” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).

In Lamba, only umutulesuŵa, “where the sun rises” and imbonsi, “where the sun sets” were available as cardinal directions that were not tied to the local area of language speakers (“north” is kumausi — “to the Aushi country” — and “south” kumalenje — “to the Lenje country”). So “north” and “south” were introduced as loanwords, nofu and saufu respectively. The whole phrase is kunofu nakusaufu nakumutulesuŵa nakumbonsi. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )

“West” is translated in Tzeltal as “where the sun pours-out” and in Kele as “down-river” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Morelos Nahuatl, “north” is translated as “from above” and “south” as “from below.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In Matumbi cardinal directions are defined as in relation to another place. “East” for instance typically is “toward the beach” since the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas. “North” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture.

Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”

See also cardinal directions / left and right and people of the East.

complete verse (Ezekiel 47:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 47:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “The border of East shall start from the middle of Hauran and Damascus towards the South and then, it follows the river of Jordan where it divides/separates the land of Israel and that of Gilead. It stretches/extends like that to the Lake of Salt and goes towards the South until it touches Tamar.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘The boundary in the east will-start in the boundary of Hauran and of Damascus towards the River Jordan (which separates Gilead and the land of Israel) going-towards the Dead Sea up to Tamar. That was the boundary in the east.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “On the east side, the boundary will extend between Hauran and Damascus, south along the Jordan River between the Gilead region and the land of Israel, along the Dead Sea as far as the town of Tamar. That will be the eastern boundary.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Jordan

The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jordan River .

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 47:18

On the east side: This verse describes the eastern border of the land of Israel.

The boundary shall run from Hazar-enon, which was the easternmost point of the northern border (see verse 17), between Hauran and Damascus, that is, in a southwest direction with Hauran on the left and Damascus on the right (see the comments and the map at verses 15-17). The Hebrew does not mention Hazar-enon. The reading in Revised Standard Version follows a suggested change to the Hebrew text to tie the eastern boundary to the northern boundary. The Hebrew here is literally “from between Hauran and from between Damascus” (similarly Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version). Although this reading results in a less specific description, it is preferable because it does not require a change to the Hebrew consonantal text (see the first model below). But if the omission of Hazar-enon will confuse readers, translators may include it (see the second model below).

Along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel refers to the part of the Jordan River that flows from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea. God does not say where the border coming from Hazar-enon will meet the Jordan River, but it is unlikely to be further south than Lake Galilee. It may have been at the lake itself, or further north, but we don’t know. Gilead was a region to the east of the Jordan River.

To the eastern sea and as far as Tamar: The boundary will continue to the eastern sea, that is, the Dead Sea, and then further southward as far as Tamar. Revised Standard Version follows the ancient Syriac version here instead of the Hebrew text, which reads “from the border to the eastern sea you shall measure” (similarly King James Version / New King James Version, New American Standard Bible, Complete Jewish Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The Hebrew word for “you shall measure” looks very similar to the Hebrew name “Tamar” and could easily be confused with it. However, the idea of measuring does not fit well here, and the references to the town of Tamar in verse 19 and 48.28 make it almost certain that Tamar is the best translation here (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project).

This shall be the east side changes the Hebrew text, which is literally “and the east side.” It is better to follow Revised Standard Version here (see the comments on verse 17).

Models for this verse are:

• “Here is [or, This is] the boundary on the east. It will start from a point [in the north] between the territory of Hauran and that of Damascus, and will go southward between those two towns. It will follow the Jordan River between the land of Gilead and the land of Israel, continue to the Dead Sea, and then go south as far as the town of Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary of the land.

• “Here is the boundary on the east. It will start at Hazer-enon in the north and go between the territories of Hauran to the east and Damascus to the west. It will follow the Jordan River between the land of Gilead and the land of Israel, continue to the Dead Sea, and then go south as far as the town of Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary of the land.

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .