years (age)

In Aekyom, years are counted as “turtles” (ambum).

Norm Mundhenk tells this story:

“Recently I was checking some New Testament material in the Aekyom language of western Papua New Guinea. It seemed relatively clear until suddenly we came to a passage that started, ‘When Jesus had 12 turtles, …’ Surely I had misunderstood what they said.
“‘Did you say that Jesus had 12 turtles?’
“‘Let us explain! Around here there is a certain time every year when river turtles come up on the banks and lay their eggs. Because this is so regular, it can be used as a way of counting years. Someone’s age is said to be how many turtles that person has. So when we say that Jesus had 12 turtles, we mean that Jesus was 12 years old.’
“It was of course the familiar story of Jesus’ trip with his parents to Jerusalem. And certainly, as we all know, Jesus did indeed have 12 turtles at that time!”

In Tok Pisin, krismas (derived from “christmas”) is taken as the fixed annual marker, so Jesus had 12 “christmases” (Jisas i gat 12-pela krismas pinis) or Abram (in Gen. 12:4) had 75 (Abram i gat 75 krismas) (source: Norm Mundhenk). In Noongar it is biroka kadak or “summers had” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

See also advanced in years.

complete verse (Genesis 11:12)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 11:12:

  • Newari: “When Arphaxad was 35 years old, his son named Shelah was born.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When Arfaxad was now age-of 35 years, his son Shela was-born.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When Arphachshad was 35 years old, he became the father of Shelah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 11:12 - 11:13

The report of Arpachshad: it should be noted that, beginning with Arpachshad, the fathers’ ages at the time of the birth of their son drops to what we would consider today as normal compared with those in chapter 5. Also the reported years of life are much less.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .