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).
In many languages, “events which are implied in a chronological sequence need to be inserted in the translation (…) In Genesis 11 where the text says, ‘so-and-so lived after (so many sons and daughters so many years),’ at the end of each occurrence the Timbe translation adds, ‘and he died’ to complete the chronological sequence.”
The name that is transliterated as “Peleg” (also: “Phaleg”) in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that signifies “separate” (the meaning of his name and representative of the time he lived at — see Genesis 10:25) and refers to the fact that he is part of Christ’s genealogy. (Source: Missão Kophós )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 11:19:
Newari: “After that he lived another 209 years. Other sons and daughters were also born to him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “After Reu was-born, Peleg still lived for 209 years and his children continued to-increased-in-number.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “After Reu was born, Peleg lived 209 more years and became the father of other sons and daughters.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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 .
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