31Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot son of Haran and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go into the land of Canaan, but when they came to Haran, they settled there.
The term that is transliterated as “Abram” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the sign signifying sojourning with a staff, clearly differentiating it from Abraham. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Abram” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Similarly, in Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with a sign that demonstrates that he has to wander from his home. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Abram” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
The term that is transliterated as “Canaan” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the sign loosely referencing the act of hiding/covering one’s face in shame. The association of “shame” with the name “Canaan” comes from Genesis 9, specifically verse 9:25. This sign was adapted from a similar sign in Kenyan Sign Language (see here). (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Canaan” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Canaan in biblical times (source: Bible Lands 2012)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Sarai” and “Sarah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign depicting coins on a headband, referring to women from the Middle East and North Africa who wear a headband decorated with small coins. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Lot” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “cousin,” referring to the fact that Lot is Abraham’s cousin (see Genesis 11:27). (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The name that is transliterated as “Chaldean” in English means “astrologer,” “wanderers.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with the sign that combines “Mesopotamia” (see here) and “spreading out,” since the Chaldeans originated in southern Mesopotamia and spread out from there. (Source: Missão Kophós )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 11:31:
Kankanaey: “On one-occasion, Tera called his child Abram and his grandchild Lot the child of Haran and his child-in-law Sarai the spouse of Abram, and they left Ur which was part of Babilonia so-that they would go (unfulfilled expectation) to Canaan. But when they arrived at Haran, they resided there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Terah left Ur, the city of the Chaldeans to go towards Canaan, taking his son, Abraham, his own son Haran, his grandson, Lot and his daughter-in-law Sarai, Abram’s wife. But having arrived in the city of Haran, they stayed there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Tera left Ur which (was) under-the-jurisdiction of the Chaldeans. With him was his son Abram, his daughter-in-law Sarai, and his grandson Lot who (was) the son of Haran. They would-have gone to Canaan, but when they arrived at Haran they just stayed/[lit. lived] there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Terah decided to leave Ur and go to live in Canaan land. So he took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and Abram’s wife Sarai with him. But instead of going to Canaan, they stopped at Haran town and lived there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Terah takes Abram, Lot, and Sarai to Haran. Each name is identified by kinship.
Terah took Abram his son and Lot the son of Haran, his grandson …: this follows the Hebrew word order, which is awkward in English as well as in many other languages. It may be clearer to say, as in Good News Translation, “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, who was the son of Haran, …,” or “Terah took Abram and Lot, who were his son and his grandson. Lot was also Haran’s son….” In some languages it may be better to begin with the second part of the verse, as Biblia Dios Habla Hoy does: “Terah left Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan, and he took with him….” His grandson in Hebrew is “son of his son.”
To go into the land of Canaan appears to mean that they were headed for Canaan, or that Canaan was their destination until they reached Haran. Land of Canaan is the same expression as used in “land of Havilah” and “land of Cush” in 2.11 and 2.13, where Good News Translation translates “country of…”; and it may be better translated in that way here.
But when they came to Haran: but suggests a change of plans or destination. Haran is mentioned again in 12.4, 5; 27.43; 28.10; 29.4. Haran in northern Babylonia was located on the east bank of a tributary flowing into the Euphrates. It was an important commercial center on the trade route from Nineveh to Damascus. Settled translates the same verb as in Gen 11.2. See there for discussion.
This whole verse may be translated, for example:
• Terah took with him his son Abram and his grandson Lot. Lot was Haran’s son. He also took Sarai, who was Abram’s wife. They all left together from the city of Ur in Babylonia to go to the country of Canaan. However, when they arrived in Haran, they stayed there to live.
But in this verse again, the reference to such a number of relationships and movements makes the text quite difficult to follow. And so some translators may wish to rearrange the various elements in it. One translation, for example, says:
• Terah took his whole family group, and they left the town of Ur in the country of Chaldea to go to the land of Canaan. The names of those who went with Terah were: Abram his son, and Sarai the wife of Abram, and Lot the son of Haran and grandson of Terah. This family group went as far as the town of Haran, and they stayed there.
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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