complete verse (Genesis 24:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 24:13:

  • Kankanaey: “Because here-I-am here at the location of the spring and there are-coming the young-ladies who reside here to go fetch-water.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The girls of the city are coming here to the well to draw water.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “I am-standing here beside the well while the women of this city are-drawing-water.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Listen to me. I am standing near a well of water, and the young women of the city are coming to get water.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Japanese benefactives (goran)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, goran (ご覧) or “see/behold/look” (itself a combination of “behold/see” [ran] and the honorific prefix go- — see behold / look / see (Japanese honorifics)) is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Genesis 24:13

Behold is rendered “Here” in Good News Translation and others. The servant is calling the LORD’s attention to the situation and to the fact that he is about to meet the women who are coming toward the well. He is still speaking to the LORD.

Spring of water: the narrator spoke of the “well of water” in verse 11. In chapter 16 “spring” and “well” are used to refer to the same source of water. There does not appear to be any reason for shifting from “well” to spring here and then in verse 20 back to “well.” It is probably best, therefore, to translate each verse by using the same term.

Daughters of the men of the city is a biblical way of saying “the young women of the city,” or more generally “the women of the town,” “the daughters of the town’s people.”

To draw water: as in verse 11.

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 .