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).
The name that is transliterated as “Isaac” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and French Sign Language with a sign that is linked to his mother’s laughter when she hears that she will be pregnant with him (referring to Genesis 18:12 – 18:15) and also is the meaning of the Hebrew “Isaac” (Yitschaq — “he laughs”):
The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Jacob” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “lentil,” referring to the soup he gave his brother in exchange for his birthright (see Genesis 25:34). Note that another Spanish Sign Language sign for Jacob also users the sign for Jewish. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the signs signifying “smooth arm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 25:26:
Kankanaey: “As for the second-one, he was grasping the heel of the one-who-came-first when they came-out, so they named him Jacob. Isaac had sixty years at their birth.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “The child born after him was born grasping the heel of his elder brother Esau. So he was given the name, Jacob. When they were born Isaac was already 60 years old.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When the second (one) came-out, his hand was-grasping the heel of his twin, so they named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years of-age when Rebeka gave-birth to the twins.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then his brother was born, grasping Esau’s heel. So they named him Jacob, which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘heel’. Isaac was 60 years old when the twins were born.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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 show different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morphemes rare (られ) or are (され) are affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, nazuke-rare-ru (名づけられる) or “name” is used.
Afterward his brother came forth: came forth translates the same verb as used with Esau in verse 25. In some languages his brother must be rendered by a kinship term meaning “younger brother.” In other cases languages have special terms for the first and second twin. See the usage of “elder” and “younger” in verse 23.
His hand had taken hold of Esau’s heel: his hand refers to the hand of the second twin. Had taken hold translates the active participle of a verb meaning to grasp, seize, or hold. Good News Translation expresses the thought well for English: “was born holding on tightly to the heel of Esau.”
So his name was called Jacob: unlike verse 25, which has “they called … Esau,” here called has a singular indefinite subject translated as a passive by Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. In languages that do not use the passive, we may express this the same as in verse 25: “They named him,” “They gave him the name.”
Jacob: the Hebrew word for “heel” is ʿaqev and sounds similar to the Hebrew for “Jacob,” which is yaʿaqov. Note that the Revised Standard Version footnote has “He takes by the heel or He supplants.” This explanation refers to the verb form ʿaqav. “Supplant” refers to Jacob’s replacing his older brother through deceit, as becomes evident in verses 27-34 and 27.1-40.
In areas where some form of the name Jacob is widely used as a personal name, that form of the name should be used here. Where the name is unknown it may be transliterated from a major language in the area. It may also be transliterated from the Hebrew form but should be spelled in a way that can be easily pronounced.
Since Jacob in Hebrew sounds like the word for “heel” of the foot, it may be helpful to provide readers with a note here, and the one in Good News Translation may be followed. In 27.36 there is a second play on Jacob’s name, and there it is based on the similarity in sound of Jacob and the word for “cheat.” See 27.36 for a footnote suggestion at that place.
The birth report of the twins concludes with the age of the father. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them: according to verse 20 Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah. Thus he waited for twenty years for God to give him an heir. She refers, of course, to Rebekah. This clause may be rendered, for example, “when Rebekah gave birth to her twins” or “when Rebekah gave birth to Esau and Jacob.”
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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