find water

The Hebrew in Genesis 26:32 that is translated as “we have found water” or similar in English is translated in Mwera idiomatically as “we have met water.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Isaac

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”):


“Isaac” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Isaac .

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

well

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “well” in English is translated in Cherokee as ama atlvhdiyi or “where you fill it with water.” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)

complete verse (Genesis 26:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 26:32:

  • Newari: “That very day Isaac’s servants came to him and said — ‘We have found water.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “That day also, the servants of Isaac arrived and told him that there was water in the well that they had-dug.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “That day Isaac’s servants came to him and told him about the well that they had finished digging. They said, ‘We found water in the well!'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

humbling 1st person plural pronoun (Japanese)

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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 first person plural pronoun (“we” and its various forms) that expresses humility as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. In these verses, watakushi-domo (私ども) combines “I” (watakushi) with the humbling pronoun -domo.

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

Translation commentary on Genesis 26:32

Verses 32-33 conclude the reports about the wells dug by Isaac’s men.

That same day refers to the day of Abimelech’s departure from Isaac’s camp.

Came and told him: that is, came and told Isaac. It may be more natural to put “We have found water” in indirect speech, and then this verse may be translated, for example, “The same day Abimelech left Isaac’s camp, his servants came and told him that they had found water in a well they had been digging.” If it is more natural to use direct speech, Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation may be followed. In areas where wells and well digging are unknown, there may be no connection in the reader’s mind between finding water and digging the hole. It may help in such cases to say, for example, “… told him, ‘We have reached water in the hole we have dug.’ ”

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 .