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, Ge’ez, 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 27:21:
Kankanaey: “Whereupon Isaac said, ‘Approach-me my child so that I will place-my-hands-on you (sing.) so-that I-will-thereby-know if it is true that you (sing.) are Esau.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Isaac said to Jacob — ‘Come close to me, by touching you I will see whether you are my son Esau or not.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Isaac said, ‘Come- more -close/near to me child so-that I can-touch/feel you if truly you are really Esau.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come near to me, my son, so that I can touch you and determine whether you are really my son Esau.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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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 second person pronoun (“you” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used anata (あなた) is typically used when the speaker is humbly addressing another person.
In these verses, however, omae (おまえ) is used, a cruder second person pronoun, that Jesus for instance chooses when chiding his disciples. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Isaac has heard Jacob’s voice and is not sure who he is; so he decides to use his sense of touch on Jacob.
Come near, that I may feel you, my son: Isaac directs Jacob to approach him or come close to him. Good News Translation “Please” represents the Hebrew particle of entreaty that accompanies the verb. We may also say, for example, “Please come here” or “Please step near me.” Feel translates the same verb as used in verse 12.
To know whether you are really my son Esau or not: this may also be rendered, for example, “then I will know for sure that you are my son Esau.” In some languages this is better expressed as a separate sentence: “I want to make sure that you are my son Esau.”
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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