וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ לֶךְ־נָ֨א רְאֵ֜ה אֶת־שְׁל֤וֹם אַחֶ֨יךָ֙ וְאֶת־שְׁל֣וֹם הַצֹּ֔אן וַהֲשִׁבֵ֖נִי דָּבָ֑ר וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֨הוּ֙ מֵעֵ֣מֶק חֶבְר֔וֹן וַיָּבֹ֖א שְׁכֶֽמָה׃
14So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.
He came to Shechem,
“Brothers” has to be translated into Naro as “younger brothers and older brothers” (Tsáá qõea xu hẽé / naka tsáá kíí). All brothers are included this way, also because of the kind of plural that has been used. (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)
This also must be more clearly defined in Yucateco as older or younger (suku’un or Iits’in), but here there are both older and younger brothers. Yucateco does have a more general word for close relative, family member. (Source: Robert Bascom)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in Kwere as sekulu, in Elhomwe as mbalaawo´, and in Mandarin Chinese as gēgē (哥哥), both “older brother.”
Note that Kwere also uses lumbu — “older sibling” in some cases. (Source for Kwere and Elhomwe: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)
See also older brother (Japanese honorifics).
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 to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title.
In these verses, the Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as nī-san (兄さん), combining the word for “older brother” (nī) and the suffix title –san. Job 1:18 uses a smilar term with the additional honorific prefix o: o-nī-san (お兄さん). (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
See also brother (older brother).
The name that is transliterated as “Shechem” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that combines “oak” (of Moreh) and “altar” (see Genesis 12:6 and 7). (Source: Missão Kophós )
“Shechem” in Libras (source )
More information under Shechem .
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 to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017.
The concept of “please” is translated in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as o-kure (おくれ) with the respectful prefix o-. (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 37:14:
Go now, see if it is well with your brothers, and with the flock: Joseph is told to go and see the shalom of his brothers and the shalom of the animals. Shalom is used in verse 4, where it is translated “peace.” In the context of verse 14, it refers to the safety, security, and welfare of the brothers and the flock. We may translate, for example, “Go there and see if everything is all right,” “Go find out if there is any trouble.”
Bring me word again: that is, “then come back and tell me,” “bring me news,” “come and let me know.”
So he sent him from the valley of Hebron: the valley of Hebron runs northwest to southeast, and the town of Hebron is located in the valley. He sent him from … may have to be restructured in some languages to separate the different actions or movements; for example, “… and he sent him off. Joseph set out from … Hebron and traveled toward Shechem.” Some translations say “At this time Jacob and his clan were in the valley of Hebron, and Joseph set out from there and began walking.” Valley refers to a broad low-lying plain between two mountain ranges. In some languages a valley is called “the low land between the hills.”
And he came to Shechem: note that Good News Translation begins a new paragraph here. Revised Standard Version, which translates the Hebrew connective as and, forms three short sentences: “and he came … and a man found … and the man asked.” It will often be more natural to restructure these along the lines of Good News Translation, or say, for example, “When he reached Shechem, a man found him … and asked him.”
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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