brothers

“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)

Joseph

The term that is transliterated as “Joseph” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that relates to a) the coat he wore (see Gen 37:3), b) the holding of his clothes by Potiphar’s wife (see Gen 39:12), and c) the many times Joseph experienced grief. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Joseph” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies “dream,” referring to Jacob’s dream at Bethel (see Genesis 28:10 and the following verses). (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Joseph” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Joseph .

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

brother (older brother)

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).

complete verse (Genesis 37:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 37:17:

  • Kankanaey: “The man said in-turn, ‘They have emphatically already gone, but I overhead them say that they were going to Dotan.’ So then, Jose went-on-from-there to go to Dotan, and he came-upon his siblings there.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “That man said — ‘They have already gone from here. I heard them crying out, saying that they would go toward Dothan.’ So Joseph also went to Dothan searching for his elder brothers. He found them there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The man said, ‘They are-not here anymore. I heard that they would-go as-it-was-said to Dotan.’ So Jose went-after (them) and he found/[lit. saw] them there in Dotan.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The man replied, ‘They are not here any more. I heard one of them saying, ‘Let’s take the sheep and goats and go to Dothan town.” So Joseph left there and went north, and found his older brothers near Dothan.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 37:17

And the man said: in many languages an answer to Joseph’s question or request will be expected at the beginning of this speech. Examples are “Yes. I know. They aren’t here” and “Yes, I saw them, but they….”

They have gone away: gone away should be expressed in a form suitable for the movement of nomadic shepherds with their flocks, if the language permits this; for example, “They have moved on … (New Jerusalem Bible).”

Let us go to Dothan: Dothan is about one day’s travel (with animals) north of Shechem. Some translators may find it best to shift the quote to indirect speech. See Good News Translation.

Joseph went after his brothers: that is, “Joseph went in the same direction in search of his brothers” or “Joseph went there to find his brothers.”

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 .

3rd person pronoun with high register (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 third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.

In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also third person pronoun with exalted register.