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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 42:9:
Kankanaey: “Then Jose remembered what he had dreamed in the past concerning them and he said, ‘You are probably spies! You have come here to spy-out this country of ours (excl.) (to see) if it has areas-of-weakness.'” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “He remembered the dream that he saw concerning them, then he said — ‘You have come here to do spying. You are ones who have come to learn the weakness of our land.'” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When Jose saw them, he recognized them right-away, but they on-the-other-hand did- not -recognize him. He just did- not -let- himself -to-be-noticed that he (was) Jose. He spoke harshly to them. He asked, ‘Where- (are) you (pl.) -from.’ They replied, ‘We (excl.) (are) from-Canaan, and we (excl.) came here in-order to-buy food.’ Jose then remembered his dream about them which brought-about- their -being-angry (with him). He said, ‘You (pl.) (are) spies! You (pl.) came here in-order to-see which portion/part of our (excl.) nation (is) weak in defense.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “And then Joseph remembered what he had dreamed about them many years previously. But he decided not to tell them yet that he was their younger brother. He said to them, ‘You are spies! You have come to find out whether we will be able to defend ourselves if you attack us!'” (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. )
Hearing his brothers’ replies and seeing them bowed to the ground before him may have brought back to Joseph the memory of his dreams as told in chapter 37. Joseph now has to decide whether to reveal himself or to play out his power role, which will maintain the social distance between himself and them. He decides to be the stern ruler.
You [plural] are spies: if the language of translation does not have a term for spies, it may be necessary to use a phrase; for example, “You [plural] are people who have come to watch us secretly” or “You [plural] are looking for a way to harm our country.” A fuller expression used in one translation says “You are cunning people who have come to find a way to take over our country.”
The weakness of the land is literally “the nakedness of the land.” As Anchor Bible says, “ ‘nakedness’ is not ‘nudity’ but rather refers to things that are meant to be hidden from potential enemies.” Driver takes it to mean “its exposed and defenseless parts.” It is in this sense that Good News Translation translates “find out where our country is weak.” Another translation model is “see if we are weak, so that you can fight against us.”
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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