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)
“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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 47:12:
Kankanaey: “He also gave them and all the members of his father’s family what they would eat according to their number (lit. manyness).” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Joseph even brought food for his father, brothers, and everyone.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Jose provided his father and siblings/(brothers) and the entire household of his father with food, according-to the number of their children.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Joseph also provided food for all his father’s family. The amounts that he gave them were according to how many children each of them had.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
And Joseph provided: the verb provided is literally “sustain,” “support,” or “nourish” (King James Version), and the sense seems to be of a continuous action. In some English versions the past tense suggests something that Joseph did once, when he first settled the family in Goshen; a translation like Revised English Bible “supported” expresses the meaning better. In some other translations a verb form that indicates continuous or frequent action, or a rendering like “all the time he was giving food,” gives the required sense.
His father, his brothers, and all his father’s household: this may be translated literally, or adjusted to say, for example, “all his relatives.” See Good News Translation.
According to the number of their dependents is literally “according to the little ones.” Although translators vary in their renderings of this expression, most agree that the amount of food provided was determined by the number of people, and this included the smallest children. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation are satisfactory models.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.