The name that is transliterated as “Joseph” in English means “may God add,” “he shall add,” “increasing.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
It 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)
The term that is used for monarchs in ancient Egypt and is transliterated as “Pharaoh” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying the “fake metal beard (postiche)” that was used by Pharaohs during official functions. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 47:23:
Kankanaey: “When that was so, Jose said to the collective-people, ‘I have already bought you and your land for the king. Here is seed that you will plant.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Newari: “Then Joseph said to all [the people] — ‘Now you and your fields all belong to the king [lit.: have become the king’s]. Now I will give you seed to plant the fields.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Jose said to the people, ‘Now that I have- now -bought you (pl.) and your (pl.) lands for the king, here-is the seed so-that you (pl.) can-plant.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Joseph said to the people who sold themselves and their land to him, ‘Listen to me! Today I have bought you and your land for the king. So here are seeds for you so that you can plant them in the ground.” (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. )
Behold, I have this day …: Behold expresses a call for attention before the command that the people plant their farms: “Listen!” (Revised English Bible). Good News Translation says “You see….” It may also be considered as the introduction to a proclamation or formal declaration: “These are my orders:….” New Jerusalem Bible says “This is how we stand:….”
Bought you … for Pharaoh may need to be expressed as “I have bought you [plural] and your farms, and now the king is your owner.”
And you shall sow the land: that is, “you [plural] go now and plant your fields” or “… plant your gardens.”
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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