The Greek, Latin, Ge’ez, and Hebrew that is translated as “shepherd” in English is translated in Kouya as Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ — ” tender of sheep.”
Philip Saunders (p. 231) explains:
“Then one day they tackled the thorny problem of ‘shepherd’. It was problematic because Kouyas don’t have herdsmen who stay with the sheep all the time. Sheep wander freely round the village and its outskirts, and often a young lad will be detailed to drive sheep to another feeding spot. So the usual Kouya expression meant a ‘driver of sheep’, which would miss the idea of a ‘nurturing’ shepherd. ‘A sheep nurturer’ was possible to say, but it was unnatural in most contexts. The group came up with Bhlabhlɛɛ ‘yliyɔzʋnyɔ which meant ‘a tender of sheep’, that is one who keeps an eye on the sheep to make sure they are all right. All, including the translators, agreed that this was a most satisfactory solution.”
Other translations include:
Chuj: “carer” (there was no single word for “shepherd”) (source: Ronald Ross)
Muna: “sheep guard” (dhagano dhumba) (there was no immediate lexical equivalent) (source: René van den Berg),
Mairasi: “people who took care of domesticated animals” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is transliterated as “Jacob” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “lentil,” referring to the soup he gave his brother in exchange for his birthright (see Genesis 25:34). Note that another Spanish Sign Language sign for Jacob also users the sign for Jewish. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Finnish Sign Language it is translated with the signs signifying “smooth arm” (referring to the story starting at Genesis 27:11). (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 49:24:
Newari: “But with the help of Jacob’s Almighty God, the shepherd and big rock of Israel, his bow [and] arrow will remain straight, and his upper arm will remain strong.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “but continuous will- also -be your shooting them. And your arm will-continue to-be-strong, because of the help of my Almighty God, the one-who-watches-over and refuge/hide-behind linkerstone/rock of Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But they will hold their bows steady and their arms will remain strong, because of the power of my mighty God, because of Yahweh who guides and provides for me like a shepherd guides and provides for his sheep. The people of Israel will ask Yahweh to protect them, like people hide under a huge overhanging*rock to be protected.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
In this verse God enables Joseph to repel and overcome his enemies.
Yet his bow remained unmoved: unmoved does not mean that he does nothing with his bow, which is his defense. The idea is rather that “he holds his bow steadily as he aims,” that is, without moving or trembling. See Good News Translation. Two ways of expressing this are “Your hand that holds the bow does not shake” and “[You will beat them because] you will have a steady arm for your bow.”
His arms were made agile: the Hebrew says “the arms of his hands.” Note that Good News Translation‘s footnote gives an alternative rendering based on the Septuagint. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, however, recommends “and his arms and hands were agile.”
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob: hands is used here in the sense of “power.” Mighty One of Jacob refers to the God whom Jacob worships. It is a title used also in Psa 132.2, 5; and Isa 49.26. Note the Good News Translation rendering of this title as “the Mighty God of Jacob.” In this expression the relation of Jacob to God is that of worshiper or follower and not possessor.
(By the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel): note that Revised Standard Version handles these additional names as parenthetical, but New Revised Standard Version has removed the parentheses. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation may be understood by some readers as representing three different gods. In such cases some adjustments will be required; for example, “by the mighty God whom Jacob worships, who is also called the Shepherd and the Rock of Israel.”
Although Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation do not call attention to the Hebrew text, the expression by the name is from the Septuagint. The Hebrew text has “from there,” which Hebrew Old Testament Text Project translates as “from there,” “thence,” or “from then.” However, if we are to understand that the God called by these various names made Joseph’s arms steady so that his bow did not tremble, then by, as used in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, is more suitable.
Shepherd is used in reference to God in Psa 80.1, where it is expressed as “Shepherd of Israel.” Rock of Israel occurs in Isa 30.29, but there the Hebrew word means a rock, whereas in our verse it translates the word for “stone,” an expression not used elsewhere for God, but which carries the sense of a great stone such as a monument. Note Good News Translation “Protector.” Translators may render Rock of Israel as “the Great Stone of Israel” or, for example, “the stone that protects Israel,” or as in Good News Translation.
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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