complete verse (Genesis 50:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 50:3:

  • Newari: “This was a work of forty days. The Egyptians were also in mourning for seventy days.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The length of embalming him was 40 days, according-to the custom of the ones from/of-Egipto. The [plural] Egiptohanon mourned for Jacob within-(a-period) of 70 days.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So the morticians did that. It took 40 days to embalm Jacob’s body, because that is the amount of time that was always required for them to embalm a body. And the people of Egypt mourned for 70 days because of Jacob’s death.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 50:3

Forty days were required for it: that is, “The work of preserving the body took forty days.” This sentence gives an explanation of the time involved, particularly for the Hebrews, who did not practice this custom.

For so many are required for embalming: the explanation is repeated, perhaps for emphasis. See the way Good News Translation handles this repetition.

The Egyptians wept for him seventy days: according to one ancient Greek historian, the Egyptians mourned for a king for seventy-two days. Jacob is being given honors nearly equal to that given a king. The literal expression is wept, or “cried,” and this is also the expression used in a number of other languages. If this is not the case, the thought may be better expressed as “mourned.”

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 .