chariot

The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:

  • Eastern Highland Otomi: “cart pulled by horses” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
  • Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
  • Hausa Common Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
  • Mairasi: “going-thing [vehicle]” (source: Enggavoter 2004)

It is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:

Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

See also cart.

complete verse (Genesis 50:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 50:9:

  • Newari: “People in chariots and riding horses also went with him. This was a very great crowd.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Also accompanying/with them (were) chariots and horsemen. They (were) very many.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Men riding in chariots and on horses also went along. It was a huge group.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 50:9

In addition to all the above there was a military presence.

For chariots see 41.43. Horsemen refers to men who rode horses. We may translate as in Good News Translation or say, for example, “soldiers riding in chariots and on horses.”

A very great company: great may express the size of the procession, its appearance, the rank of the people, or all of these. Most translations say something like “A big crowd of people went to that funeral.”

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 .