Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

Jordan

The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jordan River .

Translation commentary on Judith 1:9 - 1:10

Samaria and its surrounding towns: The location here probably refers to the region between Galilee to the north and Judah to the south. Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, and Contemporary English Version take it to refer to the ancient city by that name, with surrounding towns or “nearby towns.” The Greek simply says “its towns,” and most translations assume the reference is to the region of Samaria. Translators are urged to follow this interpretation. It will be helpful to begin a new sentence here; for example, “Nebuchadnezzar also asked the people from the region of Samaria….”

Bethany and Chelous and Kadesh: Some believe that Bethany does not refer to the New Testament site, but to a nearby area, since the manuscripts differ widely in the spelling of Bethany here. If Bethany is an error, it is certainly harmless, and most translations adopt it. In any case, Bethany and Chelous and Kadesh represent three localities on a line running from Jerusalem to Egypt.

River of Egypt: The author probably means the Wadi el-Arish, which separates Palestine and Egypt (compare 1 Kgs 8.65), although Good News Translation takes it to mean the Nile River and mentions it near the end of these two verses. Translators are urged to use “river of Egypt” or “Egypt River.”

Tahpanhes and Raamses and the whole land of Goshen: Tahpanhes (Jer 43.7) and Raamses (Exo 1.11) are two cities in the Nile River plain, which is the land of Goshen. “Rameses” is another spelling for Raamses.

Even beyond Tanis and Memphis: Tanis is sometimes identified with Rameses, but is probably a nearby city; certainly the author of Judith takes it to be separate. Memphis is a city further south, just below the Nile River plain.

As far as the borders of Ethiopia: The border between Egypt and Ethiopia was never well defined, but since the region just south of Egypt is today known as the Sudan (with Ethiopia itself further south), an older version of Good News Translation adjusts the geographical reference to “the Sudan border.” It should be noted that the author is tracing a north to south line on the map, from “Cilicia” down to Ethiopia. The conflict is to shake the whole world, east and west, north to south. It is possible to begin a new sentence with the final clause of verse 9 and translate as follows:

• His messengers went all the way to the Egyptian region of Goshen, including the cities of Tahpanes, Raamses, Tanis, and Memphis, until they reached the Sudan border [or, the border of Ethiopia].

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Judith. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.