The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “son of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic naming system . This means that for instance in Matthew 16:17 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Simon son of Jonah” becomes “Simon Jónasson” or in Isaiah 8:2 “Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” becomes “Sakaría Jeberekíason” where in both cases the “-son” means “son of.”
In cases where “son of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage, however, this system is not used. So in Matthew 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” is translated as “Jesú Krists, sonar Davíðs, sonar Abrahams.”
The referenced verses all have at least one instance where the Icelandic patronymic or matronymic naming system is used. (Source: Halldór Elías Guðmundsson)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 35:3:
Kupsabiny: “So, I went to where Jaazaniah who was son of a person who was also called Jeremiah son of Habazziniah, their brothers and all their people of the clan of Rechabites were.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Therefore I went to Jaazania, the child/son of my namesake which is Jeremias the child of Habazinia, and all his siblings and children. These were all the family of the Recabnon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So I went to see Jaazaniah and all his brothers and sons who represented the Rechab clan. Jaazaniah was the son of another man named Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The son of Jeremiah: In order to avoid confusion with the prophet Jeremiah, it is advisable to follow the pattern of Good News Translation, which translates “the son of another Jeremiah.”
Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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