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 40:6:
Kupsabiny: “So I went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. I stayed with the people there who had not gone to Babylon.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So Jeremias went to Gedalia there at Mizpa, and he stayed there with the people who were left-behind.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “I returned to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and I stayed in Judah with the people who still remained in the land.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Mizpah was a few kilometers northwest of Ramah (see verse 1 and 31.15) in the territory of Benjamin.
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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