23They did so and brought the five kings out to him from the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.
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:
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 10:23:
Kupsabiny: “Those kings were brought.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “They did just like that — the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon, these five kings were brought out of the cave.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So they brought-out of the cave the five kings: the king of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmut, Lakish and Eglon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So the soldiers brought those five kings out of the cave—the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
So they brought: The clause So they brought indicates that the soldiers obeyed Joshua’s command.
the five kings out of the cave: The phrase the five kings refers to the five Amorite kings who fought against the Israelites.
It is possible to combine these two clauses into one.
Here are some other ways to translate these clauses:
So Joshua’s men brought the five kings out of the cave (New Century Version) -or-
The soldiers opened the entrance to the cave and brought out the kings (Contemporary English Version)
10:23b
the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon: These five kings were first named in 10:3. The Hebrew text states this information in detail to emphasize the importance of what is happening. Some languages may have particles or grammatical means other than repetition to give importance to some information.
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