17from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them down, and put them to death.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 11:17:
Kupsabiny: “from the mountain of Halak which looks towards Seir in the distance and Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He succeeded in conquering the area from Mount Halak, which goes toward Seir in the south, up to Baal-gad of the valley that is in Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured and killed all their kings.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The territory that he subjected/brought-under-(their)-jurisdiction starts/goes-from the Mountain of Halak going-up to Seir up-to Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon in the area-below/lower-regions-of Mount Hermon. He caught/captured and killed the kings of these places,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They took control of all the land from Halak Mountain in the south up to the Seir hilly area as far as Baal-Gaal in Lebanon Valley in the north, at the bottom of Hermon Mountain. They captured all the kings of those areas and killed them.” (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.”
Good News Translation places verses 17-18 together because 18 merely repeats the last part of verse 17, except for the additional information “made war a long time” (see Revised Standard Version). It is possible, however, to translate these verses in a way that sounds natural without joining them together: “17 … Joshua and his army finally captured and put to death all the kings of this territory, 18 even though the war against the kings took a long time.” Verse 18 may also be translated either “even though the war lasted a long time” or “even though it took them a long time (to defeat the kings).”
The limits of the territory are given in verse 17: the southern limit was Mount Halak, near Edom, south of the Dead Sea; the northern limit was the town of Baalgad, not far from Mount Hermon.
The territory extended from of Good News Translation translates the preposition “from” of the Hebrew text. In Hebrew verse 17a continues the listing of territories begun in verse 16, and the restructuring of Good News Translation is necessary only because Good News Translation breaks the sentence at the end of verse 16. A sentence break may still be maintained, and the relationship between the two verses made even clearer, if verse 17 begins: “They captured all the territory from Mount Halak in the south near Edom and as far north as the city of Baalgad, in the valley of Lebanon south of Mount Hermon.” Or, 16-17a may be translated as a unit:
• Joshua and his army captured all the land as far south as Mount Halak near Edom and as far north as the city of Baalgad in the valley between Mount Hermon and the Lebanon Mountains. They captured the central hill country, the western slopes, the dry country in the south, and the Jordan Valley.
Although all the area of Goshen is not mentioned explicitly in this restructuring, it is included in the phrase “all the dry country to the south.”
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
from Mount Halak:Mount Halak was the southernmost place that the Israelites captured. The location of Mount Halak is uncertain, It may be the modern Jebel Halaq, which is 45 kilometers southeast of Beersheba.
which rises toward Seir: The clause which rises toward Seir indicates that Mount Halak was near the territory of Edom, which was also called Seir. Edom was south of the Dead Sea.
11:17b
as far as Baal-gad:Baal-gad was a town in the valley of Lebanon at the western foot of Mount Hermon. The exact location of Baal-gad is unknown. This was the northernmost place that the Israelites captured. Some English versions spell this “Baal Gad.”
in the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon:Mount Hermon was a high mountain in the northeast of Israel. The Valley of Lebanon was near Mount Hermon. It may be the modern Beqa Valley. It may also include the valley of the Litani River further south.
11:17c
He captured all their kings: The clause He captured all their kings indicates that Joshua and the Israelite army captured all the kings who ruled the towns in the regions mentioned.
and struck them down, putting them to death: The two clauses struck them down and putting them to death have the same meaning. In some languages it may be more natural to combine these two clauses into one clause.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.