inherit land

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “inherit land” in various forms in English is translated in Kwere as “take land to be their own” or similar in these verses when Israel or a part of Israel “inherits” land from God. In Kwere, uhazi or “inheritance,” as in possessions etc. can only be received upon someone’s death. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Joshua 13:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 13:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “There is also the area which borders west of Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim. The people of Sidon live here. I shall drive out all those people before the people of Israel arrives. You must distribute the country to the people of Israel as I have told you.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The people of the hill country of the Sidonians from Lebanon to Mesrephoth-maim,
    "I myself, will drive all of them out from before the Israelites. Distribute that land as inheritance to the Israelites by casting lots, as I have told you.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “and also including the mountains from Lebanon up-to Misrefot Maim, which belongs-to the Sidonhon.
    ‘In your (plur.) attacking, I myself will-drive-out the residents of these lands. You (sing.) are-to-be-sure that these lands will-be-divided/partitioned among the Israelinhon as their inheritance, according-to what I commanded you (sing.).” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “All the people of the Sidon people-group live in the hilly area from Lebanon to Misrephoth-Maim, but I will force them to leave that area before you Israelis arrive there. Be sure to give that area to the Israeli people when you divide the land among them, like I told you to do.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on Joshua 13:6

The Lord promises Joshua that he, the Lord, will give victory to the Israelites, and he commands Joshua to divide the land among the Israelites, that is, among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of West Manasseh, which settled west of the Jordan.

This includes serves merely as a transitional marker in the restructuring of Good News Translation; one could also translate “The territory which you still have to conquer includes.” Revised Standard Version maintains the form of the Hebrew by continuing the sentences begun at verse 2 through the end of this verse. In each language, attention should be given to what must be done in order to divide the lengthy sentence into units that are more easily managed by the reader.

As the people of Israel advance may be translated either “as the people of Israel move into these territories” or “… spread out into these territories.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Joshua 13:6

13:6a

All the inhabitants of the hill country: The phrase the inhabitants of the hill country indicates the people who lived in the mountain range that runs from north to south in Lebanon, away from the coastal plain.

from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim: The phrase from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim indicates that the mountain range extended from the north part of the country of Lebanon south to the town of Misrephoth-maim.

Misrephoth-maim: The location of the town of Misrephoth-maim is uncertain. It was probably north of Galilee and not far from Sidon, near the Litani River.

Here is another way to spell Misrephoth-maim:

Misrephoth Maim (New International Version, NET Bible)

13:6b

all the Sidonians: The phrase the Sidonians indicates that the people who lived in the mountain range of Lebanon were Sidonians. This region was governed by Sidon. The town of Sidon was twenty-four miles southwest of Beirut on the Lebanese coast.

In some languages it may be more natural to reorder verses 6a and 6b. For example:

This includes all the territory of the Sidonians, who live in the hill country between the Lebanon Mountains and Misrephoth Maim (Good News Translation)

13:6c

I Myself will drive out: The Hebrew pronoun that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Myself emphasizes that Yahweh is the one who will give the Israelites victory. Use the most natural way in your language to show this emphasis.

before the Israelites: The phrase before the Israelites indicates that God will give the Israelites victory as they move forward to conquer the land.

13:6d

Be sure to: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Be sure to introduces a command. It contrasts what is Joshua’s responsibility with what Yahweh would do for the Israelites.

Here are some other ways that English versions emphasize this command:

So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
All you have to do is to distribute the territory as a heritage for the Israelites as I have commanded you (New Jerusalem Bible)

divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel: The clause divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel indicates that Joshua must divide the land among the tribes of Israel who would live on the west side of the Jordan River.

as an inheritance: The phrase as an inheritance indicates that the Israelites received the land of Canaan as a gift from Yahweh to them. It would then belong to them and their descendants forever if they obeyed Yahweh. The word “inheritance” was used in 11:23, and you should translate it the same way in both places.

13:6e

as I have commanded you: Yahweh gave this command to Moses in Numbers 33:54. Moses told Joshua to carry out this command in Deuteronomy 31:7.

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