The Hebrew that is typically translated in English as “power” or “might” or “force” is translated in the English translation by Goldingay (2018) as energy or energetic.
complete verse (Joshua 14:11)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 14:11:
- Kupsabiny: “and I still have strength like when Moses sent me. I still today have power to be able to go to war as before.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
- Newari: “I have as much strength as when Moses sent me [and] now I also have that much energy. I am just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “My strength (is) still the same-as that time when Moises commanded me. I still can/have-the-ability-to fight just-like before.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “I am as strong today as I was on the day that Moses sent me to explore this land. I am as ready to fight now as I was then.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Moses
The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English means “taken out of the water,” “saved out of the water,” “a son.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 ). See also Translation commentary on Exodus 2:10.
It is translated in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language with a sign in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )
“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).
In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:
“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )
The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).
In Swiss-German Sign Language (and Hungarian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).
“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz
In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)
“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL
In Korean Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the arms held up by Moses to assure the Israelites victory over the Amalekites (see Exodus 17:11).
“Moses” in Korean Sign Language, source: Korean Sign Language Bible House
In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )
“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .
Translation commentary on Joshua 14:10 - 14:11
But now, look translates the Hebrew “And now, behold” (Revised Standard Version), which serves as an attention getter. In some languages this expression will be best left implicit.
It was been forty-five years since the LORD said that to Moses may be abbreviated as “Since that time forty-five years have gone by” or “That was forty-five years ago.” By a slight rearrangement of Good News Translation clauses, one may translate “That was forty-five years ago, and the LORD kept me alive all the time that our people traveled through the desert, just as he promised. Look at me! I am eighty-five years old….”
And am just as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out translates a Hebrew parallelism: “I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me out; as my strength was then, so also my strength is now.” Good News Translation avoids the redundancy, though for some languages the repetition may make the affirmation stronger. Also, in Good News Translation this represents a continuation of a sentence begun at the end of verse 10. In order to simplify this structure for English readers, one may translate “and I am” in place of and am. For other languages it may be more acceptable to begin a new sentence at the beginning of the verse.
Or for anything else represents “and for going and coming” (Revised Standard Version). In Hebrew “to go and come” is an idiomatic expression indicating daily activity. The force of this expression may be included implicitly by the use of “even” if one translates either “I am strong enough (even) for war” or “and I am still strong enough (even) to fight in war.”
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 14:11
14:11a
still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out: Here are some other ways to translate this sentence:
I am as strong today as I was when Moses told me to go ⌊to spy on the land⌋
-or-
I am as strong today as I was then
14:11b
As my strength was then, so it is now: The clause As my strength was then, so it is now has the same meaning as the previous clause. It is repeated in slightly different words in Hebrew to emphasize the statement.
14:11c
for war: The phrase for war indicates the ability to be a soldier and fight in a battle.
for going out, and for coming in: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for going out, and for coming in is more literally “to go out and to come in.” This is a Hebrew idiom that refers to the ability to do one’s daily activities.
Here are some other ways to translate these phrases:
to fight battles and to do all my daily work
-or-
to go out to war as well as do any other thing
-or-
I am still strong enough to fight in war, and to do anything else.
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