1The allotment of the Josephites went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel;
Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Cherokee: inage or “far away downstream” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Adioukrou: loj or “savannah” — “land that is not village, nor forest, nor field (source: Hill 2006)
Isthmus Mixe: “dry country” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
The name that is transliterated as “Joseph” in English means “may God add,” “he shall add,” “increasing.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
It is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that relates to a) the coat he wore (see Gen 37:3), b) the holding of his clothes by Potiphar’s wife (see Gen 39:12), and c) the many times Joseph experienced grief. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Joseph” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies “dream,” referring to Jacob’s dream at Bethel (see Genesis 28:10 and the following verses). (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )
According to Anne Garber Kompaoré (in Le Sycomore 3/2009, p. 34ff. ), there are 4 ways to identify cardinal directions:
1. celestial bodies, especially the sun and certain stars
2. geographical landmarks, for example a mountain, sea, or river (depending on its position or the direction in which the water flows) etc.
3. climatic phenomena, such as the wind and the direction from which rain comes
4. bodily reference points, especially front, back, left, and right, in relation to celestial bodies or geographical landmarks
Following are examples of how these are practically implemented by various languages: (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)
Celestial Bodies
East and west are often translated by the rising and the setting of the sun (note that the origin of English and other Indo-European languages is “dawn” for “east” and “evening” [i.e. sun-down] for “west”):
Maan: “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down” (source: Don Slager)
Kankanaey: “from the coming-out of the sun “and “going-away of the sun” (source: Kankanaey back-translation)
Northern Emberá: “from where the sun comes up” and “from where the sun falls” (source: Charles Mortensen)
Ejamat “the side where the sun comes from” and “the side where it sets” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
Tzeltal: “where the sun pours-out” (west) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
Northern Ngbandi: “the sun behind the chief’s house” (east — the chief lives traditionally at the eastern side of the village, therefore he does not get the sunlight into his eyes) and “under the sun” (west)
Northwestern Dinka: “earth behind” (east — the place behind the earth, i.e. the area where the sun rises)
Jula: “salt village” (north — because salt comes from the north, from the Sahara Desert) and “kola village” (south — since kola comes from the coastal region to the south) (source: Garber Kompaoré)
Matumbi: “toward the beach” (East) (the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas), “north” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Acoli: “right” (of the local White Nile) (north) and “left” (of the White Nile) (south)
Zande: “interior (dry) land” (east); “place-inside-country” (north / south) — Zande, like a number of other languages, including Matengo and Hehe, traditionally only has three cardinal directions.
Belanda Bor: “lower place” (north) and “higher place” (south)
Turkana: “(up)stream” (north) and (down)stream (south)
Mono (DRC): “water place” (south) (source for this and five above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Climatic Phenomena
Shilluk: “opening westwind” (north) and “opening eastwind” (south)
Swahili used to have six directions. In reducing them to four, kusini and kaskazini which used to refer to south-west and north east respectively (the directions from where the two monsoons blow) have become the terms for “south” and north.” (source for this and one above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Bodily Reference Points
Nuer / Burun: “face” and “sun face” respectively (both: east)
Kalenjin: “eye sun” (east) (this and the one above indicate that the sun is “facing” the spectator from its position in the east:
Shilluk: doesn’t use a fixed position of the speaker, instead it has “eye sun morning” for east and “eye sun evening” for west
Mono (DRC): “foot-sun” (east — the start of the sun’s journey)
Burun: “sun leg” (west — the end of the sun’s journey)
Bari: “back” (north — when people are facing south, north is at their back) (source for this and above: Mietzner / Pasch)
Northern Emberá “the looking [left] hand” (north) and “the real [right] hand” (south) (source: Charles Mortensen)
Morelos Nahuatl: “from above” (north) and “from below” (south) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
When all four directions are mentioned, translators tend to avoid listing the four, sometimes verbose terms, and chose solutions like “all directions” (such as in Maan or Manya (source: Don Slager). Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) and Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).
The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture. Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 16:1:
Kupsabiny: “Then came the chance/opportunity for the grandchildren of Joseph. The land of these people began at the river Jordan where Jericho can be seen in the distance and went through the wilderness of Jericho going up like that to Bethel.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The boundaries of the territory given to the descendants of Joseph went from the Jordan river near Jericho towards the wilderness by way of the little springs situated to the east of Jericho and then goes up towards Bethel and ends up in the hill country.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The land which was-given to the descendants of Jose starts-from the River of Jordan near Jerico, in the east of the springs of Jerico, going-towards the desolate-place and to the mountains up-to Betel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The land that was allotted to the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh that were descended from Joseph started at the Jordan River, east of the springs at Jericho.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Verses 1-4 describe the southern boundary of Ephraim; since it bordered on the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, the geographical information here is similar to that given for the northern boundary of Benjamin (18.12-14a).
Good News Translation retains some of the redundancy and ambiguity of the Hebrew text. For example, went into the desert is left dangling at the end of the sentence in Good News Translation, and it is impossible to determine from Good News Translation the geographical relationship between the desert and Jericho. It may be possible to restructure for clarity and fewer words, and at the same time to indicate the general westerly movement of the border line. For example:
• The southern boundary of the land assigned to the descendants of Joseph started east of the springs of Jericho near the Jordan River. It then moved past Jericho in a northwesterly direction through the desert and into the hill country as far as Bethel.
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 .
Section 16:1–17:18 The clans of Ephraim and Manasseh received their land
This section describes the boundaries of the land given to Ephraim and to Manasseh, and the towns within each of their lands.
Paragraph 16:1–4
16:1a
The allotment for the descendants of Joseph: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as The allotment is more literally “the lot went out.” There is a similar phrase in Joshua 15:1. It is recommended that you translate this phrase in a similar way in both places.
the descendants of Joseph: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the descendants of Joseph is more literally “the sons of Joseph.” Joseph had two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Their descendants became the clans of Ephraim and Manasseh.
Here are some ways to translate this phrase:
the descendants of Joseph (Berean Standard Bible, Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New Living Translation (2004), NET Bible) -or-
the people of Joseph (English Standard Version) -or-
Joseph (New International Version, God’s Word) -or-
the children of Joseph (King James Version)
extended from the Jordan at Jericho: The clause extended from the Jordan at Jericho describes the starting point of the southern border of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh. The eastern point of the border was at the Jordan River near the town of Jericho.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
The land that the descendants of Joseph received began at the Jordan River, near Jericho -or-
The ⌊south border of⌋ the land given to the descendants of Joseph started at the Jordan River, near the town of Jericho
16:1b
to the waters of Jericho on the east: The phrase waters of Jericho refers to springs that were north of the town of Jericho.
through the wilderness: The phrase through the wilderness indicates that the border then continued west into the wilderness.
wilderness: A wilderness is an uncultivated and uninhabited area. In this verse it refers to the Judean wilderness. The Judean wilderness is between the Judean mountains and the valley of the Dead Sea. This wilderness is a rocky place that descends steeply from the mountains into the valley. It consists of flat plateaus, rounded hills, deep canyons, and cliffs. It receives little rainfall and no crops can grow there. It is not a typical desert with large areas of sand. Many languages may have a term for an uncultivated area or an uninhabited place.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
It then went to the east of the springs of Jericho and continued west into the wilderness -or-
The border began to the east of the springs at the town of Jericho and went west into the wilderness
16:1c
that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel: The clause goes up from Jericho indicates that the border ascended in elevation as it went through the wilderness, into the hill country to the town of Bethel.
hill country: The term hill country refers to the central mountain range which runs from the north to the south of Israel. This area receives a lot of rain and farmers plant crops in terraces along the hillsides. See how you translated this phrase in Joshua 9:1.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
The border went from Jericho up into the hill country to the town of Bethel -or-
From Jericho it went up into the mountains as far as Bethel
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