Noah

The Hebrew, Latin; Ge’ez and Greek that is transliterated as “Noah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that combines the letter N + “boat.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Noah” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The following is a stained glass window depicting Noah by Endre Odon Hevezi and Gyula Bajo from 1965 for the Debre Libanos Monastery, Oromia, Ethiopia:

Photo by Timothy A. Gonsalves, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Noah .

complete verse (Joshua 17:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 17:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “Zelophehad the son of Hepher who was from the house of Gilead who was son of Machir son of Manasse had no son, but his children were all girls. Those girls were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Hepher was the great grandson of Manasseh, grandson of Machir, son of Gilead. His son, Zelophehad, had no sons, only daughters. The names of his daughters were — Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Now there-was a man whose name (was) Zelofehad. He (was) the child/(son) of Hefer and grandchild/(grandson) of Gilead. Gilead (was) the child/(son) of Makir, and Makir (was) the child/(son) of Manase. Zelofehad had-no male children/(sons), but-instead only females/(daughters). They were Mala, Noa, Hogla, Milca, and Tirza.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Hepher’s son Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 17:3

Zelophehad, the great-grandson of Machir, had five daughters but had no sons. The account of the daughters’ encounter with Moses is given in Numbers 27.1-7. So, in accordance with the Lord’s decision, Joshua commanded that they be given land on the west side of the Jordan, together with the other male descendants of Manasseh. The total on the west side was ten shares: the five sisters received five shares, representing the one share belonging by rights to their grandfather Hepher (Zelophehad appears to have been the only son of Hepher; see Num 26.33); the other five shares went to the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, and Shemida (verse 2). (All six mentioned in verse 2 are said in Num 26.29-32 to be descended from Gilead, son of Machir.)

Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh may present problems to the reader. By the time the last name in the list is mentioned, the reader is likely to have forgotten the name of the person who did not have any sons. Since it is known from verse 1 that Gilead is the grandson of Manasseh through his father Machir, one may translate “Manasseh’s grandson Gilead had a son named Hepher. Hepher had a son named Zelophehad, who did not have any sons. But he did have five daughters, and their names were….”

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 17:3

Paragraph: 17:3-6

17:3a

But: The Hebrew particle that the Berean Standard Bible translates as But shows a contrast. Unlike the fathers of the sub-clans listed in the previous verse, Zelophehad had only daughters. He did not have any sons. Use a word or particle that is natural in your language to mark a contrast.

Zelophehad son of Hepher (the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh) had no sons but only daughters: Many languages have their own way of stating this kind of genealogy. Use whatever is the most natural way in your language.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the grandson of Gilead, and the great-grandson of Machir, whose father was Manasseh had no sons. He only had daughters
-or-
Zelophehad was the son of Hepher and the grandson of Gilead, whose father was Machir. Gilead’s grandfather was Manasseh. Zelophehad had only daughters and no sons

17:3b-c

These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The daughters were named as follows: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah
-or-
The names of his daughters were Mahlah and Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah

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