village

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “village” or “town” in English is translated in Noongar as karlamaya or “fire (used for “home“) + houses” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Elhomwe it is typically translated as “place.” “Here in Malawi, villages very small, so changed to ‘places,’ since not sure whether biblical reference just to small villages or also to bigger towns. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Joshua 19:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 19:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “The land passed close by Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh and then hit the river Jordan. Those cities reached sixteen together with their villages.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Their border, reaching up to Tabor hill, Shahazumah and Beth-Shemesh, ended up at the Jordan. Sixteen cities and their surrounding villages were included.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The boundary of the land reaches to Tabor, Shahazuma, and Bet Shemesh, and ends in the River of Jordan. 16 towns/cities (were) under-the-jurisdiction of Issachar, including the villages around them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Joshua 19:18 - 19:23

Rabbith (so Good News Translation and Revised Standard Version) translates the Masoretic text; Hebrew Old Testament Text Project prefers the spelling “Daberath” (identifying it with the city of this name in 19.12; 21.28); also Soggin and Bible de Jérusalem.

In the Masoretic text fifteen cities are named, but the total given in verse 22 is sixteen; Soggin adds in verse 19 (after Shion) “Reeroth,” in accordance with one manuscript of the Septuagint. It seems best to stay with the Masoretic text here.

Verses 18-22, as they stand in Good News Translation, present several problems. First it is important to tell a city from a mountain. Tabor is a mountain; the other places, except for the Jordan, are cities. Second, the mention of sixteen cities in verse 22b may be taken as a reference to cities other than those listed above. Third, because of a fairly literal rendering of verses 22b-23, there is some unnecessary repetition. This problem of overlap may be resolved either by translating verses 18-23 as a unit, or by translating verses 18-21 in sequence, and then placing verses 22-23 together. These two alternatives may be represented as follows:

• (1) Their territory included sixteen cities, along with the towns around them. These cities were Jezreel … Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. In the north their border ran east from Mount Tabor to the Jordan River. Joshua gave this entire region, including its cities and towns, to the tribe of Issachar.

Or it is possible to follow this same restructuring and list separately the towns of Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh:

• Their territory included sixteen cities, along with the towns around them. Some of these cities were Jezreel … and Bethpazzez. In the north their border ran east from Mount Tabor to the Jordan River, including the cities of Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh …

• (2) Their territory included the cities of Jezreel … 19 … 20 … 21 … and Bethpazzez. 22-23 In the north their border ran east from Mount Tabor to the Jordan River, and it took in the cities of Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh. All this territory, including these sixteen cities and their towns, belonged to the tribe of Issachar.

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 19:22

19:22a

The border reached Tabor: 1 Chronicles 6:77 mentions a town of Tabor. It is listed as a town that belonged to the clan of Zebulun. It was probably near Mount Tabor, which is in the northeastern part of the plain of Jezreel. The verb reached indicates that the town of Tabor was beyond the northern boundary of Issachar’s land. The clan of Issachar’s land was southeast of Zebulun’s land.

Shahazumah: the location of the town of Shahazumah in not known.

and Beth-shemesh: This is not the same town as was mentioned in verse 15:10. The location of the town of Beth-shemesh in Issachar’s land is uncertain.

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

Their boundary line went up ⌊northward⌋ to the towns of Tabor and the towns of Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh
-or-
The border of Issachar’s land was close to Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh

19:22b

and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen cities, along with their villages: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The boundary line of Issachar’s land ended at the Jordan River. In all Issachar received sixteen towns and the villages that surrounded them
-or-
The border went on to the east as far as the Jordan River. Issachar’s land included sixteen towns and the villages that were near them

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