complete verse (Joshua 19:47)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 19:47:

  • Kupsabiny: “But/and when the people of the clan of Dan lost their land, they went to fight against Laish. They killed the people of that land/area and took the land/area to be theirs. They settled there and changed the name of Laish to be Dan. (They) named it after their forefather who was called Dan.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “(But it was difficult for the clans of Dan to take possession of their territory. So they went to Leshem, did battle with it, conquered it, destroying it with the sword. Then they settled there. They named Leshem "Dan" after the name of their ancestor Dan.)” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The descendants of Dan had-difficulty taking- their land -by-force, so they attacked Leshem and killed its residents. They took- this -by-force and they lived there. They changed/switched the name of this to Dan, according-to the name of their ancestor/[lit. old-one] Dan.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But the people of the tribe of Dan were unable to take control of the land that had been allotted to them. So they went northeast and fought against the people in Leshem city. They defeated and killed all the people who lived there. Then they began to live in Leshem, and changed the name of the city to Dan, the man from whom their tribe descended.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 19:47 - 19:48

The tribe of Dan was unable to control this territory, so they migrated north all the way to the headwaters of the Jordan, on the east bank (see Judges 18); there they conquered Laish and changed the name to that of their ancestor, Dan.

When the people of Dan lost their land is literally “And the territory of the people of Dan went out from them.” The temporal conjunction When may be translated either “Later” or “Sometime later,” indicating an indefinite period of time. Lost their land implies an agent and may be translated “some enemies (or, some people) capture the territory that belonged to the tribe of Dan.” Finally, Laish should perhaps be identified as a city.

Since the first part of verse 48 refers directly to the cities of verses 41-46, verses 47-48 may be placed together:

• All of these cities, along with their villages, belonged to the tribe of Dan. But later their enemies captured their land, and so the people of Dan went north to the city of Laish and attacked it. They captured the city, killed its people, and claimed it for themselves. Then they named the city after their ancestor Dan.

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 19:47

19:47a

Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the territory of the Danites was lost to them is more literally “the territory of the people of Dan went out from them.” The clan of Dan was not able to take over all the land that was given to them by lot. Judges 1:34 says that the Amorites fought against the people of Dan and so they could not take over the land that was on the plain near the sea.

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

But the people of the Dan clan failed to conquer all the land they had received
-or-
But the tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land (New Living Translation (2004))

19:47b

they went up and fought against Leshem: The town of Leshem was an ancient town that was at the source of the Jordan River. It was northeast of the other towns given to the people of Dan. In Judges 18:7 this town is called Laish. The clause they went up and fought against Leshem indicates that the members of the Dan clan attacked the town of Leshem.

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

So the clan of Dan went ⌊northeast⌋ to the town of Leshem and attacked it
-or-
Because of that, the people of the Dan clan went up to Leshem and fought against it

19:47c

captured it, and put it to the sword: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as captured it, and put it to the sword indicates that the Dan people defeated and killed the people of Leshem town.

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

They conquered the town and killed the people with the sword
-or-
They defeated and killed the people in the town

19:47d

So they took possession of Lethem, settled there: The clause they took possession of Lethem, settled there indicates that the people of the Dan clan moved into the town and began to live there.

19:47e

and renamed it: The phrase renamed it indicates that the Dan clan renamed the town of Leshem. They named it “Dan.”

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

Then they moved into that town and lived in it. They gave the town a new name, Dan.
-or-
Then they began to live in Leshem, and changed the name of the town to Dan (Translation for Translators)

after their father Dan: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

according to the name of their ancestor Dan
-or-
the man from whom their tribe descended (Translation for Translators)

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