elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

See also elders of Israel (Judah).

complete verse (Joshua 20:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 20:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “And when/if a person flees to those cities he must go to the gate of the city and tell the elders what he has done. After that, he is allowed to stay in the city.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “And, escaping to one of those cities, standing at the gate, he must tell the elders there his case. Then, he will be taken in and assigned a place to stay and so he may stay with them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He can-flee to one of these cities, and is-to-face the ones-who-rule there at the gate of the city and is-to-explain to them what happened. Then he is-to-be-brought-inside and there have- (him) -stay/live.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When the one who killed someone arrives at the gate of one of those cities, he must stop there and tell the leaders of the city what happened. If they believe him, they must allow him to enter the city, and they must give him a place to live among them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 20:4

The place of judgment was an open space inside the city, near the main gate; here all judicial matters were dealt with.

Explain … what happened is more literally “explain his case” (Revised Standard Version); it is quite possible that the literal form is a more natural way of expressing the meaning in some languages.

If the city leaders are convinced that the man is telling the truth then they allow him to live in the city, safe from the dead man’s avenging relative. The word translated leaders by Good News Translation is literally “elders” (Revised Standard Version), and it describes men who were respected because their years have proven them to be persons of wisdom and understanding. Similar expressions exist in a number of cultures.

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 20:4

20:4a

When someone flees to one of these cities: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The person who has killed someone should run to one of these towns.
-or-
Anyone who kills someone ⌊accidentally⌋ can escape to one of these towns.

20:4b

stands at the entrance of the city gate: The entrance of the city gate was an open area near the town entrance. The town leaders gathered there to decide about cases between people that needed to be settled. It may be helpful to include this implicit information when translating this part of the verse. For example,

He should stand at the entrance to the town gate ⌊where the elders judge cases⌋ .
-or-
There he will stand at the entrance to the town ⌊where the leaders hold court⌋ .

20:4c

and states his case before its elders: The clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as states his case before its elders is more literally in Hebrew “he will speak his words in the ears of the elders of that town.” The term elders refers to the leaders of the town.

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

He should state his case to the elders of that town.
-or-
He must tell the town leaders what he did.

20:4d

they are to bring him into the city: The Hebrew clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as they are to bring him into the city is more literally “and they will gather him to the town, to themselves.” It means that the elders will allow him to enter the town.

and give him a place: The clause give him a place indicates that the elders would find a place where he could live.

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

Then the elders will allow him to come into the town, and they will give him a place to live there.
-or-
The town leaders will bring him into the town and give him a place to stay.

20:4e

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

and he will stay ⌊in that town⌋ with them
-or-
and he will live among them

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