complete verse (Joshua 21:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 21:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “The first city given to the house of Aaron was Kiriath-arba in the highland of Judah. (Anak was the grandchild/descendant of Arba and Kiriath-arba is today called Hebron which is one of (those cities) where people may flee to.)” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “From the tribes of Judah and Simeon they received cities with names like this –” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “These are the names of the towns/cities from the land[s] of the tribes of Juda and Simeon that were-given to the descendants of Aaron. They (were) descendants of Kohat the child/(son) of Levi. They (were) the first-(ones) to-whom the lot-fell to-be-given towns/cities.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “These are the names of the cities and surrounding pasturelands that were allotted to them, that were in the areas where the tribes of Judah and Simeon lived.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 21:9 - 21:10

Good News Translation in verse 10 seems to imply that there were (or could be) descendants of Aaron who were not members of the clan of Kohath. Instead of the present Good News Translation text, it would be better to say “… to the members of the clan of Kohath who were the descendants of Aaron.” It is not necessary to repeat the information that they were Levites, since this is very redundant in the context. Aaron was the grandson of Kohath, one of the three sons of Levi.

Verses 9-10 may then be translated as a unit: “The members (or those members) of the clan of Kohath who were the descendants of Aaron received nine cities from the tribes of Judah and Simeon.” For some languages it would also be acceptable to use a passive: “Nine cities from the tribes of Judah and Simeon were given to the members (or, those members) of the clan of Kohath who were the descendants of Aaron.”

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 .