Levite

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” and in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)

In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

For the sign in Spanish Sign Language, see Levi.

More information about Levites .

complete verse (Joshua 21:41)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 21:41:

  • Kupsabiny: “In all the land that the people of Israel got, the clan of Levi, were granted forty-eight cities together with where one could graze (animals).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “A total of forty-eight cities along with grazing land for their cattle were given to the Descendants of Levi by the Israelites from the land they possessed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “48 towns/cities (in)-all, including each of their pasturelands, (were) what the descendants of Levi received from the land that the Israelinhon possessed.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So altogether 48 cities were allotted to the tribe of Levi,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 21:41 - 21:43

These verses conclude the section. The Hebrew text is quite repetitious (see Revised Standard Version); Good News Translation has reduced the number of words without omitting any information, but one may also translate “The Levites received from the other tribes of Israel a total of forty-eight cities, with the pasture lands around them.” Or “The other tribes of Israel gave to the tribe of Levi a total of forty-eight cities, with the pasture lands around them.”

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 21:41

21:41

For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all: This is the concluding paragraph of this chapter about the clans of Levi. The phrase For the Levites…forty-eight cities refers to all the towns named in the previous verses. They were all given to the clan of Levi to live in.

together with their pasturelands: Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

with the grazing lands around them
-or-
and their grasslands

within the territory of the Israelites: The phrase within the territory of the Israelites indicates that these towns were scattered among all the lands that belonged to the Israelites.

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

The towns that the clan of Levi received within the land of the people of Israel
-or-
The total number of towns that the Levi clan were given in the land that belonged to the Israel people

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