The Covenant at Shechem

Artwork by Sister Marie Claire , SMMI (1937–2018) from Bengaluru, India.

For more information about images by Sister Marie Claire and ways to purchase them as lithographs, see here .

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covenant

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The Hebrew, Greek, Ge’ez, and Latin that are translated as “covenant” in English are translated in a variety of ways. Here are some (back-) translations:

  • Mossi: “helping promise”
  • Vai: “a thing-time-bind” (i.e. “an arrangement agreed upon for a period of time”)
  • Loma (Liberia): “agreement”
  • Northwestern Dinka: “agreement which is tied up” (i.e. “secure and binding”)
  • Chol: “a word which is left”
  • Huastec: “a broken-off word” (“based on the concept of ‘breaking off a word’ and leaving it with the person with whom an agreement has been reached”)
  • Tetelcingo Nahuatl: “a death command” (i.e. “a special term for testament”)
  • Piro: “a promised word”
  • Eastern Krahn: “a word between”
  • Yaka: “promise that brings together” (source for this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Nabak: alakŋaŋ or “tying the knot” (source: Fabian 2013, p. 156)
  • Kâte: ʒâʒâfic or “tie together” (source: Renck 1990, p. 108)
  • Nyamwezi: ilagano: “agreement, contract, covenant, promise” (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Bariai: “true talk” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Q’anjob’al: “put mouths equal” (representing agreement) (source: Newberry and Kittie Cox in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 91ff. )
  • Manikion, Indonesian: “God’s promise” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Natügu: nzesz’tikr drtwr: “oneness of mind” (source: Brenda Boerger in Beerle-Moor / Voinov, p. 164)
  • Tagalog: tipan: mutual promising on the part of two persons agreeing to do something (also has a romantic touch and denotes something secretive) (source: G. Henry Waterman in The Bible Translator 1960, p. 24ff. )
  • Tagbanwa: “initiated-agreement” (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Guhu-Samane: “The concept [in Mark 14:24 and Matthew 16:28] is not easy, but the ritual freeing of a fruit and nut preserve does afford some reference. Thus, ‘As they were drinking he said to them, ‘On behalf of many this poro provision [poro is the traditional religion] of my blood is released.’ (…) God is here seen as the great benefactor and man the grateful recipient.” (Source: Ernest Richert in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. )
  • Chichewa: pangano. This word can also be translated as a contract, agreement, or a treaty between two parties. In Chewa culture, two people or groups enter into an agreement to help each other in times of need. When entering into an agreement, parties look at the mutual benefits which will be gained. The agreement terms are mostly kept as a secret between the parties and the witnesses involved. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Law (2013, p. 95) writes about how the Ancient Greek Septuagint‘s translation of the Hebrew berith was used by the New Testament writers as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments (click or tap here to read more):

“Right from the start we witness the influence of the Septuagint on the earliest expressions of the Christian faith. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of his blood being a kaine diatheke, a ‘new covenant.’ The covenant is elucidated in Hebrews 8:8-12 and other texts, but it was preserved in the words of Jesus with this language in Luke 22:20 when at the Last Supper Jesus said, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. Jesus’s blood was to provide the grounds for the ‘new covenant,’ in contrast to the old one his disciples knew from the Jewish scriptures (e.g., Jeremiah 31:31-34). Thus, the earliest Christians accepted the Jewish Scriptures as prophecies about Jesus and in time began to call the collection the ‘Old Testament’ and the writings about Jesus and early Christianity the ‘New Testament,’ since ‘testament’ was another word for ‘covenant.’ The covenant promises of God (berith in Hebrew) were translated in the Septuagint with the word diatheke. In classical Greek diatheke had meant ‘last will, testament,’ but in the Septuagint it is the chosen equivalent for God’s covenant with his people. The author of Hebrews plays on the double meaning, and when Luke records Jesus’ announcement at the Last Supper that his blood was instituting a ‘new covenant,’ or a ‘new testament,’ he is using the language in an explicit contrast with the old covenant, found in the Jewish scriptures. Soon, the writings that would eventually be chosen to make up the texts about the life and teachings of Jesus and the earliest expression of the Christian faith would be called the New Testament. This very distinction between the Old and New Testaments is based on the Septuagint’s language.”

See also establish (covenant) and covenant (book).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Covenant in the Hebrew Bible .

Joshua

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is transliterated as “Joshua” is translated in Swiss-German Sign Language with a sign that depicts a trumpet of rams’ horn, referring to Joshua 6:4 and following.


“Joshua” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Joshua .

complete verse (Joshua 24:25)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 24:25:

  • Kupsabiny: “So, Joshua emphasized to people the covenant and the laws of God on that day in Shechem that they should follow (them).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “That day Joshua made a covenant with the people at Shechem. In it he reminded them that they must be careful to obey the rules and decrees that the LORD had given them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “That day Josue made a covenant with the people there at Shekem, and he gave them the laws and decrees/[lit. what-is-to-be-followed].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “That day, Joshua established an agreement between the people and Yahweh. He wrote for them all the laws that they were required to obey.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 24:25

The Hebrew expression translated for the people (Bible de Jérusalem, Jerusalem Bible) may also mean “with the people” (An American Translation, Revised Standard Version, New English Bible, New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). It appears that Joshua is here portrayed as a representative of the Lord, and that the covenant he draws up is not between himself and the people but between the people and the Lord (so Gray, Soggin). If the interpretation of Good News Translation is followed, one may translate “On that day when the people were gathered at Shechem, Joshua made a covenant between them and the LORD.” Or “On that day at Shechem, Joshua stood as the representative of the people and made a covenant with the LORD.” The noun “representative” may be transformed into a verb: “On that day at Shechem, Joshua represented the people of Israel and made a covenant between them and the LORD.”

Like the covenant at Mount Sinai, this one also included laws and rules for the Israelites to obey. The two nouns laws and rules are best understood as comprehensive terms describing the regulations contained within the covenant. In some languages one term will be satisfactory. There are some places in the Old Testament (in Deuteronomy, for example) where the biblical writer uses as many as five terms for law, which Good News Translation generally translates as only two terms. The reasons for this are: (1) There are no terms in English (or in any other language) which overlap precisely with the Hebrew terms; (2) the Hebrew writers enjoyed accumulating synonyms for the sake of emphasis, which is not always done in English. He gave them laws and rules to follow may be translated, “This covenant contained laws which the people were to obey.”

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 24:25

Paragraph 24:25–26

24:25a

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but some English versions translate as “so” introduces the next event in the storyline. Introduce the next event in a natural way in your language.

Joshua made a covenant for the people: The term covenant was first mentioned in the book of Joshua in 3:3. It was also used in 23:16. You will probably be able to translate it the same way in all three places.

for the people: The Hebrew preposition that the Berean Standard Bible translates as for can also be translated “with.” Joshua did not make an agreement between the people and himself. Instead, he acted as Yahweh’s representative. He established a covenant between the people and Yahweh.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

That day Joshua drew up an agreement for the people (NET Bible)
-or-
Joshua helped Israel make an agreement with the Lord that day (Contemporary English Version)
-or-
That day, Joshua established an agreement between the people and Yahweh (Translation for Translators)

24:25b

and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance: The words statute and ordinance refer to all the laws that Yahweh specified should be part of the covenant. Some languages may not have two terms that refer to laws. In this case, only one term may be used.

Shechem: The town of Shechem was mentioned in verse 24:1.

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

At Shechem, he set up rules and commands for them ⌊to follow⌋
-or-
He established laws and regulations for them at the town of Shechem
-or-
at Shechem…Joshua made laws for Israel (Contemporary English Version)

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