desert / wilderness

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The Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Latin that is translated as “desert” or “wilderness” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • Mairasi: “a place where noisiness is cut off (or: stops)” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Muna: pandaso bhalano pr “big barren-field” (source: René van den Berg)
  • Balinese: “barren field” (source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 75ff. )
  • Wantoat: “uninhabited place” (source: Holzhausen 1991, p. 38)
  • Umiray Dumaget Agta: “where no people dwell” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “where no house is” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Amri Karbi: “waterless region/place” (source: Philippova 2021, p. 368)
  • Ocotlán Zapotec: “large empty place” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Pa’o Karen: “jungle” (denoting a place without any towns, villages and tilled fields) (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. )
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
  • Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Cherokee: inage or “far away downstream” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
  • Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Adioukrou: loj or “savannah” — “land that is not village, nor forest, nor field (source: Hill 2006)

Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

See also wilderness and desolate wilderness.

complete verse (Joshua 8:20)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 8:20:

  • Kupsabiny: “And when the men of Ai happened to look behind, they saw smoke that billowed up which came from the city. But there was no chance for them to flee because the soldiers of Israel who were moving towards the wilderness turned against them.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “When the men of Ai looked behind them, they saw smoke from the city going toward the sky. They were not able to escape, either to this side or that. For the Israelites who had run away towards the wilderness turned back and attacked the ones of Ai who had formerly pursued them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When those from-Ai looked-back, they saw the smoke rising-up from the city. They now had-nowhere to-run, for the Israelinhon whom they had-been-pursuing into the desolate-place suddenly faced them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from their city. But they could not escape, because the Israeli troops stopped running away.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 8:20

This verse depicts the confusion of the men of Ai; seeing the city in flames, they know that the enemy is there, so that retreat to the city is impossible; and now the main Israelite force turns around and attacks them: there was no way for them to escape.

When the men of Ai looked back, they saw the smoke rising avoids the problem of Revised Standard Version: “So when the men of Ai looked back, behold, the smoke of the city went up….” That is, Revised Standard Version assumes the sequence: (1) the men looked back; (2) the smoke went up. However, the sequence is more naturally assumed to be: (1) the smoke went up; (2) the men looked back.

There was no way for them to escape may be translated “There was no place for them to run” or “… where they could run for safety.”

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 8:20

8:20a

When the men of Ai turned and looked back: The soldiers of Ai were chasing the Israelite soldiers. At some point, they turned around and looked back towards their town. The story does not say why they looked back. Perhaps they heard noise coming from the direction of the town.

8:20b

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but some English versions translate as “behold” is used to emphasize what happens next. You may have a word or particle in your language that is used for emphasis. Many English versions do not translate this word. It may be more natural to leave this word implicit.

the smoke of the city was rising into the sky: The clause the smoke of the city was rising into the sky indicates that the sky was filled with smoke because the town was burning.

8:20c

They could not escape in any direction: The clause They could not escape in any direction indicates that the soldiers of Ai were surrounded, and so could not escape. They were caught between the two parts of the Israelite army.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

There was no way for them to escape (Good News Translation)
-or-
they had no chance to escape in any direction (New International Version)
-or-
they had nowhere to go (New Living Translation (2004))

They could not escape: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as They could not implies a loss of courage. Some English versions make this explicit. For example:

None of them had the courage to run (New Jerusalem Bible)
-or-
were so shocked they were unable to flee (NET Bible)

8:20d

and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now became the pursuers: The clause and the troops who had fled to the wilderness refers to Joshua and the Israelite soldiers who had pretended to run away. These are the same people referred to in 8:15.

now became the pursuers: The phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as became the pursuers is translated as “turned back against the pursuers” in most English versions. With either interpretation, the Israelite soldiers who had run away from the town now turned around and fought with the soldiers of Ai.

the pursuers: According to the Berean Standard Bible interpretation, the phrase the pursuers refers to Joshua and the Israelite soldiers who had pretended to run away. However, most English versions indicate that the pursuers refers to the soldiers of Ai.

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