Great Sea

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “Great Sea” or similar is translated in Khoekhoe as “Mediterranean Sea.” (Source: project-specific notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Joshua 9:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 9:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “The communities that lived west of the river Jordan were Hittites, Amorites, Caananites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. They lived in the ridges and the valley which was adjacent to the big ocean and followed the shore like that up to Lebanon. When the kings of those areas heard how Jericho and Ai had been destroyed,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The kings in the hill country west of the Jordan and the western foothills and on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea as far north as Lebanon, all the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites heard this report.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Now, all the kings in the west of Jordan heard-about the victories/[lit. winning] of the Israelinhon. (These were the kings of the Hithanon, Amornon, Canaanhon, Periznon, Hivhanon, and Jebusnon. They were-living in the mountains, hills/[lit. small-mountains] in the west, and on the seashore of the Sea of Mediteraneo as-far-as Lebanon.)” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “There were several kings who ruled in lands that are on the west side of the Jordan River. They were the kings of the Heth people-group, the Amor people-group, the Canaan people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group. They lived in the hilly area, in the foothills further west, and on the plains along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. They heard about what happened at Ai.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Jordan

The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jordan River .

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

In Malagasy culture, the sea is perceived as sacred because it was a path taken by the ancestors. That is why the Malagasy word for the “sea” is ranomasina, which literally means “the sacred water.” The word masina actually has two different meanings: “salted” and “sacred/holy.” Salt is used for the conservation of some foods, such as meat or fish, that are to be set aside for later use. In this sense, the Malagasy phrase for “Holy Spirit” has the literal meaning of “Salted Spirit.” (Source: Brigitte Rabarijaona in The Bible Translator 2022, p. 103ff.)

Translation commentary on Joshua 9:1 - 9:2

These two verses describe how the natives of Canaan, alarmed by the news of Israel’s victories, banded together to fight the Israelites.

The victories of Israel became known to all the kings west of the Jordan is more literally “And it happened when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan heard.” The Good News Translation restructuring takes two stages: (1) The victories of Israel is supplied as object of the verb “heard” (Revised Standard Version); and (2) the shift is made from an active to a passive construction by use of the verb became known. Together with English, most other languages will also require that the verb “heard” receive an object (Revised Standard Version supplies “of this”). But many languages will prefer to retain an active where Good News Translation has became known: “All the kings west of the Jordan heard about the victories of Israel” or “… heard that the people of Israel had defeated their enemies.” Verse 1 may even begin with a general statement (“The victories of Israel were spoken of everywhere in the land”), followed with a more specific one: “All the kings … heard of it.”

The geographical data in verse 1 are given following a westerly direction: the central mountain range (the hills), the lowlands (the foothills), and then the coastal plain along the Mediterranean Sea.

It is possible that some languages might prefer the geographical data to be given in an easterly direction. If this is so, then the necessary adjustments must be made. It is quite possible also that verse 1 should be broken into several sentences. For example:

• All the kings west of the Jordan River heard of the way that the people of Israel had defeated their enemies. The kings in the hills and in the foothills of central Palestine heard about it. And the kings along the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea also heard about it. Even the kings as far north as Lebanon heard about the victories of Israel. These kings who heard about the victories of Israel were the kings of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

For the list of the peoples, see 3.10; for kings see 2.2.

Alarmed at the news of Israel’s victories at Jericho and Ai, the rulers of these peoples form an alliance to fight the invading Israelites. “With one accord” (Revised Standard Version) indicates the unanimous purpose of them all; they were all together in this. It is possible to make this emphasis as follows: “All these kings brought their armies together with one purpose in mind. They wanted to defeat Joshua and the people of Israel.”

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 9:1

Section 9:1–27 The Gibeonites deceived the Israelites

The Gibeonite people lived near Ai. When they heard that Joshua had defeated Ai, they were afraid that he would conquer and kill them too. So, they sent messengers who pretended they had come from a long distance away. They deceived the Israelites and made a treaty of friendship with them.

Later, the Israelites learned that the Gibeonites lied to them, and that they lived quite close to them. They could not kill them because of the treaty, so they made them be water carriers and woodcutters for the Israelites.

Here are some other possible section headings:

The people of Gibeon
-or-
The Gibeon people tricked the Israelites and made a treaty with them

Paragraph 9:1–2

This paragraph forms an introduction to the story of this chapter. It tells how a group of kings from the nearby towns decided to fight together against the Israelites. Their action contrasts with how the Gibeonites deceived the Israelites.

9:1a

Now when news of this reached: The words of this are not included in the Hebrew text. The Hebrew text says only, “When all the kings heard.” In some languages it may be clearer to add words about what the kings heard.

These kings heard something that made them decide to join forces and attack the Israelites. Probably they heard how Joshua and the Israelites were defeated in the first battle of Ai. Because they saw that it was possible for the Israelites to lose a battle, they decided to attack them.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

When the kings heard ⌊about the Israelites⌋ they gathered together
-or-
When the kings heard ⌊that the Israelites lost a battle against Ai⌋ , they gathered together

all the kings west of the Jordan: The phrase the kings west of the Jordan refers to the kings who ruled towns on the west side of the Jordan River. It may be clearer to add the implied information in this clause. For example:

the kings ⌊of the towns⌋ beyond the Jordan ⌊River⌋
-or-
the kings ⌊of the towns⌋ west of the Jordan ⌊River⌋

west of the Jordan: The phrase west of the Jordan refers to the region west of the Jordan River.

9:1b

those in the hill country: The term hill country refers to the central mountain range of Palestine.

the foothills: The term foothills refers to the western side of the central mountain range. It is a rocky plateau that is higher than the land near the Mediterranean Sea, but lower than the hill country.

Here are some other ways to translate this word:

western foothills (New International Version)
-or-
the lowland (Revised Standard Version)

and all along the coast of the Great Sea: The phrase Great Sea refers to the Mediterranean Sea.

toward Lebanon: Lebanon was a small but powerful kingdom to the north of Palestine. The phrase toward Lebanon indicates that some of these kings were from the north, near the kingdom of Lebanon.

9:1c

the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites: These six groups of people were mentioned in 3:10. You should translate them the same way you did there. These people are inhabitants of the land of Canaan. In Deuteronomy 20:16–18 Yahweh told the Israelites to destroy these nations with his help.

General Comment on 9:1

This is a long sentence with a long and complicated subject. It may be clearer to break it into two sentences. For example:

1a There were many people who lived on the west side of the Jordan River, 1b in the hill country, and in the foothills, and along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and up north toward Lebanon. 1c The kings of the Hitti people, the Amor people, the Canaan people, the Periz people, the Hiw people, and the Yabus people 1a heard about the Israelites.

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