complete verse (Judges 1:26)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 1:26:

  • Kupsabiny: “Later, that man went to the country of the Hittites and built there a city, and after that he named it Luz. That city is called like that to this day/now.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Soon afterwards, that man went to the land of the Hittites, built a city there and named it Luz. Even today, this is the name of that city.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This man went to the land of the Hithanon, and there he founded a town which he called Luz. It is the same name until now.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “That man went to the area where the descendants of Heth lived, and built a city. He named the city Luz, and that is still the name of that city.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Judges 1:26

This verse could be considered as the next event on the story line or as a kind of aside. It tells how another city of Luz was founded, tying back to verse 1.23.

And the man went to the land of the Hittites: The conjunction And introduces the next thing the man from Bethel did after he was let go. A conjunction such as “so” (Contemporary English Version) or “then” (New International Version) might also be appropriate here. Although only the man is mentioned, obviously he had his family with him. The verb went is used to describe the man’s escape. The man had to get far enough away to prevent retribution for his act, since he would certainly be considered as a traitor to his own people.

The Hittites were originally from the northeast region of modern Turkey. These people were of Indo-European rather than Semitic origin, but at times the two peoples came into contact. In Gen 23, for example, Abraham bought a field from a Hittite named Ephron. One of David’s soldiers, the husband of Bathsheba, was also a Hittite (verse 2 Sam 11.3). Some of the Hittites had migrated south from their homeland into Canaan, so the land of the Hittites may not have been too far away.

The Hebrew says he built a city, which means he “founded a city” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Languages may have idiomatic expressions for founding a village or town which can be used here.

And called its name Luz: Luz was the original name of the town of Bethel (see verse 1.23). The man named this new town with the original name of his hometown. Renaming new towns with the name of old ones was a common practice in this region. The word Luz sounds like the Hebrew word for “almond tree.”

For that is its name to this day, see verse 1.21. We might say “People continue to call it Luz to this day.”

Translation models for this verse might be:

• The man moved to Hittite territory and established a town that he called Luz, which remains its name till today.

• The man and his family went to where the Hittites lived. He began a settlement there that he called Luz. People continue to call it by that name [till now].

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .