village

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “village” or “town” in English is translated in Noongar as karlamaya or “fire (used for “home“) + houses” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

In Elhomwe it is typically translated as “place.” “Here in Malawi, villages very small, so changed to ‘places,’ since not sure whether biblical reference just to small villages or also to bigger towns. (Source: project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Nehemiah 11:28)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 11:28:

  • Kupsabiny: “Ziklag and Mekonah together with its villages.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “There were some of them who lived in Ziklag, Mecona, and in the barangays around them,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Others lived in Ziklag city, in Meconah city and the villages near it,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 11:28

Ziklag was an important town in the time of David. It was located about 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Beersheba.

Meconah is cited and its villages. Perhaps it is a matter of Hebrew style, but the preposition “in” occurs three times in this verse in Hebrew. It is repeated with both city names and with its villages. In the preceding verse the preposition occurs only with the city names. The translation here may therefore be “in Ziklag, in Meconah and in its villages,” although translators of this list tend to level out these minor stylistic differences.

Quoted with permission from Noss, Philip A. and Thomas, Kenneth J. A Handbook on Nehemiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2005. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .