2one of my brothers, Hanani, came with certain men from Judah, and I asked them about the Jews who escaped, those who had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem.
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in Kwere as sekulu, in Elhomwe as mbalaawo´, and in Mandarin Chinese as gēgē (哥哥), all “older brother.”
Note that Kwere also uses lumbu — “older sibling” in some cases. (Source for Kwere and Elhomwe: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext; Chinese: Jost Zetzsche)
In Lama it is translated as “older or younger brother.” (Source: Neal Brinneman)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 1:2:
Kupsabiny: “My brother Hanani visited me at that time together with other people from Judah. There and then, I asked them for news about the Jews who had returned from slavery/servanthood and also about how things were in Jerusalem.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “One of my brothers who was Hanani came to me there from Juda with some other men. I asked them concerning Jerusalem and the Jews who returned from being-captive in Babilonia.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “Hanani who was one of my siblings came from Juda and he had (lit. there-were his) travelling-companions who were other men. I asked-for-a-report from them concerning the Judio who had been forcibly taken far-away who returned and concerning Jerusalem.” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
English: “My brother Hanani came to visit me. He and some other men had just returned from Judah. I queried them about the Jews who were living there, whose parents had been exiled/taken forcefully to Babylonia many years previously. I also asked them about what was happening in Jerusalem.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Hanani, one of my brethren, came with certain men out of Judah: Nehemiah met with certain men out of Judah. No indication is given of the identity of these men or of their status or of the reason they had come to Susa. Nor does the text indicate that they came specifically to see Nehemiah. Although it is likely that these were men and not women (see Bible en français courant), the translation should not emphasize men as opposed to women. Some languages will simply say “some other people from Judah.” Revised English Bible has “some other Judaeans.” Out of Judah should be understood in the general sense that these men arrived “from Judah” (so New American Bible, New International Version, Segond, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) or “from the province of Judah” (so Bible en français courant). For a comment on the province of Judah, see Ezra 2.1.
One of those people, Hanani, is identified as being one of Nehemiah’s brethren. Brethren can mean “fellow Jews.” But in Neh 7.2 Hanani the governor of Jerusalem is identified as a brother of Nehemiah. The other men in the group referred to here are not included in the designation as brothers although they were fellow Jews. Thus, Hanani must have been a blood brother of Nehemiah. Because it is not known whether Hanani was an older brother or a younger brother, it is preferable here to use a more general term for “brother” instead of a term that means “older brother” or “younger brother,” if this is possible in the receptor language.
Nehemiah used the occasion of meeting these people from Judah to inquire about two matters that he was concerned about, namely, the condition of the Jews in Judah and the condition of Jerusalem. In the Hebrew text Nehemiah does not state explicitly what questions he asked.
The description, the Jews that survived, who had escaped exile is literally “the escaped Jews who remained from the captivity.” This could refer either to those Jews who stayed in Judah and did not go into exile (Good News Translation alternative reading) or to those who returned from exile (Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). New Revised Standard Version has kept the ambiguity of the original text by translating “the Jews that survived, those who had escaped the captivity.” This follows the view of many biblical scholars that the reference is to all Jews in Jerusalem at that time, both those who returned from exile and those who did not go into exile. However, it may be noted that the Hebrew word translated here as survived is the same word that occurs in Ezra 9.8, where it is translated “remnant” in reference to the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem from captivity in Babylonia, but could also refer to all who survived in Jerusalem after the exile whether or not they actually were in exile. Translators should select one interpretation and put the other in a footnote. For Jews see Ezra 4.12.
Who had escaped exile occurs as an explanation of the phrase the Jews that survived. Escaped comes from the same Hebrew word that is rendered “remnant” in Ezra 9.14, 15 (see the comments there). For this expression Revised Standard Version uses a relative clause while some versions use an appositional structure (so New Revised Standard Version). Good News Translation has restructured the last half of the verse and added explicit information to make its interpretation very clear (also Contemporary English Version). New Jerusalem Bible clarifies the ambiguity of its translation by a footnote that says this refers to “Those faithful people back from exile now centered round Jerusalem.”
Nehemiah also asked concerning Jerusalem (New International Version “about Jerusalem”), or his inquiry may be stated more explicitly: “he also asked for news about the city Jerusalem.” Good News Translation restructures to put the request for information about the city first and then the request for news about the people.
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 .
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