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son of

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “son of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic naming system . This means that for instance in Matthew 16:17 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Simon son of Jonah” becomes “Simon Jónasson” or in Isaiah 8:2 “Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” becomes “Sakaría Jeberekíason” where in both cases the “-son” means “son of.”

In cases where “son of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage, however, this system is not used. So in Matthew 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” is translated as “Jesú Krists, sonar Davíðs, sonar Abrahams.”

The referenced verses all have at least one instance where the Icelandic patronymic or matronymic naming system is used. (Source: Halldór Elías Guðmundsson)

See also daughter of

complete verse (Nehemiah 3:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 3:19:

  • Kupsabiny: “And those who followed them were Ezer son of Jeshua the ruler of Mizpah. That one built the section of the wall near the place for keeping war arms/armory at the angle/corner of the wall.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Next was the child of Jeshua who-was Ezer the leader/[lit. head] of Mizpa. He built the portion of the stone-wall that faces the place-of-hiding of the weapons as-far-as the corner of the stone-wall.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Next to him, Ezer the son of Jeshua, who ruled Mizpah city, repaired another section in front of the steps which went up to the armory/building where the weapons are kept, as far as where the wall turns a bit to the right.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 3:19

Ezer the son of Jeshua, ruler of Mizpah, repaired another section: Ezer, another Levite, repaired the next section. His father was Jeshua, who is referred to in Ezra 2.40 and 3.9. He was the ruler of the town of Mizpah. The ruler of the district of Mizpah was named in verse 15 above.

Opposite the ascent to the armory at the Angle: An armory is a building where weapons or “tools for war” are kept. This was probably a tower or guardhouse in the City of David to protect the royal building. The ascent could refer to steps or a path going up to the armory.

The Angle would normally mean a sharp turn in the wall, but another word is used for “corner” along with this word in the Hebrew of verse 24 (Revised Standard Version with “Angle” at the end of verse 24 and “corner” at the beginning of verse 25). It does not seem to refer to a specific point since it occurs in verses 19, 20, and 25 in connection with different features. Williamson (1985) has suggested that it means “a place where something is cut off or ends abruptly” such as an “ ‘escarpment’ (New English Bible) if it is a natural feature” or a “ ‘Buttress’… if it is an architectural feature.” According to this suggestion, the translation would be “opposite the ascent to the armory by the buttress [or, escarpment].” The Septuagint has translated the word for armory as “meeting point” and this is the basis of the Revised English Bible translation “opposite the point at which the ascent meets the escarpment.” This is a good model to follow here. For Angle see also 2 Chr 26.9.

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 .