the organization of work (image)

Click here to see the image in higher resolution.

Image taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here .

For other images of Willy Wiedmann paintings in TIPs, see here.

complete verse (Nehemiah 3:3)

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

  • Kupsabiny: “The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. Big/Strong door frames were fixed for that gate and then door shutters plus lock-beams were fixed on it.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The ones-who-built the Fish Gate were the children of Hasenaa. They set-up its beams, set-up the doors, and made bars.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. The put in their places the wooden beams above the gates, and also the doors, the bolts, and the bars for locking the gate.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 3:3

The description of the places being rebuilt emphasizes the gates. They were the primary points of identification and in most need of repair. A wall without gates could not provide protection to the city.

The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate: The identity of Hassenaah is unknown. In form the Hebrew expression looks like “the Senaah,” but no geographical place is known by that name. Bible en français courant however does consider it to be a place name and translates the sons of Hassenaah as “the inhabitants of Senaa” (see Ezra 2.35). Like Revised Standard Version, most versions understand Hassenaah to have been a person (New International Version, New King James Version , Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Sons is plural and includes more than the literal sons of Hassenaah. Good News Translation therefore renders it “clan,” while Contemporary English Version uses the more common term “family.”

The Fish Gate was near the northwest corner of the wall. The name of the gate indicates that there may have been a fish market nearby.

They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars: They laid its beams refers to the structure or the framework on which the gates were hung (so New Jerusalem Bible). The bolts and bars were the fixtures for securing the gates when they were shut. Good News Translation makes their use explicit by saying “the bolts and bars for locking the gate.” If there are no technical terms available in the receptor language for bolts and bars, these can be described as “the parts of iron and of wood for locking the gate.”

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 .