son vs. grandson

“Son of x, son of y” must be rendered as “son of x or grandson of y” in Tibetan or else it will sound like two different people. (Source: David Clark in Clark / Desnitsky 2009 , p. 21).

Note: The same translation solution is chosen in many contemporary English Bibles that emphasize easy readability, such as the Contemporary English Version, Common English Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, or New Living Translation.

See also father / grandfather.

the organization of work (image)

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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.

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 3:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Nehemiah 3:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then Meremoth the son of Uriah who was the son of Hakkoz built the next part/section of the wall. Meshullam son of Berekiah, who was the son of Meshezabel built the next part. Zadok the son of Baana built the following part.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The one-who-built the next portion of the stone-wall was Meremot the child of Uria and grandchild of Hakoz. Next to them was Meshulam the child of Berekia and grandchild of Mesezabel. The next still was Zadok the child of Baana.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Next to them, Meremoth, the son of Uriah and grandson of Hakkoz, repaired the next part of the wall. Next to him, Meshullam, the son of Berekiah and grandson of Meshezabel, repaired the next part of the wall. Next to him, Zadok the son of Baana repaired the next part of the wall.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Nehemiah 3:4

And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired: The nature of the work is described using a different verb at this point. Repaired, which is literally “strengthened,” indicates that the wall in this section did not need to be completely rebuilt. Good News Translation retains the description of building sections of the wall, but “rebuilt” or “repaired” would be more appropriate.

Meremoth son of Uriah was mentioned in Ezra 8.33 as a priest to whom the silver, gold and Temple utensils brought from Babylon were delivered. He repaired two sections of the wall, as is indicated in Neh 3.21.

Son of … son of means “son of … grandson of” as Good News Translation says in ordinary English (also Contemporary English Version, Bible en français courant).

Meshullam was related by marriage to Tobiah the Ammonite (see Neh 6.18).

Meshezabel is listed in Neh 10.21 as a signer of the agreement to separate from foreigners.

Baana may be a variant spelling of the name “Baanah” in Ezra 2.2. He was one of the leaders that returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel.

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 .