The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ephraim” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “palm tree” referring to the palm of Deborah in the land of Ephraim (see Judges 4:5. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 10:22:
Kupsabiny: “The clan of Ephraim followed with their flag. And the one who was in charge of that community was Elishama son of Ammihud.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “After that the forces of the camp of Ephraim moved on, holding their banner. Their leader was Elishama, son of Ammihud.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The next group who traveled bringing their banner was the group under-the-leadership of the tribe of Efraim. The leader/[lit. head] of the tribe of Efraim was Elishama the child of Amihud.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The group from the tribe of Ephraim was next, carrying their flag. Elishama, the son of Ammihud, was their leader.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Good News Translation is correct in beginning a new paragraph at verse 22. This paragraph is not related to verse 21 any more than verses 18-20.
And the standard of the camp of the men of Ephraim set out by their companies …: The instructions concerning the camp of Ephraim in 2.18-24 (see the comments there) are carried out in verses 22-24. For the standard of the camp of the men … set out by their companies, see verse 14. The camp … of Ephraim included the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin, which camped on the west side of the Tabernacle (2.18). Since the verb set out refers to repetitive action, Good News Translation says “would start out.” According to 2.24, they were to set out “third.” Although this idea is not repeated here, Good News Translation makes it explicit at the beginning of this paragraph with the word “Next.” In many languages such a word will make the translation more natural as well as clear.
And over their host was Elishama the son of Ammihud: See 1.10 and 2.18. For host see verse 14.
And over the host of the tribe of the men of Manasseh was Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur: See 1.10 and 2.20.
And over the host of the tribe of the men of Benjamin was Abidan the son of Gideoni: See 1.11 and 2.22.
Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.