cardinal directions

The cardinal directions “east” and “west” are easy to translate into Maan here since the language uses “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down.” For “north” the translator had “facing toward the sun rising to the left,” and for “south” she had “facing toward the sun rising to the right.” So the listener had to think hard before knowing what direction was in view when translating “to the north and south, to the east and west.” So, in case all four directions are mentioned, it was shortened by saying simply “all directions.” (Source: Don Slager) Likewise, Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) or Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

Kankanaey is “from the coming-out and the going-away of the sun and the north and the south” (source: Kankanaey back-translation), Northern Emberá “from where the sun comes up, from where it falls, from the looking [left] hand, from the real [right] hand” (source: Charles Mortensen), Amele “from the direction of the sun going up, from the direction of the sun going down, from the north and from the south” (source: John Roberts), Ejamat “look up to see the side where the sun comes from, and the side where it sets, and look on your right side, and on your left” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).

In Lamba, only umutulesuŵa, “where the sun rises” and imbonsi, “where the sun sets” were available as cardinal directions that were not tied to the local area of language speakers (“north” is kumausi — “to the Aushi country” — and “south” kumalenje — “to the Lenje country”). So “north” and “south” were introduced as loanwords, nofu and saufu respectively. The whole phrase is kunofu nakusaufu nakumutulesuŵa nakumbonsi. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )

“West” is translated in Tzeltal as “where the sun pours-out” and in Kele as “down-river” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Morelos Nahuatl, “north” is translated as “from above” and “south” as “from below.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In Matumbi cardinal directions are defined as in relation to another place. “East” for instance typically is “toward the beach” since the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas. “North” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture.

Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”

See also cardinal directions / left and right.

complete verse (Numbers 10:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 10:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “When the horn sounds to show that it is necessary to migrate, the clans that have set up their tents on the East side are to go in front.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “According to the signal, when you blow a short trumpet [blast] the people towards the east of the camp must move forward. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When the trumpet is sounded/blown to prepare the people to travel/move-on, the tribes on the east side of the Tent are the first ones to move/[lit. walk].” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “If the trumpets are blown loudly, the tribes that are to the east of the Sacred Tent should start to travel.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 10:5 - 10:7

When you blow an alarm …: The pronoun you and all the other second person pronouns in verses 5-10 are plural in Hebrew, referring to the Israelites. Verse 8 makes it clear that the priests are to blow the trumpets on behalf of the rest of the Israelites. Good News Translation does not specify the agent here by using the passive verb “are sounded,” which we recommend, if it is possible. The use of the pronoun you is ambiguous in English since it can be singular or plural. Verses 5-7 do not specify how many trumpets should be blown. However, these verses do seem to make a distinction between two ways of blowing the trumpets. An alarm (that is, a loud sound) is to be blown to break camp and travel further. But “no alarm” should be blown when the people are called together without breaking camp. This distinction between alarm and “no alarm” is rendered as “short blasts” and “long blasts” in Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh. These renderings make the distinction more strongly and clearly, but they are also quite speculative. (According to Jewish tradition, the convocation trumpet sound was one long blast [verses 3-4, 7], while the moving out signal [verses 5-6] was three shorter blasts. Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh seem to follow this tradition.) There is a problem with the word alarm. It gives the wrong suggestion that the trumpet blowing here concerns an unexpected emergency or some immediate danger. This word is better rendered “signal” (Contemporary English Version) or “blast” in this context (see the model below).

The camps that are on the east side refers to the camps of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun on the east side of the Tabernacle (see 2.3-9).

For the Hebrew verb rendered set out, see the comments on 2.9. Here it may be translated “move off,” “journey further,” “resume their journey,” or “march.”

And when you blow an alarm the second time, the camps that are on the south side shall set out: When there was a second trumpet blast, the Israelites south of the Tabernacle had to resume their journey. The camps that are on the south side refers to the camps of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad (see 2.10-16). It is striking that only the most important sides are mentioned: the east and the south. (The Septuagint actually adds the trumpet signals for the camps on the western and northern sides.)

An alarm is to be blown whenever they are to set out is literally “They shall blow a blast for their settings out.” The pronouns “They” and “their” refer to the Israelites, although verse 8 makes it clear that the priests had to blow the trumpets on behalf of the rest of the Israelites. The passive construction An alarm is to be blown does not specify the agent, which we recommend, if it is possible. If a passive construction is not possible, a possible alternative is “A blast must be the signal.”

But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall blow, but you shall not sound an alarm: The conjunction But (literally “And”) introduces well the contrast here. The Hebrew term rendered assembly is not ʿedah (as in verse 2) but qahal. While the word ʿedah refers to the entire national, legal and cultic society of Israel, qahal refers to the gathering of the people. As a general rule, if the target language allows for a distinction between these two words, ʿedah may be rendered “community,” and qahal may be translated “assembly,” “gathering,” or “congregation.” However, in this section the “community” (verses 2-3) and the assembly are the same. Sound an alarm does not render the same Hebrew expression translated blow an alarm. The signal for gathering the people was in some way different from the signal for moving their camp. The Hebrew verb rendered sound an alarm comes from the same root as the noun for alarm.

A model for verses 5-7, which is partly based on Contemporary English Version, is:

• 5-6 When you give a trumpet signal, the first blast will be the signal for the tribes camped on the east side to set out, and the second blast will be the signal for those on the south side. A trumpet signal is to be given whenever they are to set out. 7 But when the assembly is to be gathered together, you shall sound a different trumpet signal.

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 .