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)
Three clans shall set up on the North side and the clan of Dan shall be in charge. Those clans are these:
Clan
Leader
Number of soldiers
Dan
Ahiezer son of Ammishaddai
62,700
Asher
Pagiel son of Ochran
41,500
Naphtali
Ahira son of Enan
53,400
Total/all is 157,600. The community of Dan shall be going/moving after the others as their flags are.
(Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “After that will be the tribe of Naphtali. The leader of the men of the tribe of Naphtali is Ahira son of Enan.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
‘The tribes of Dan, Asher, and Nephtali are-to-camp on the north, under the banner of their own/[lit. each] tribe. These are the names of their leaders/[lit. heads] and the numbers of their people/men:
Tribe
Leader
Number
Dan
Ahiezer son of Amishadai
62,700
Asher
Pagiel son of Ocran
41,500
Naftali
Ahira son of Enan
53,400
(Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Ahira, the son of Enan, will be the leader of the 53,400 men of the tribe of Naphtali.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Most of the comments on verses 3-9 apply here as well. The LORD’s direct speech to Moses and Aaron ends with verse 31.
On the north side shall be the standard of the camp of Dan means Dan and the other tribes in its group must camp on the north side of the Tent of Meeting. The cardinal point north may be difficult to translate. In some languages, with an orientation toward the rising sun (east), north is spoken of as being on the “left hand.” The camp of Dan refers to the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali.
The leader of the people of Dan being Ahi-ezer the son of Ammishaddai: See 1.12.
And those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Asher: The pronoun him refers to the tribe of Dan. Contemporary English Version makes this clear by rendering this clause as “On one side of Dan will be the tribe of Asher.”
The leader of the people of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran: See 1.13.
In some languages it will be more natural and seem less repetitive if Then the tribe of Naphtali (verse 29) is moved to the beginning of verse 27, combining it with the tribe of Asher as follows: “Those to camp next to the tribe of Dan shall be the tribes of Asher and Naphtali….”
The leader of the people of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan: See 1.15.
They shall set out last, standard by standard: The pronoun They refers to the three tribes under the banner of Dan. Set out renders the same Hebrew verb as at the end of verse 9 (see the comments there). Standard by standard is literally “by their standards” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh; compare New International Version with “under their standards,” and Chewa with “following their flags”). The pronoun “their” refers to the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. Since this phrase helps mark the close of a discourse unit, it should not be simply omitted as in Good News Translation.
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.