sunrise, sunset

The Hebrew and Greek terms that is translated as “sunrise” and “sunset” or similar in English are translated in Chichewa as “sun coming out” and “sun entering.” The understanding is that the sun moves and that when it is evening it goes back where it belongs. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

See also periods of the night.

Nahshon

The name that is transliterated as “Nahshon” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with the sign that combines “quantity,” “counting,” and “3.” (Judah is the third listed tribe and Nahshon is responsible for its census — see Numbers 1:7). (Source: Missão Kophós )


“Nahshon” in Libras (source )

More information under Nahshon .

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

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.

Judah, Judea

The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)


“Judah” and “Judea” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .

cardinal directions

According to Anne Garber Kompaoré (in Le Sycomore 3/2009, p. 34ff. ), there are 4 ways to identify cardinal directions:

1. celestial bodies, especially the sun and certain stars
2. geographical landmarks, for example a mountain, sea, or river (depending on its position or the direction in which the water flows) etc.
3. climatic phenomena, such as the wind and the direction from which rain comes
4. bodily reference points, especially front, back, left, and right, in relation to celestial bodies or geographical landmarks

Following are examples of how these are practically implemented by various languages: (click or tap here to see the rest of this insight)

Celestial Bodies

East and west are often translated by the rising and the setting of the sun (note that the origin of English and other Indo-European languages is “dawn” for “east” and “evening” [i.e. sun-down] for “west”):

  • Maan: “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down” (source: Don Slager)
  • Kankanaey: “from the coming-out of the sun “and “going-away of the sun” (source: Kankanaey back-translation)
  • Northern Emberá: “from where the sun comes up” and “from where the sun falls” (source: Charles Mortensen)
  • Ejamat “the side where the sun comes from” and “the side where it sets” (source: David Frank in this blog post )
  • Tzeltal: “where the sun pours-out” (west) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Mono (DRC): “of-hole-sun” (west)
  • Belanda Bor: “place morning” and “place evening”
  • Shambala: “side sink sun” (south)
  • Northern Ngbandi: “the sun behind the chief’s house” (east — the chief lives traditionally at the eastern side of the village, therefore he does not get the sunlight into his eyes) and “under the sun” (west)
  • Northwestern Dinka: “earth behind” (east — the place behind the earth, i.e. the area where the sun rises)
  • Bari: “Morning Star” / “Venus” (east)
  • Chopi: “sky” (north) (source for this and six above: Angelika Mietzner and Helma Pasch in Skase Journal of Theoretical Linguistics 4, 3/2007 )

Geographical Landmarks

  • Kele: “down-river” (west) (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Jula: “salt village” (north — because salt comes from the north, from the Sahara Desert) and “kola village” (south — since kola comes from the coastal region to the south) (source: Garber Kompaoré)
  • Matumbi: “toward the beach” (East) (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)
  • Lamba: “to the Aushi country” (north) / kumausi and “to the Lenje country” (south) / kumalenje (source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )
  • Acoli: “right” (of the local White Nile) (north) and “left” (of the White Nile) (south)
  • Zande: “interior (dry) land” (east); “place-inside-country” (north / south) — Zande, like a number of other languages, including Matengo and Hehe, traditionally only has three cardinal directions.
  • Belanda Bor: “lower place” (north) and “higher place” (south)
  • Turkana: “(up)stream” (north) and (down)stream (south)
  • Mono (DRC): “water place” (south) (source for this and five above: Mietzner / Pasch)

Climatic Phenomena

  • Shilluk: “opening westwind” (north) and “opening eastwind” (south)
  • Swahili used to have six directions. In reducing them to four, kusini and kaskazini which used to refer to south-west and north east respectively (the directions from where the two monsoons blow) have become the terms for “south” and north.” (source for this and one above: Mietzner / Pasch)

Bodily Reference Points

  • Nuer / Burun: “face” and “sun face” respectively (both: east)
  • Kalenjin: “eye sun” (east) (this and the one above indicate that the sun is “facing” the spectator from its position in the east:
  • Shilluk: doesn’t use a fixed position of the speaker, instead it has “eye sun morning” for east and “eye sun evening” for west
  • Mono (DRC): “foot-sun” (east — the start of the sun’s journey)
  • Burun: “sun leg” (west — the end of the sun’s journey)
  • Bari: “back” (north — when people are facing south, north is at their back) (source for this and above: Mietzner / Pasch)
  • Northern Emberá “the looking [left] hand” (north) and “the real [right] hand” (south) (source: Charles Mortensen)
  • Morelos Nahuatl: “from above” (north) and “from below” (south) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

When all four directions are mentioned, translators tend to avoid listing the four, sometimes verbose terms, and chose solutions like “all directions” (such as in Maan or Manya (source: Don Slager). Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) and Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

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 people of the East and three facing north, three facing west, three facing south, and three facing east.

Amminadab

The name that is transliterated as “Amminadab” in English means “my liberal people,” “my people are willing,” “my kinsman is generous.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that combines the number 3 (Amminadab is a descendant of Judah and Judah is the third listed tribe) and for his son Nahshon who was a prince of the tribe of Judah. (Source: Aline Martins and Paul Fahnestock)


“Amminadab” in Libras (source )

More information on Amminadab .

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

complete verse (Numbers 2:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 2:3:

  • Kupsabiny:

    Three clans shall set up on the East side, and the clan of Judah is to be in charge. Those clans are these:

    Clan Leader How many soldiers
    Judah Nahshon son of Amminadab 74,600
    Issachar Nethanel son of Zuar 54,400
    Zebulun Eliab son of Helon 67,400

    When they are all put together they are 186,400, and the community of Judah shall be leading (them) when they are migrating.

    (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

  • Newari: “Divisions of the camp of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun will set up their tents under their banner on the east toward the sunrise. The leader of the people of the tribe of Judah is Nahshon, son of Amminadab.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:

    The tribes of Juda, Issachar, and Zebulun are-to-camp on the east, 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 Leaders/[lit. Heads] Number
    Juda Nashon son/[child] of Aminadab 74,600
    Issachar Nethanel son/child of Zuar 54,400
    Zebulun Eliab son/[child] of Helon 57,400

    (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

  • English: “The people of the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun must set up their tents on the east side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and the number of soldiers whom they will lead:
    Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, will be the leader of the 74,600 men of the tribe of Judah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 2:3 - 2:9

The numbers here and in the rest of the chapter correspond exactly with those in chapter 1. See the comments on 1.20-46.

Those to encamp on the east side toward the sunrise shall be of the standard of the camp of Judah means Judah and the other tribes in its group must camp on the east side of the Tent of Meeting. The phrase toward the sunrise seems superfluous and unnecessary after the east side. Probably for this reason Good News Translation has omitted it. But toward the sunrise (“where the sun rises” in De Nieuwe Bijbelvertaling) is crucial information. Although Reuben was Israel’s firstborn son, it is not the banner of Reuben’s camp (located on the south) but the banner of Judah’s camp that must be on this side, which was the side of the entrance to the Tent of Meeting (see 3.38). The position of Judah’s camp at this privileged side underlines how important the tribe of Judah was. If a literal rendering of toward the sunrise poses a problem, this phrase may be translated “on the front side [of the tent]” or even “on the side of the [tent’s] entrance.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders on the east side toward the sunrise as “on the front, or east side.” In some languages the directions of sunrise and sunset are culturally significant (for instance, in burial rituals) and there may be particular technical or idiomatic ways of expressing them; for example, Chewa expresses sunrise as “where the sun comes out.” The camp of Judah refers to the tribes of Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

By their companies is literally “by their troops” (see the comments on 1.3). The Israelites were a well-organized army.

The leader of the people of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab: See 1.7. The Hebrew word for leader is nasiʾ (see 1.16), which is better rendered “chief” (Revised English Bible) or “Chieftain” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) in this context.

His host as numbered …: Host renders the same Hebrew word (tsavaʾ) as companies, but in the singular. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders it “troop.” Numbered renders the same Hebrew verb (paqad) translated “number” in 1.3 (see the comments there). It is better rendered “registered” (New Living Translation), “enrolled” (New Revised Standard Version), or “recorded.”

Those to encamp next to him shall be the tribe of Issachar: The pronoun him refers to the tribe of Judah. Contemporary English Version makes this clear by rendering this clause as “On one side of Judah will be the tribe of Issachar.”

The leader of the people of Issachar being Nethanel the son of Zuar: See 1.8.

Then the tribe of Zebulun: Nothing in the Hebrew text corresponds with the conjunction Then; the Hebrew only has “The tribe of Zebulun” and seems like a list at this point. This sentence is not grammatically complete. Perhaps the target language has a special conjunction or transitional term to indicate the last item in a list, whether short (as this one) or long. In some languages (for example, Albanian) it will be more natural and seem less repetitive if this first sentence about Zebulun is moved to the beginning of verse 5, combining it with the tribe of Issachar as follows: “Those to camp next to the tribe of Judah shall be the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun….”

The leader of the people of Zebulun being Eliab the son of Helon: See 1.9.

The whole number of the camp of Judah is literally “All those enrolled of the camp of Judah.” Number renders the Hebrew verb paqad again (see 1.3), so it is better translated “enrolled” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The King James Version (King James Version) renders this whole phrase as “All that were numbered in the camp of Judah,” but the Hebrew here shows no indication of any past tense at all (so also in verses 16, 24, and 31).

They shall set out first on the march: This clause refers to repetitive action; not just one change of camp is in view here but many. Chewa provides a good model for this clause, saying “Those ones [tribes] should be out in front as they move/travel.” The pronoun They refers to the three tribes under the banner of Judah. The Hebrew verb rendered set out … on the march can mean “move off,” “set out,” “journey further,” or “march.” The translation of it here should fit the context of a (military) camp.

We recommend Good News Translation‘s list layout for verses 3-9, 10-16, 18-24, and 25-31. Bible en français courant has lists as well, but without headings such as “Tribe.” This does not make the translation unclear, because Bible en français courant introduces the lists with “under a chief of their tribe” instead of “under their leaders” (Good News Translation). In any case, whether there is a list layout or not, the verses about each group of three tribes may be put in a separate paragraph (so Good News Translation), or may even be preceded and followed by a blank line (so New International Version). The numbers may be printed in figures, not only because it will make the translation easier to read but also because figures are more fitting in lists of this kind.

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 .