family / clan / house

The Hebrew terms that are translated as “family” or “clan” or “house” or similar in English are all translated in Kwere as ng’holo or “clan.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the English translation by Goldingay (2018) it is translated as “kin-group.”

See also tribe.

complete verse (Numbers 26:45)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 26:45:

  • Kupsabiny: “The house of Heber and the house of Malkiel hailed from the house of Beriah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “And the descendants of Beriah were like this —
    The clan of the Heberites, from Heber,
    The clan of the Malkielites, from Malkiel.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The descendants of Beria were the families of Heber and Malkiel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They counted 53,400 men from the tribe of Asher. They were in clans descended from Imnah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and from Beriah’s two sons—Heber and Malkiel. Asher also had a daughter named Serah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 26:44 - 26:47

This paragraph is about the census of the tribe of Asher. It runs parallel to the previous paragraphs in this chapter dealing with the census of other tribes (see the comments on verses 5-7 and 12-14). The clans of Asher descended from his sons Imnah, Ishvi and Beriah, and Beriah’s sons Heber and Malchi-el (see Gen 46.17; 1 Chr 7.30-31).

And the name of the daughter of Asher was Serah: Serah is also mentioned in Gen 46.17 and 1 Chr 7.30. In this context of a military census, this sentence seems a striking interruption; it heightens the importance of Serah and the role of women in general (so Cole, page 460). The parentheses in New International Version around this sentence are likely to suggest to some readers that its information is unimportant, so it is better not to use them.

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 .