1Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. Zelophehad was son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, of the clans of Manasseh, son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
The term that is transliterated as “Joseph” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that relates to a) the coat he wore (see Gen 37:3), b) the holding of his clothes by Potiphar’s wife (see Gen 39:12), and c) the many times Joseph experienced grief. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Joseph” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with a sign that signifies “dream,” referring to Jacob’s dream at Bethel (see Genesis 28:10 and the following verses). (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Manasseh” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “bull” referring to Deuteronomy 33:17. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
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.”
The Hebrew, Latin; Ge’ez and Greek that is transliterated as “Noah” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that combines the letter N + “boat.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The following is a stained glass window depicting Noah by Endre Odon Hevezi and Gyula Bajo from 1965 for the Debre Libanos Monastery, Oromia, Ethiopia:
Photo by Timothy A. Gonsalves, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 27:1:
Kupsabiny: “Then, the daughters of Zelophehad got up wanting to complain. Those daughters/girls were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Zelophehad hailed from the house of Gilead son of Machir who was son of Manasseh son of Joseph.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Hepher was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Machir. Machir was the son of Manasseh, Manasseh was the son of Joseph. Zelophehad had five daughters. [Their names were] Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Zelofehad had female children who were Mala, Noa, Hogla, Milca and Tirza. This Zelofehad was the child of Hefer and grandchild of Gilead. Gilead was the child of Makir and grandchild of Manase. Manase was the child of Jose.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “One day the five daughters of Zelophehad came to Moses/me. They were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad …: The Hebrew verbal construction here indicates that there is a close connection between this account concerning the daughters of Zelophehad and the census account in the preceding chapter. Apparently then, Zelophehad’s daughters brought up their special inheritance case very soon after the close of the tribal census. The conjunction Then or a similar transitional expression (for example, “At that time” in Chewa) may be appropriate to indicate the connection between chapters 26 and 27. New Revised Standard Version and a number of other translations render the Hebrew verb for drew near as “came forward” (so also NET, New Jewish Publication Society Version, Herziene Statenvertaling, Luther, Levine). In many languages it will be more natural to introduce the daughters of Zelophehad (as the new topic) first and to specify their movement next. This is why New International Version moves the verb here to the end of this verse, rendering verses 1b-2a as “They approached 2 the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and stood before Moses” (similarly Good News Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Nueva Biblia Viva). In this way the verb is also quite naturally connected with the location in verse 2. Such a rendering also takes into account that the Hebrew verb for drew near (qarab) is the same one used in 16.40 and means generally to approach the altar, the sanctuary, or any holy object for some formal cultic or a special religious. Good News Bible moves this verb to the beginning of verse 2, rendering it “went,” which is not very precise.
The son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: For this family line of Zelophehad, see the comments on 26.28-34. The Hebrew word for families (mishpachah) is better rendered “clans” (New Revised Standard Version; see 1.2). The phrase from the families of Manasseh may seem unnecessary after the successive generations, and this may be the reason why Good News Bible and the Vulgate omit it. However, this phrase highlights that the issue mentioned by Zelophehad’s daughters directly affects the tribe of Manasseh. A possible model for the first sentence of this verse that keeps this phrase is “Then the daughters of Zelophehad came forward. Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh. Zelophehad’s daughters belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph” (similarly New Century Version).
The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah: See 26.33.
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 .
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