complete verse (Numbers 32:39)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 32:39:

  • Kupsabiny: “The house of Machir son of Manasseh entered the land of Gilead, took it and chased away the community of Gilead who lived there.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh went to Gilead, conquered it and drove out the Amorites who were living there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The descendants of Makir the child of Manase attacked Gilead, and they conquered it and they drove-out the Amornon who live there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The descendants of Manasseh’s son Makir went to the Gilead region and compelled the people of the Amor people-group to leave that area.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 32:39

Verses 39-42 list the cities that Moses assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It may be helpful to use a separate paragraph for this third and final set of cities (so Good News Bible). For a fuller description of the land that Moses assigned to East Manasseh, see Josh 13.29-31.

And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it: This verse probably does not refer to an event that took place after the conversations in this chapter, so Good News Bible and many versions omit the conjunction And. Verse 39 more likely gives the reason for verse 40 (see the comments there). In some languages it will be more natural to translate the sons of Machir as “The clan of Machir” (Good News Bible), “the men of Machir,” or “the soldiers of Machir.” For Machir the son of Manasseh, see 26.29. Went to Gilead and took it may be rendered “invaded the land of Gilead and conquered it” (similarly Good News Bible). For Gilead see verse 1. The Hebrew verb for took is the same one used in 21.32. Perhaps this verse actually refers back to 21.32. If translators accept this interpretation, they will want to avoid the suggestion that these military actions took place sometime during the conversations recorded here in chapter 32. They may find the model of TLA for verses 39-40 helpful (see the comments on verse 40).

And dispossessed the Amorites who were in it: For the Hebrew verb rendered dispossessed, see the comments on verse 21, where it is translated “driven out” (see also 21.32). Here it may be rendered “drove out” (Good News Bible) or “forced out” (Contemporary English Version). As in 21.32, this verb is singular in Hebrew. However, the Peshitta, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and most other translations take the Israelites as the subject, which we recommend. For the Amorites, see 13.29.

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 .