Levite

The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests” (source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.), in Chuj as “family of Levi,” and in Desano as “grandchild of Levi” (source for this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

For the sign in Spanish Sign Language, see Levi.

More information about Levites .

complete verse (Numbers 35:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 35:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “‘Tell the Israelites that in the country they will be given to be theirs they must give the Levites part of their cities where they can live, and the grazing area which is near those cities where they can be grazing.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Order the Israelites to give some cities that are in their inheritance to the Levites to live [in], and also order them to give the pasture lands surrounding these cities to the Levites. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Tell the Israelinhon that they will-give the Levites towns which they will-dwell-on from the land which they will-receive/possess. And also they will-give them grazing-fields around these towns.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “‘Tell the Israeli people that from the land that they will receive, they must give to the descendants of Levi some cities in which they can live. They must also give them some land around these cities.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Numbers 35:2

Command the people of Israel, that they give to the Levites … and you shall give to the Levites …: The verbal sequence of this verse is rather complex. A minor chiastic construction is present here in the Hebrew, perhaps to distinguish the two things given to the Levites—first the cities to live in, and then the pasture lands round about the cities. The Hebrew pronouns for they and you both refer to the Israelites. For naturalness Good News Translation uses only third person pronouns to refer to them. In some languages the second half of this verse is better expressed as a separate sentence, especially if the original shift in pronouns is retained (so NET Bible).

The inheritance of their possession: As mentioned at 16.14, the Hebrew term for inheritance (nachalah) refers to inherited property that must not be sold or taken away. In some languages (like Chewa), since this inheritance has been mentioned before in the narrative and is therefore known information, it must be marked by an appropriate back-referencing demonstrative pronoun. As mentioned at 27.4, the Hebrew word for possession (ʾachuzzah) refers to property, particularly in the form of land, which is held in possession.

The Hebrew word for pasture lands refers to open land normally used as places where cattle and flocks of sheep and goats could feed on the grass. Some languages will have a single word to express pasture lands, as in Hebrew. Otherwise, some sort of descriptive expression will needed, for example, “grazing land” (NET Bible) or “land for livestock.”

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 .