complete verse (1 Chronicles 1:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 1:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “And the clans that hailed from the house of Egypt were the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Egypt, however, was the father of the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites and Naphtuhites,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Mizraim was the source of the Ludhanon, Anamnon, Lehabnon, Naftunon,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Japanese benefactives (goran)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, goran (ご覧) or “see/behold/look” (itself a combination of “behold/see” [ran] and the honorific prefix go- — see behold / look / see (Japanese honorifics)) is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).”

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 1:11

Verses 11-16 are not in one important manuscript of the Septuagint, so some interpreters think that they were added later to the text of 1 Chronicles. Knoppers places these six verses within square brackets to show his uncertainty, but they are firmly a part of the Masoretic Text and should be translated.

Egypt was the father of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naph-tuhim: Since the names at the end of this verse and in the next one refer to the people who inhabited certain places, Good News Translation says “the people of Lydia, Anam, Lehab, Naphtuh…” (similarly International Children’s Bible, Bible en français courant, Bible de Jérusalem). Another way of expressing that these are groups of people is “the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim…” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Braun, Osty-Trinquet).

Egypt is literally “Mitsrayim” as in verse 8. The list of ethnic groups that follow were most likely located near Egypt.

Ludim was perhaps the ancestor of “the people of Lydia” (Good News Translation) in Asia Minor. But because Jer 46.9 and Ezek 30.5 refer to Lud along with Cush and Put, some scholars think that the Ludim may refer to an unidentified African people.

The location of the Anamim is unknown. Perhaps this ethnic group was somewhere on the north coast of Africa.

Many scholars think that the Hebrew name Lehabim is a variant spelling for the name “Lubim,” that is, the Libyans. The reading in the Septuagint supports this view. Libya was located in northern Africa, immediately west of Egypt. Most translations simply transliterate the singular form of this name as “Lehab” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible) or say “[the] Lehabites” (New Century Version, Revised English Bible, Nueva Versión Internacional). Moffatt, however, says “the Libyans.”

The exact location of the Naph-tuhim is also uncertain. On the basis of various kinds of evidence scholars have proposed that this ethnic group was either in the area of the delta in northern Egypt, or in the area of Memphis in Middle Egypt.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .