cardinal directions

The cardinal directions “east” and “west” are easy to translate into Maan here since the language uses “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down.” For “north” the translator had “facing toward the sun rising to the left,” and for “south” she had “facing toward the sun rising to the right.” So the listener had to think hard before knowing what direction was in view when translating “to the north and south, to the east and west.” So, in case all four directions are mentioned, it was shortened by saying simply “all directions.” (Source: Don Slager) Likewise, Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) or Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

Kankanaey is “from the coming-out and the going-away of the sun and the north and the south” (source: Kankanaey back-translation), Northern Emberá “from where the sun comes up, from where it falls, from the looking [left] hand, from the real [right] hand” (source: Charles Mortensen), Amele “from the direction of the sun going up, from the direction of the sun going down, from the north and from the south” (source: John Roberts), Ejamat “look up to see the side where the sun comes from, and the side where it sets, and look on your right side, and on your left” (source: David Frank in this blog post ).

In Lamba, only umutulesuŵa, “where the sun rises” and imbonsi, “where the sun sets” were available as cardinal directions that were not tied to the local area of language speakers (“north” is kumausi — “to the Aushi country” — and “south” kumalenje — “to the Lenje country”). So “north” and “south” were introduced as loanwords, nofu and saufu respectively. The whole phrase is kunofu nakusaufu nakumutulesuŵa nakumbonsi. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff. )

“West” is translated in Tzeltal as “where the sun pours-out” and in Kele as “down-river” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Morelos Nahuatl, “north” is translated as “from above” and “south” as “from below.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

In Matumbi cardinal directions are defined as in relation to another place. “East” for instance typically is “toward the beach” since the coast is in the eastern direction in Matumbi-speaking areas. “North” and “south” can be defined as above or below another place. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)

The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture.

Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”

See also cardinal directions / left and right.

complete verse (1 Chronicles 26:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 26:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “Six people were guarding the gate of the West. Four guards were guarding the outer side and two were guarding the inner side.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “And four [guards] stayed on the road that went to the west courtyard and two guards stayed in the courtyard.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “At the west four were-guarding at the road going-up to the temple, and two were-guarding the court-yard.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “At the West gate there were two men who guarded the courtyard and four who guarded the road outside the courtyard.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 26:18

And for the parbar on the west there were four at the road and two at the parbar: The meaning of the Hebrew word for parbar is very uncertain. Some modern versions transliterate this word as a noun (so Revised Standard Version) or as a name (so New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Osty-Trinquet), but we do not recommend transliteration here, since it has no meaning in receptor languages. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch indicates that this is a plaza named “Parbar.” Some interpreters think the Hebrew word refers to a building; for example, New American Bible says “large building,” and Bible en français courant has “annex building” (similarly Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible du Semeur, La Bible Pléiade).

But a scroll from Qumran, called the Temple Scroll, has a very similar word that refers to a porch with freestanding pillars or columns on the west side of the Temple. This area of the Temple complex was used for offerings. Therefore several modern versions translate this Hebrew noun for parbar as “colonnade” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente renders this Hebrew word “plaza” and states in a footnote that the Hebrew may also refer to an annex of the Temple. New Living Translation and God’s Word say “courtyard.”

The repetition of the word parbar creates a difficulty in making sense of this verse. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia suggests that the first occurrence of the word is an error and should be omitted (so Knoppers). But the Hebrew may also be translated “as for the pavilion on the west, there were….” Good News Translation most likely expresses the intended meaning of the Masoretic Text for this verse. Revised English Bible is similar with “at the western colonnade there were four at the causeway and two at the colonnade itself.” Since this verse refers to six guards in total, New Living Translation says “Six were assigned each day to the west gate, four to the gateway leading up to the Temple, and two to the courtyard.”

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 .