The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 14:9:
Kupsabiny: “Then, the people of Cush went to fight those of Judah. A person who was called Zerah was leading those people of Cush. That man came with a countless number of warriors and three hundred chariots and came to stayed at the side of Mareshah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “A Cushite called Zerah came up to Mareshah to attack Judah, bringing an army of ten lakh (1,000,000) soldiers and 300 chariots.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Zera of/from-Etiopia went with so many soldiers and 300 chariots to attack Juda. They reached Maresha.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Zerah, a man from Ethiopia/Sudan, marched with a huge army and 300 chariots to attack the army of Judah and Benjamin. They went as far as the town of Mareshah about 25 miles/southwest of Jerusalem.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
The Cushite invasion of Judah (verses 9-15) is mentioned only in 2 Chronicles.
Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them: Nothing more is known concerning this Zerah, although some scholars think he may have been a commander under Pharaoh Osorkon I, who ruled in Egypt around 929–893 B.C. Others think he may have been the chief of Arab tribes from the Sinai region. Ethiopian is literally “Cushite” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The term “Cush” referred to a broad area south of Egypt, including both modern-day Sudan and Ethiopia (see the comments on 2 Chr 12.3). God’s Word states that this man was from “Sudan.” As an alternative translation, New Revised Standard Version has “Nubian.” This is also the reading in the text of Traduction œcuménique de la Bible.
With an army of a million men and three hundred chariots: A million men is literally “a thousand thousands” (similarly King James Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). This is probably a round figure suggesting an extremely large number of troops, too numerous to count. According to 2 Chr 16.8, Zerah’s army included soldiers who were Cushites and Libyans. For chariots see the comments on 1 Chr 18.4 and 2 Chr 1.14.
And came as far as Mareshah: Since the Cushite army was invading Judah, some versions use a verb here that expresses military action. Good News Translation says the army “advanced as far as,” and New Jerusalem Bible has “penetrated to.” Mareshah was a town in southern Judah that Rehoboam had fortified earlier (see 2 Chr 11.8). It was located about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Jerusalem, near the city of Lachish.
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 .
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