desert / wilderness

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The Greek, Hebrew and Latin that is translated as “desert” or “wilderness” in English is translated in a number of ways:

  • Mairasi: “a place where noisiness is cut off (or: stops)” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • Muna: pandaso bhalano pr “big barren-field” (source: René van den Berg)
  • Balinese: “barren field” (source: J.L. Swellengrebel in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 75ff. )
  • Wantoat: “uninhabited place” (source: Holzhausen 1991, p. 38)
  • Umiray Dumaget Agta: “where no people dwell” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98)
  • Shipibo-Conibo: “where no house is” (source: James Lauriault in The Bible Translator 1951, p. 32ff. )
  • Amri Karbi: “waterless region/place” (source: Philippova 2021, p. 368)
  • Ocotlán Zapotec: “large empty place” (source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)
  • Pa’o Karen: “jungle” (denoting a place without any towns, villages and tilled fields) (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. )
  • Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
  • Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
  • Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

See also wilderness and desolate wilderness.

complete verse (Exodus 19:2)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 19:2:

  • Kupsabiny: “The people of Israel had left Rephidim and/but when two full months had passed since they left Egypt, they reached the wilderness of Sinai. They stretched/pitched their tents at the foot of mount Sinai.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “After they came from Rephidim, they reached the desert of Sinai and they camped to the base of Mt. Sinai” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The Israelinhon left Refidim and went to the desolate-place of Sinai. There they camped in-front-of the mountain. That was in the third month from when they left Egipto.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Bariai: “They left the area of Repidim, and when it was done then they went and arrived there. And so the Israel people made camp in the desolate area close to the side of Sainai mountain.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
  • Opo: “Therefore, when they arose from Rephidim went had arrived the wilderness of Sinai, they made camp under Mountain of Sinay, erected tent.” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
  • English: “The Israeli people then left Rephidim, and exactly two months after leaving Egypt, they/we came to the desert near Sinai Mountain. They/We set up their/our tents at the base of the mountain.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Exod 19:1 - 19:2

On the third new moon may be ambiguous, for the word for new moon also means “month.” (See 12.2, where Revised Standard Version translates new moon as “month.”) The Hebrew calendar was based on a lunar month that began with every new moon. New moon is certainly intended here to mean the first day of the month, since the phrase on that day would not refer to a “month.” Translator’s Old Testament is quite explicit, “On the day of the third new moon,” and Good News Translation combines the two, “on the first day of the third month.” Revised English Bible prefers “In the third month” but then omits on that day entirely. Jerusalem Bible and Moffatt assume that the exact date had somehow fallen out of the text, so they add three dots ( … ) to indicate that something is missing. New Jerusalem Bible has revised this to “Three months to the day.” However, the more likely interpretation is that it was the first day of the third month. There are therefore a number of ways in which this phrase may be expressed: “the first day of the third month,” “the first day of the third new moon,” “the day when the third new moon began,” or even “exactly two months after….”

After the people of Israel had gone forth means exactly two months “after they had left Egypt” (Good News Translation). Contemporary English Version has “Then two months after leaving Egypt.” However, in many languages a translation similar to Good News Translation‘s model will be more appropriate; for example, “On the first day of the third month [or, new moon] after the Israelites had left Egypt, they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai.” The English pluperfect (with had) is implied by the context. On that day refers back to “the day of the third new moon,” or “the first day of the third month.” They came into the wilderness of Sinai refers to the wide, desolate area surrounding Mount Sinai. (See the comment on wilderness at 3.1 and 15.22.) An alternative translation model for came into the wilderness of Sinai is “they came into the wilderness near Mount Sinai.”

And when they set out from Rephidim seems out of place and should probably come at the beginning of verse 1 for smoother reading. The people certainly left Rephidim before they arrived at the Wilderness of Sinai. New Revised Standard Version uses the pluperfect again, “They had journeyed from Rephidim.” (Similar are Translator’s Old Testament, Childs, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh.) Good News Translation combines verses 1 and 2 in order to place this phrase before verse 1: “The people of Israel left Rephidim, and on the first day of the third month….” For set out see the comment on “journeyed” at 12.37.

And came into the wilderness of Sinai is still part of the temporal clause beginning with And when, so New Revised Standard Version includes it as part of the pluperfect clause “They had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and….” They encamped in the wilderness is repeated in the very next clause, and there Israel encamped before the mountain. It is probably best to combine the two as Good News Translation has done: “There they set up camp at the foot of Mount Sinai.” The mountain, of course, refers to “Mount Sinai.” Revised English Bible repeats the two clauses but changes the terms: “they encamped there, pitching their tents in front of the mountain.”

Alternative translation models for verses 1 and 2 are:

• The Israelites left Rephidim and, exactly two months after leaving Egypt, they arrived at the wilderness near Mount Sinai. They set up their tents near the foot of [or, in front of] the mountain.

• The Israelites left Rephidim and came to the wilderness near Mount Sinai, and set up their tents near the foot of the mountain. They arrived there exactly two months after leaving Egypt.

Quoted with permission from Osborn, Noel D. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Exodus. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1999. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .