16The following are the names of the sons of Levi according to their genealogies: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, and the length of Levi’s life was one hundred thirty-seven years.
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Levi” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies a menorah referring to the temple service of the tribe of the Levites. The same sign is also used for the tribe. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Exodus 6:16:
Kupsabiny: “The men/people who come from the house/family of Levi are: Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi died when he was having one hundred and thirty seven (137) years.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The male children of Levi according-to the story/history concerning his descendants they were-namely Gershon, Kohat, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Bariai: “Livai’s male children’s and male descendants’ names were as follows: Gerson and Koat and Merari. And Livai was living for a duration of one hundred thirty-seven (137) years, and when it was done, then he died.” (Source: Bariai Back Translation)
Opo: “And male children of Levi be Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. When he died, Levi had years which be 137 ((one hundred thirty seven)).” (Source: Opo Back Translation)
English: “These are the names of the sons of Levi, in the order in which they were born: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi was 137 years old when he died.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
These are the names points to what follows. The sons of Levi means the immediate male offspring of Levi, who was the third son of Jacob and the first ancestor of the Levite tribe. Both Aaron and Moses were descendants of Levi, so this part of the genealogy is introduced more extensively.
According to their generations is one word in Hebrew, meaning “to their descendants.” New English Bible and Translator’s Old Testament have “in order of seniority,” meaning from the eldest to the youngest. New American Bible has “in their genealogical order,” which means the same thing. But this is the normal order for listing names in genealogies. So Good News Translation interprets it as just another way of saying what is said in the previous verses (“these are the families of…”) and translates it as “they were the ancestors of the clans that bear their names.” However, Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible interpret it differently. They have “with their descendants,” meaning that the names of the grandsons will also be listed. The grandsons are indeed listed in the following three verses, concluding in verse 19 with this same word again. For this reason it seems best to follow what Jerusalem Bible and New Jerusalem Bible have done. It will be helpful in some languages, however, to restructure the verse, putting the final sentence at the beginning (similarly Contemporary English Version): “Levi lived to be one hundred thirty-seven; his sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Their descendants are listed as follows:….”
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari are Levi’s three sons, always listed in the same order. Gershon is the correct spelling, even though “Gershom” is used in 1Chronicles 6 and 21.
The years of the life of Levi being a hundred and thirty-seven years simply means that “Levi lived 137 years.” However, it is important to note that this same formula is repeated for Kohath (verse 18) and for Amram (verse 20), drawing special attention to the immediate ancestors of Aaron and Moses.
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 .
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