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.

cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (source: Don Slager) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).

sanctuary

The Hebrew, Greek and Latin that is translated as “sanctuary” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) with opatulika or “separated place.” This is understood in a religious setup as a place designated for worship. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Ezekiel 48:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Ezekiel 48:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “The remaining portion shall belong to the king, on the side of the East until it touched the river of Jordan and the side of West touching the Ocean of Mediterranea. But the area of/in the middle belongs to God and the city.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The remaining lands, in the east and west of the holy land and of the town, will-belong to the leader. These lands have a width of twelve kilometers and it reaches until the boundary of Israel in the east and west. Therefore in the center of the land which is for the leader is my holy land, the temple, the land of the descendants of Levi, and the town. The land which is for the leader is in the center of the land for thetribe of Juda and of the land for the tribe of Benjamin.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The areas to the east and to the west of the sacred area and the city will belong to the king. One area will extend east to the eastern boundary of Israel and the other will extend west to the Mediterranean Sea. The sacred area in which the temple is located will be in the middle.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Ezekiel 48:21 - 48:22

What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince: In verses 21-22 God describes the rest of the section of land described in verse 8. Like the allocations to each of the tribes, this section of land will stretch from the western border of Israel to its eastern border. What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city refers to the areas to the east and west of the land for the priests, the Levites, and the city (for the holy portion, see verse 10). These areas will belong to the prince, that is, the king of Israel (see the comments on 44.3).

God describes these areas as Extending from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the twenty-five thousand cubits to the west border, that is, they will stretch from the edge of the holy area to the eastern and western borders of the country respectively. The reference to the twenty-five thousand cubits (which is equivalent to about 12.5 kilometers [8 miles]) is just a different way of referring to the holy section God has just been describing. These areas will be parallel to the tribal portions, that is, they will run alongside and follow the boundaries of the territories allocated to the two tribes that are next to the special area, namely, the territory of Judah to the north (see Ezek 48.8) and the territory of Benjamin to the south (see verse 23). Thus the king’s land will lie between the lands of those two tribes. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in its midst, that is, the territory allocated to the priests (see verses 10-12), the property of the Levites (see verse 13), and the property of the city (see verses 15-19) are the three sections that make up the whole area mentioned in verse 20. This area will be in the midst of that which belongs to the prince, that is, it will be “in the middle of” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) the land that belongs to the king, because the king will have two sections of land, one on either side of the area. Here in the midst of most likely means “in the center of” (New International Version, New International Reader’s Version; similarly Contemporary English Version).

In Hebrew verse 22 begins literally with “and from the property of the Levites and from the property of the city…” (so Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). It is difficult to make good sense of this reading, although some translators have tried; for example, New Jerusalem Bible renders verse 22 as “Thus, apart from the property of the Levites and the property of the city which lie in the middle of the prince’s portion, everything between the borders of Judah and the borders of Benjamin must belong to the prince” (similarly New Living Translation, King James Version / New King James Version, Jerusalem Bible, Christian Community Bible, Hebrew Old Testament Text Project). However, most translations omit the preposition “from” and begin verse 22 in a similar way as that of Revised Standard Version (so New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New International Reader’s Version, Revised English Bible, Complete Jewish Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Translators may follow this reading, on which the following model is based, because it includes all three sections of the holy portion of the land that is in the middle of the king’s territory, not just the Levites’ land and the land around the city.

A model for combining verses 21-22 is:

• This area, which is 12.5 kilometers square, will contain the holy land of the priests (where the Temple will be), the Levites’ land, and the land where the city will be. It will be in the middle of the king’s land. The king will have the rest of the land, that is, two sections, one stretching from the edge of this area to the eastern border of the country, the other stretching from the [other] edge of this area to the western border. These two sections of land belonging to the king will run alongside the borders of the territories of Judah and Benjamin. It will lie between those two territories [south of Judah and north of Benjamin].

Quoted with permission from Gross, Carl & Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Ezekiel. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .