The Hebrew in Genesis 10:5 that is often translated as “coastland peoples” in English is translated in Makonde as “people of the coast and the islands” to be more and more precise match for the Hebrew text. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Japheth
The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Japheth” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign that signifies “Europe,” referring to the fact that Japheth traditionally is seen as the forefather of the European people. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Japheth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
More information on Japheth .
family / clan / house
The Hebrew terms that are translated as “family” or “clan” or “house” or similar in English are all translated in Kwere as ng’holo or “clan.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
In the English translation by Goldingay (2018) it is translated as “kin-group.”
See also tribe.
gentiles / nations
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Latin that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo (Dinė)) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).
Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), “other ethnic groups” (source: Newari Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).
In Chichewa, it is translated with mitundu or “races.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
See also nations.
complete verse (Genesis 10:5)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 10:5:
- Newari: “From these, the people who lived on the sea shore spread out. In this way the descendants of Japheth spread out, moving about to various places, [in various] language [groups], tribes and ethnic groups.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “These were the descendants of Jafet. They were the source of the people who lived in the places close to the sea and [on] islands. Every family of theirs were-living in their own place which-is under-the-jurisdiction of their nation, and they had their own language.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “Those sons and their families who were descended from Javan lived on the islands and on the land close to the Mediterranean Sea. Their descendants became tribes, each with its own language and clans and territory.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translation commentary on Genesis 10:5
From these: these cannot refer to all the names given in verses 2-4, because not all are coastland peoples, that is, people living along the sea coast. The reference is to the people of the islands and coasts of the Mediterranean, that is, to the descendants of Javan in Gen 10.4. Good News Translation, which translates “they were the ancestors…,” makes it clear that verse 5a refers to the names in Gen 10.4. We may also say, for example, “from Javan’s descendants…” or “The people who live along the coast and on the islands of the Mediterranean are the descendants of Javan.”
Spread translates the passive form of a verb meaning to divide or separate and is used in Gen 2.10 of the river that flowed out of Eden and divided into four streams. New English Bible translates “From these the peoples of the coasts and islands separated into their own countries.”
These are the sons of Japheth does not appear in the Hebrew text. See Revised Standard Version footnote. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation supply this statement on the basis that it is part of the closing refrain used in verses 20 and 31 in regard to the descendants of Ham and Shem respectively. It is assumed that the absence of the refrain in verse 5 is an accidental omission in the text. However, not all translations supply this statement; and Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, which considers the Hebrew text to have here an {A} value, does not recommend adding These are the sons of Japheth.
Translators in some languages may wish to follow the example of a major language in the area. For other translators the natural structure of the list will require something like these words as a closing statement for each of the three main divisions, regardless of the decision textual scholars may reach.
The sons of Japheth in this closing statement must refer to Japheth’s “descendants,” as Good News Translation makes clear. In some languages there is a special term for the person known as the ancestor of a tribe or clan, which is very appropriate here. One Pacific creole language, for instance, says “All these peoples were descended from the old man Japheth.”
The closing formula in their lands, each with his own language, by their families, in their nations provides a four-way classification of these groups: geographical, linguistic, sociological, and political. In their lands refers to the land or area each group occupies. Each group is bound together with his own language. By their families refers to their social grouping, which regulates social and kinship relations. In their nations calls attention to their political boundaries.
The word translated families is used in the Old Testament to refer to the subdivisions within the people of Israel as well as to the people as a whole. Although many translators use the word “clan” in the former sense, in some languages that term may not be appropriate in this context.
The translation of families as “tribes” (see Good News Translation) may be inadvisable in some languages, as this term may be considered disrespectful. If there are terms such as “societies,” “human groups,” “ethnic groups,” or “peoples,” these may be more acceptable.
Good News Translation translates these four classifications as “… living in their different tribes and countries, each group speaking its own language.” In some languages lands and nations are difficult to distinguish. However, we may sometimes translate in their lands as “in their territories,” “in their regions,” “in their areas,” or “in their part of the world.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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