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 (Genesis 14:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 14:6:

  • Newari: “One year later Kedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, took control of the Rephaites of Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzites of Ham, the Emites of Shaveh-kiriathaim and and the Horites from Mt Seir to the wilderness of El-paran.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “and the Horhanon at the mountain of Seir until El Paran near the/a desolate-place.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They also defeated the Hor people-group in the hilly area of Seir as far as El-Paran near the desert.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 14:6

And the Horites in their Mount Seir are the people mentioned in Deut 2.12. They were the original inhabitants of this area. Seir is the name applied to the mountainous area south of the Dead Sea. It was later occupied by Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites (Gen 36.8-9). Good News Translation and others say “the mountains of Edom.”

As far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness: the element El in El-paran does not refer to God or a god, but is another word meaning “terebinth” or “oak tree.” The place is thought to be identified with Elat near the port of Aqaba at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba. Most translations transliterate El-paran. The Septuagint calls it “the terebinth of Paran.”

Border of the wilderness is better expressed as in Good News Translation “edge of the desert.” In 21.21 Ishmael makes his home in the wilderness of Paran. If the reference to El-paran is to be identified with the Elat area near Aqaba, then the desert is the area to the north of this. It is not at all certain, however, that the “wilderness of Paran” extended so far south of the Dead Sea.

Wilderness or desert translates Hebrew midbar, the most common of several Hebrew terms referring to the dry, barren wastelands of the Middle East. These vast areas, mostly uninhabited, are not entirely without rain, particularly in March and April. Although barren for the most part, a heavy rain can cause the sparse vegetation to blossom (Isa 35.2). In early times there was sufficient vegetation to support some wild life (Job 24.5). The surface of the ground in such areas is covered with sand or small stones.

Wilderness or “desert” is sometimes translated by descriptive phrases meaning “bare place” or “place of sand.” However, these can mean no more than a jungle clearing or a sandy beach to people who live in tropical forests. Unlike the New Testament usage, where the focus is on a remote uninhabited area, here the physical geography of the desert area is important. In languages in which a descriptive phrase is unsuitable, it is sometimes possible to borrow a word from another language and to use a classifier; for example, “a vast barren land called desert.” In some areas it is necessary to provide a footnote giving a more detailed description of a desert.

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 .