Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way to do this is through the usage of appropriate suffix title referred to as keishō (敬称) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017 by either using -san or –sama with the latter being the more formal title. In this verse, Esau is addressed in the Shinkaiyaku Bible as Esau-sama (エサウ様), combining a transliteration for “Esau” and the suffix title –sama.
Also, Japanese shows different degree of politeness by using an honorific construction where the morphemes rare (られ) or are (され) are affixed on the verb. Here, ko-rare-ru (来られる) or “come” is used.
The lexical honorific em>mairu (参る), a humble form of kuru (来る) or “come” is used as well.
And the messengers returned to Jacob: the text gives no details of the messengers’ mission to Esau. However, in translation it may be necessary to indicate some kind of transition to Gen 32.6. For example, we may say, as does Good News Translation, “When the messengers came back,” or “The messengers went to Esau, and when they returned to Jacob,” or “The messengers did what Jacob had told them. Then they returned to him and said….” The distance from Mahanaim to the region of Edom means that the messengers must have been away for several days before they returned.
We came to your brother Esau: came, which renders the Hebrew verb, must often be expressed from the point of view of the place where Jacob is. In English this is “We went to….” We may also say, for example, “We went to see…,” “We have returned from your brother Esau.” In the light of the next sentence, we may translate as does Revised English Bible, “We went to your brother Esau and he is already….”
He is coming to meet you: the Hebrew text may also be understood as “he is also coming,” “he is already coming,” or “he is already on his way.” Meet translates a verb meaning to approach or come near. In English we may translate, for example, “He is already on his way here” or “He is coming and will soon be here.” The most natural way to understand the sequence of events in this verse is that, when the messengers from Jacob arrived with their message, Esau immediately set out to meet Jacob. This is what the messengers now reported to Jacob. Note New International Version “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you.” Another translation expresses this as “We went and saw your brother. Now he has left his own place and is coming to meet you.”
Four hundred men with him: it may be necessary to make a new sentence, as in Good News Translation.
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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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between. One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a third person singular and plural pronoun (“he,” “she,” “it” and their various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. While it’s not uncommon to avoid pronouns altogether in Japanese, there are is a range of third person pronouns that can be used.
In these verses a number of them are used that pay particularly much respect to the referred person (or, in fact, God, as in Exodus 15:2), including kono kata (この方), sono kata (その方), and ano kata (あの方), meaning “this person,” “that person,” and “that person over there.” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
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