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.

horn

The musical instrument that is most often translated as “(ram’s) horn” or “trumpet” in English is translated in the following ways:

  • Yakan: tabuli’ (big sea shell used to give signals) (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Mairasi / Bariai: “Triton shell trumpet” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • German Luther translation: Posaune, today: “trombone,” originally with the meaning of a wind instrument made from cow horn (from Latin bucina [bovi- / “cow” + the root of cano / “sing”]. Incidentally, bucina is also used in the Latin Vulgate translation). By the time of Luther’s translation it referred to the natural trumpet or a fanfare trumpet (see also trumpet). Once the meaning morphed to “trombone” in the 19th century, trombone ensembles started to play a central role in Protestant German churches and do so to the present day. In 2016, “Posaunenchöre” became added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list . (Note that Exodus 19:13 is the only exception in the Luther Bible. From the 1956 revision on, Widderhorn or “ram’s horn” is used here) (source: Zetzsche)

In the UBS Helps for Translators‘ Human-made Things in the Bible (original title: The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible) it says the following:

Description: The horn was a wind instrument made from the horn of an animal, usually a male sheep.

Usage: The animal horn was softened so that it could be shaped. The point of the horn was cut off to leave a small opening through which the user blew. The vibration of the lips produced the sound.

The ram’s horn served two general purposes:

1. It was blown in certain religious contexts, not as musical accompaniment to worship but as a signal for important events. Some of these events were the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the Day of Atonement, the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, and the coronation of kings.

2. It also served as a signal or alarm when war was approaching. Such references are particularly common in the prophetic books, when the prophets are calling the people to repent (Hosea 5:8; 8:1; Joel 2:1; 2:15; Amos 3:6).

Translation: In many passages the purpose of the ram’s horn called shofar in Hebrew was to sound an alarm. This will be easy to express in those cultures where the horns of animals are used as musical instruments to give signals to large groups of people. In other cultures it may be possible to find another instrument that is used for an equivalent purpose. In some languages, for example, instruments such as bells or drums are the warnings for war. Some translations have transliterated the word shofar. Unless the instrument is well known, such a borrowing should normally be accompanied by a footnote or a glossary entry.

In some passages it will be necessary to expand the translation in order to indicate that the blowing of the ram’s horn was not just for music; for example, in Ezekiel 7:14 Contemporary English Version has “A signal has been blown on the trumpet,” and the German Contemporary English Version says “An alarm is sounded” [elsewhere, the same German version refers to the horns as Kriegshörner or “war horns.”]

Man blowing ram’s horn (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)

Quoted with permission.

Jerusalem

The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:


“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )

While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)


“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Jerusalem .

complete verse (Jeremiah 6:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Jeremiah 6:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “People of Benjamin, flee (plur.) so you can live!
    Flee from Jerusalem!
    Blow the horn in Tekoa
    and display (a) sign at Beth-hakkerem
    because calamity will come from the side of the North
    and an enormous destruction will come.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Descendants of Benjamin, you (plur.) flee and hide! You (plur.) come-out/[lit. leave] of Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa and give a signal at Bet Hakerem. For a great destruction from the north will-come.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Jeremiah 6:1

There is some discussion among scholars concerning the reason that Jeremiah addresses himself to the people of Benjamin. Some believe that this is an exclusive reference, which would not include the inhabitants of Jerusalem who were members of other tribes. According to this viewpoint, Jeremiah is interested only with the safety of his fellow tribesmen (see 1.1) who had moved to the capital city. But since Jerusalem was sometimes considered to be within the territory of Benjamin, it seems more probable that Jeremiah is addressing all the inhabitants of the city. Moreover, it is altogether possible that the choice of O people of Benjamin is due solely to the poetic and artistic feeling of the author.

It is necessary in some languages to say “people of the tribe of Benjamin” or “people of the territory of Benjamin,” although “Benjamin” was already mentioned as a territory in 1.1. As Good News Translation has done in English, many translators will place this form of address at the beginning of the sentence: “You people of Benjamin, flee for safety!”

Flee for safety translates the same verb used in 4.6; elsewhere it is used in the Old Testament in this particular form only in Exo 9.19 and Isa 10.31.

From the midst of Jerusalem can be a separate sentence, as in “Get out of Jerusalem,” or it can be attached to flee for safety, as in “Flee from Jerusalem to safety.”

In Hebrew there is a play on words between the verb blow and the noun Tekoa. In addition, the verb translated “be alienated” in verse 8 continues the play on words, so that verses 1-8 are rounded off as a unit.

For Blow the trumpet, see 4.5. As there, some translators will say “Blow the trumpet of warning.”

Tekoa (the city of the prophet Amos, Amos 1.1) was twenty kilometers (twelve miles) south of Jerusalem. But the location of Beth-haccherem (mentioned elsewhere only in Neh 3.14) is uncertain. Some scholars locate it near Jerusalem, while others place it near Tekoa. In any case, “town of Beth-haccherem” would certainly be sufficient in the translation.

Raise a signal refers to the building of a fire to make a smoke signal. As with blowing the trumpet, the smoke signal was a warning of approaching danger. Consequently, some translators will say “Send up a smoke signal of warning.” For the practice of making a signal fire, see Jdg 20.38-40. The practice is also referred to in the famous Lachish Letters, which date immediately before the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.; in one of these the commander of an outpost near the city of Lachish writes (on a piece of broken pottery) that he is “watching for the signals of Lachish,” since he can no longer see signals from the city of Azekah. The Hebrew word used for “signal” is the same as used here in Jeremiah.

Evil (Good News Translation “Disaster”) translates a Hebrew word of wide meaning; see 1.14. Evil … great destruction is translated “calamity … great disaster” by Revised English Bible and “disaster … immense calamity” by New Jerusalem Bible. See 4.6.

Bible en français courant has rendered looms out of the north as “appears on the horizon in the north,” which may be a good solution for other languages as well. “Comes into sight in the north” is also possible.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on Jeremiah. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2003. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .