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 (Joshua 12:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 12:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “That country/area enveloped the highland of the north, slopes, valley of Arabah and Negev in the south. The Hittites, Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites lived in that country.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “These were the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites of the hill country, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the eastern slopes that go down to the Arabah, the wilderness, and the Negev in the south.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Josue and the Israelinhon also subjected/brought-under-(their)-jurisdiction the land in the west of Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon up-to the Mountain of Halak going-up to Seir. Josue gave these lands to the Israelinhon as their inheritance. They divided/partitioned this according-to their tribes. These lands were the mountains, the hills/[lit. something-like-mountains] in the west, the Valley of Jordan, the areas-below/lower-regions-of the mountains, the desert in the south, and the Negev. These (areas) were- formerly -dwelled-in before by the Hithanon, Amornon, Canaanhon, Periznon, Hivhanon, and Jebusnon. These were the kings in those places whom Josue and the Israelinhon defeated:” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “That land included the mountains, the western hilly area, the Jordan River Valley, the western slopes of the mountains, the desert in Judea, and the Negev desert in the south. That whole area was the land where the Heth, Amor, Canaan, Periz, Hiv, and Jebus people-groups lived. The Israeli army defeated the armies of the kings of each of these cities:” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Joshua 12:8

This portion included may be translated “The land that Joshua divided among them included….”

For the Good News Translation language of verse 8a see verses 10.40 and 11.16. One word occurs here which is not used in the two other passages: the eastern slopes (Revised Standard Version “the wilderness”); as Bright says, this is “the desert to the south and east, not sharply distinguishable from the Arabah and the Negeb.”

For the list of peoples mentioned in this verse, see 3.10.

This land had been the home of may be rendered “Before Joshua and the people of Israel took this land, the Hittites … and the Jebusites had lived there.”

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .