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.

complete verse (Joshua 15:5)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 15:5:

  • Kupsabiny: “And in the east the border went up to the Lake of Salt and extended like that until where the river Jordan ends.
    The north border started where the river Jordan enters the lake” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The eastern boundary begins at the southern end of the Dead Sea and goes north along the western shore until it arrives at the place where the Jordan River goes into the Sea.
    The northern boundary started from the place where the Jordan River goes into the Sea,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The boundary in the east (is) the Dead Sea up-to the coming-out of the water of the River of Jordan.
    The boundary to the north went-from/started-from there the-coming-out-place of the water of the River of Jordan” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The eastern border of the land of the tribe of Judah was the Dead Sea, and it extended north to where the Jordan River ends at the Dead Sea.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

sea / lake

The various Greek, Aramaic, Latin and Hebrew terms that are translated as “sea,” “ocean,” or “lake” in English are all translated in Chichewa with one term: nyanja. Malawi, where Chichewa is spoken, has a lot of lakes but does not share a border with the ocean. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Joshua 15:5

Verses 5-12 give the eastern border, which was the Dead Sea (verse 5a); the northern border (verses 5b-11); and the western border, which was the Mediterranean Sea (verses 11b, 12a).

At this point it may be useful to repeat that the eastern border referred to is that of the tribe of Judah: “The eastern border of the tribe of Judah was the Dead Sea. This eastern border extended as far north as the place where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea.” Or the sentence may be restructured in a slightly different manner: “The Dead Sea formed the eastern border for the tribe of Judah.”

The northern border began there, though representing the Hebrew “And the boundary on the north side runs from” (Revised Standard Version), may be somewhat misleading. That is, although Beth Hoglah (verse 6) is north of the Dead Sea, it is also the point from which the account moves generally in a westwardly direction. There is no way that a reader can be expected to grasp the account fully without looking at a map, but it will be helpful in translation if it is noted that the description of the northern border moves from east (the mouth of the Jordan River) toward the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

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 .