63But the people of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
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:
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 15:63:
Kupsabiny: “The people of Judah were not able to drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. So, the Jebusites live together with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The people of Judah were not able to drive out the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem. Even ’till today the Jebusites have been living with the people of Judah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “But the tribe of Juda was- not -able-to-drive-out the Jebusnon who live in Jerusalem. So until now they still live there together-with the people of Juda.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “The army of the tribe of Judah was not able to force the people of the Jebus people-group to leave Jerusalem. So the people of that group are still living among the tribe of Judah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
This final verse explains why some Jebusites, descendants of the original inhabitants of Jerusalem, were still living in the city at the time of the writing of the account. This verse makes it appear that Jerusalem was to have been assigned to Judah, whereas it was assigned to Benjamin (see 18.28; Judges 1.21).
Who lived in Jerusalem may be misunderstood by the reader, for whom it could imply that the people of Judah were able to drive out other Jebusites, who did not live in Jerusalem. One may translate “But the people of Judah were not able to drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. Therefore they still live there with them in the city today.”
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 .
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