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 16:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Joshua 16:6:

  • Kupsabiny: “It continued like that until it hit the ocean. The border at the north side passed through Michmethath, and continued heading east. Then it turned and headed towards Taanath-shilo and passed on the east side of Janoah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “From there it went down to the sea. From the border of Michmethath in the north it turned toward the east and reached Taanath-shiloh. Then from there it proceeded toward the east as far as Janoah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “up-to the Sea of Mediteraneo. The boundary in the north starts-from Micmetat and curves/turns towards-the-east to Taanat Shilo, and passes-through the east of Janoa.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “and from there to the Mediterranean 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 16:6 - 16:9

The northernmost city, Michmethath, is in 17.7 said to be east of Shechem; and Taanath Shiloh is located by Bright east of Michmethath. Janoah, Ataroth (not the same as Ataroth Addar), Naarah, and Jericho describe the eastern boundary, from north to south.

Tappuah and the stream Kanah are to be found in biblical maps. Kanah runs into the Mediterranean about 6 kilometers north of Jaffa.

Verse 9 specifies that some towns and villages, which are not identified, and which were inside West Manasseh’s territory, were allotted to Ephraim (see 17.8-9).

If verse 6-9 are combined, a more logical arrangement results:

• 6-9 and from there to the Mediterranean Sea. Their northern border began at the city of Taanath Shiloh and went westward to the city of Michmethath and then followed the stream Kanah to the Mediterranean Sea. From Michmethath the eastern border went south through the cities of Taanath Shiloh, Janoah, Ataroth, Naarah, and finally to the Jordan River at a point near Jericho. This territory, together with its cities and villages, lay within the territory of the tribe of Manasseh. But Joshua gave it to the tribe of Ephraim as its possession.

This represents a slightly different interpretation of the text than that of Good News Translation in verse 8b-9, but it does appear to represent more accurately the meaning of the Hebrew. To the families of the tribe of Ephraim (verse 8) has been shortened to “to the tribe of Ephraim.” But “at the city of Tannath Shiloh” may need further identification to indicate the movement of description from the Mediterranean Sea of the previous sentence: “… Taanath Shiloh on the edge of the Jordan Valley.”

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 .