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.

army

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (Judges 8:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 8:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “Sebah and Zalmunna were in the city of Karkor with the remaining fifteen thousand soldiers, because one hundred and twenty thousand had been killed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “As for Zeba and Zalmunna, they were staying in Karkor city with about 15,000 soldiers. Of all the soldiers of the east, only that many had survived. 120,000 soldiers had died by the sword.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Now, Zeba and Zalmuna were at Karkor with their remaining 15,000 soldiers. About 12,000 had- already -died among them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “By that time, Zebah and Zalmunna had gone to Karkor town with 15,000 troops. They were all that were left of the armies that had come from the east. 120,000 of their men had already been killed.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”

This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

Translation commentary on Judges 8:10

Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor …: Now renders well the Hebrew waw conjunction here. “In the meantime” is another good connector to tie this unit to what precedes. New Living Translation is similar with “By this time.” Zebah and Zalmunna have been mentioned before (verse 8.5-7). However, since this is a new episode, it may be helpful to say “the two Midianite kings, Zebah and Zalmunna” or “the two enemy kings….” These kings fled with their troops to Karkor, a city about 160 kilometers (100 miles) east of the Dead Sea. Certainly this city was in Midianite territory, but it was a long way from where the previous action took place. In Karkor is literally “in the Karkor,” which probably refers to the desert region around Karkor. Some languages may prefer to say “in the desert region of Karkor.”

With their army, about fifteen thousand men: Their army is literally “their camp” (see verse 7.1). We can say “their troops,” “their soldiers,” or even “their men.” About renders a Hebrew preposition that often means “like” or “as,” but here it means “approximately” or “around.” Translators may prefer to render fifteen thousand as a figure (“15,000”) rather citing the words. For the Hebrew word rendered thousand, see verse 1.4. This word can sometimes refer to a military unit, rather than to the actual number.

All who were left of all the army of the people of the East qualifies the 15,000 Midianites. This information connects back to the incident reported in verse 7.15-23. After Gideon’s surprise attack, only a portion of the Midianite army remained. The repetition of the word all emphasizes that the enemy army was strong, but also that the massacre was great. Once again army is literally “camp.” For the people of the East, see the comments on verse 6.3. If the repetition of all is not acceptable, there may be other ways to express this clause, for example, “the only ones who were left of the whole army from the eastern desert.” Revised English Bible begins a new sentence here, saying “Those were all that remained of the entire host of the eastern tribes.” Good News Translation combines this clause with the number fifteen thousand, saying “Of the whole army of desert tribesmen, only about 15,000 were left.”

For there had fallen a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword is literally “and those who had fallen [were] a hundred and twenty thousand men who drew the sword.” For, which renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, introduces the reason so few enemy soldiers were left. Contemporary English Version uses the connector “because.” Fallen renders the same Hebrew verb (nafal) that is used to describe the deaths of King Eglon (verse 3.25) and General Sisera (verse 4.22; verse 5.27). It is a euphemistic way in Hebrew to speak of those who died. Translators can use a similar figurative expression, or they can use a nonfigurative verb, such as “killed” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “slain” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). In English the past perfect verb had fallen shows that this event occurred prior to the present story line. Translators should use verbal tenses or aspects that are appropriate to this context. A hundred and twenty thousand may be rendered “120,000” (Good News Translation) or “120 military units” (see the comments above). Men who drew the sword refers to soldiers who were capable of drawing a sword from its scabbard and using it. Here this phrase is a figurative expression used to refer to any soldiers who were armed and ready for battle. It occurs frequently in the last major section of this book (verse 20.2, 15, 17, 25, 35, 46). It may be rendered “men who carried weapons,” “armed men,” “fighting men” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or simply “warriors” (Contemporary English Version).

Translation models for this verse are:

• In the meantime, the Midianite kings Zebah and Zalmunna, along with their army, were in the region of Karkor. One hundred twenty groups of soldiers had already died in the battle. Only fifteen groups of soldiers from the tribes of the eastern desert were left.

• Now Zebah and Zalmunna and their 15,000 soldiers were in Karkor. They were all that was left of the army of the eastern tribes, because 120,000 of their warriors had been killed in the battle.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .