complete verse (Numbers 2:19)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 2:19:

  • Kupsabiny:

    Three clans shall spread/set up on the West side and the clan of Ephraim shall be in charge. Those clans are these:

    Clan Leader Number of soldiers
    Ephraim Elishama son of Ammihud 40,500
    Manasseh Gamaliel son of Pedahzur 32,200
    Benjamin Abidan son of Gideoni 35,400

    The total/all is 108,100.
    The community of Ephraim shall be number three following the others.

    (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)

  • Newari: “Their section numbered 40,500 men.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:

    ‘The tribes of Efraim, Manase, and Benjamin are-to-camp on the west, under the banner of their own/[lit. each] tribe. These are the names of their leaders/[lit. heads] and numbers of their people/men:

    Tribe Leader Number
    Efraim Elishama son/child of Amiud 40,500
    Manase 32,200 Gamaliel son/child Pedazur 32,200
    Benjamin Abidan son/child of Gideoni 35,400

    (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)

  • English: “The tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin must set up their tents on the west side of the Sacred Tent, close to their tribal flags. These are the names of the leaders of those tribes and number of men whom they will lead:
    Elishama, the son of Ammihud, will be the leader of the 40,500 men of the tribe of Ephraim.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Moses

The name that is transliterated as “Moses” in English is signed in Spanish Sign Language and Polish Sign Language in accordance with the depiction of Moses in the famous statue by Michelangelo (see here ). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Moses” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

American Sign Language also uses the sign depicting the horns but also has a number of alternative signs (see here ).

In French Sign Language, a similar sign is used, but it is interpreted as “radiance” (see below) and it culminates in a sign for “10,” signifying the 10 commandments:


“Moses” in French Sign Language (source )

The horns that are visible in Michelangelo’s statue are based on a passage in the Latin Vulgate translation (and many Catholic Bible translations that were translated through the 1950ies with that version as the source text). Jerome, the translator, had worked from a Hebrew text without the niqquds, the diacritical marks that signify the vowels in Hebrew and had interpreted the term קרו (k-r-n) in Exodus 34:29 as קֶ֫רֶן — keren “horned,” rather than קָרַו — karan “radiance” (describing the radiance of Moses’ head as he descends from Mount Sinai).

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign depicting holding a staff. This refers to a number of times where Moses’s staff is used in the context of miracles, including the parting of the sea (see Exodus 14:16), striking of the rock for water (see Exodus 17:5 and following), or the battle with Amalek (see Exodus 17:9 and following).


“Moses” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

In Vietnamese (Hanoi) Sign Language it is translated with the sign that depicts the eye make up he would have worn as the adopted son of an Egyptian princess. (Source: The Vietnamese Sign Language translation team, VSLBT)


“Moses” in Vietnamese Sign Language, source: SooSL

In Estonian Sign Language Moses is depicted with a big beard. (Source: Liina Paales in Folklore 47, 2011, p. 43ff. )


“Moses” in Estonian Sign Language, source: Glossary of the EKNK Toompea kogudus

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Moses .

Translation commentary on Numbers 2:18 - 2:24

Most of the comments on verses 3-9 apply here as well.

On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim means Ephraim and the other tribes in its group must camp on the west side of the Tent of Meeting. In many languages the cardinal point west is translated in reference to the setting of the sun. The west side in Hebrew is literally “seaward” since it is in reference to the Mediterranean Sea. The camp of Ephraim refers to the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin.

The leader of the people of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud: See 1.10.

And next to him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: This clause is slightly different from the parallel clauses in verses 5, 12 and 27, since it is lacking “those to encamp” in the Hebrew. But in this context this variation does not lead to a difference in meaning. The pronoun him refers to the tribe of Ephraim. Contemporary English Version makes this clear by rendering this clause as “On one side of Ephraim will be the tribe of Manasseh.”

The leader of the people of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur: See 1.10.

In some languages it will be more natural and seem less repetitive if Then the tribe of Benjamin (verse 22) is moved to the beginning of verse 20, combining it with the tribe of Manasseh as follows: “Those [to camp] next to the tribe of Ephraim shall be the tribes of Manasseh and Benjamin….”

The leader of the people of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni: See 1.11.

They shall set out third on the march: The pronoun They refers to the three tribes under the banner of Ephraim. Set out … on the march renders the same Hebrew verb as at the end of verse 9 (see the comments there).

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .