family / clan / house

The Hebrew terms that are translated as “family” or “clan” or “house” or similar in English are all translated in Kwere as ng’holo or “clan.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

In the English translation by Goldingay (2018) it is translated as “kin-group.”

See also tribe.

Gad

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Gad” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “tent,” signifying army tents that refer to Genesis 49:19. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


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

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

More information on Gad (son of Jacob) and the Tribe of Gad .

complete verse (Numbers 26:15)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Numbers 26:15:

  • Kupsabiny: “These are the houses of the clan of Gad: House of Zephon, house of Haggi, house of Shuni,” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The descendants of Gad according to their clans were like this —
    The Zephonite clan from Zephon,
    The Haggite clan from Haggi,
    The Shunite clan from Shuni,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The descendants of Gad were the families of Zefon, Haggi, Shuni,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They counted 40,500 men from the tribe of Gad. They were in clans descended from Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli.” (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 Numbers 26:15 - 26:18

This paragraph is about the census of the tribe of Gad. The formulaic phrases here are virtually the same as in verses 5-7 (see the comments there). There is one small difference between verse 7 and verse 18. Verse 7 says “and their number was,” but verse 18 has according to their number. The Hebrew word for number is the verb paqad, as in verse 7 (see the comments there). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders according to their number as “persons enrolled,” which expresses the Hebrew more accurately.

The clans of Gad descended from his sons Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ozni, Eri, Arod, and Areli (see Gen 46.16). Most translations have Arod, which is the form of the name in the traditional Hebrew text and the Vulgate. New International Version and New Living Translation have “Arodi,” which follows the Septuagint, the Peshitta, and the Samaritan Pentateuch. These translations probably have “Arodi” in order to bring the text in line with Gen 46.16, where this form of the name occurs. However, it seems better to render variant forms of proper names faithfully, rather than trying to “correct” the Hebrew text. This recommendation applies to all other instances of where such spelling variants (or omissions and additions) occur in the listing of names in Num 26, that is, in comparison with the Septuagint, Num 1, Gen 46, or the genealogies of 1 Chronicles. (For a brief discussion of this issue of variants among the different tribal lists, see Cole, page 454.)

In the Septuagint this census of Gad occurs after that of Zebulun, which corresponds to the order found in Gen 46. However, translators should follow the order of the Hebrew text here.

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 .