The Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and Latin that is transliterated “Levites” in English (only the Contemporary English Version translates it as “temple helpers”) is translated in Ojitlán Chinantec as “temple caretakers,” Yatzachi Zapotec as “people born in the family line of Levi, people whose responsibility it was to do the work in the important church of the Israelites,” in Alekano as “servants in the sacrifice house from Jerusalem place,” and in Tenango Otomi as “helpers of priests.” (Source: M. Larson / B. Moore in Notes on Translation February 1970, p. 1-125.)
In American Sign Language with a sign that combines “temple” + “servant.” (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Levite” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
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.
The Levites, thirty years old and upward, were numbered: This census of the Levites did not include women, so Good News Translation correctly says “male Levites.” Thirty years old and upward follows God’s instructions to Moses in Num 4.3, 23, 30. The ages are given as twenty or older in verses 24 and 27. Some interpreters consider verses 24 and 27 to be a later addition to 1 Chronicles. Others think that both numbers belong in the text and that David later lowered the age to twenty when he realized how many Levites would be needed to work at the Temple. According to verses 24-26, the age seems to have been lowered to twenty since older and stronger men were no longer needed to carry the Covenant Box from place to place. The Hebrew says these Levites were numbered or “were counted.” Good News Translation uses an active expression, saying “David took a census.” Contemporary English Version is similar with “He then counted.” But surely David himself did not count all 38,000 Levites, and the translation should not give that impression. Several French versions use the indefinite pronoun on (Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible Pléiade), which is equivalent to saying in English “someone counted” or “they were counted.” For this whole clause Parole de Vie says “He had the adult Levites counted one by one, ages thirty and older.”
And the total was thirty-eight thousand men: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “the head-count of their males was 38,000” (similarly Braun).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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