gentiles

Click here to view graphically

The Greek that is often translated as “gentiles” (or “nations”) in English is often translated as a “local equivalent of ‘foreigners,'” such as “the people of other lands” (Guerrero Amuzgo), “people of other towns” (Tzeltal), “people of other languages” (San Miguel El Grande Mixtec), “strange peoples” (Navajo) (this and above, see Bratcher / Nida), “outsiders” (Ekari), “people of foreign lands” (Kannada), “non-Jews” (North Alaskan Inupiatun), “people being-in-darkness” (a figurative expression for people lacking cultural or religious insight) (Toraja-Sa’dan) (source for this and three above Reiling / Swellengrebel), “from different places all people” (Martu Wangka) (source: Carl Gross).

Tzeltal translates it as “people in all different towns,” Chicahuaxtla Triqui as “the people who live all over the world,” Highland Totonac as “all the outsider people,” Sayula Popoluca as “(people) in every land” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Chichimeca-Jonaz as “foreign people who are not Jews,” Sierra de Juárez Zapotec as “people of other nations” (source of this and one above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), Highland Totonac as “outsider people” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff.), Uma as “people who are not the descendants of Israel” (source: Uma Back Translation), and Yakan as “the other tribes” (source: Yakan Back Translation).

See also nations.

Translation commentary on 1 Maccabees 5:9

Now the Gentiles in Gilead gathered together against the Israelites who lived in their territory, and planned to destroy them: The Gentiles in Gilead assembled a fighting force with the purpose of destroying the Jews who lived in their area. Gilead was a territory just east of the Jordan River. Revised Standard Version supplies and planned, which is not in the Greek. So this whole sentence may be rendered “The Gentiles in the region of Gilead assembled [or, gathered together] with the purpose of attacking and destroying [or, wiping out] the Israelites living among them.”

But they fled to the stronghold of Dathema: The Jews tried to escape the Gentiles by fleeing to the fort at Dathema. For stronghold see the comments on 1Macc 1.2. The location of Dathema is unknown, but it may have been a few kilometers (miles) east of Lake Galilee.

We may reorder the clauses of this verse as follows:

• Some Israelites living in the region of Gilead fled to [or, took shelter in] the fortress at Dathema, because the Gentiles in that region had assembled an army to attack them.

Quoted with permission from Bullard, Roger A. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on 1-2 Maccabees. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2011. For this and other handbooks for translators see here.