years (age)

In Aekyom, years are counted as “turtles” (ambum).

Norm Mundhenk tells this story:

“Recently I was checking some New Testament material in the Aekyom language of western Papua New Guinea. It seemed relatively clear until suddenly we came to a passage that started, ‘When Jesus had 12 turtles, …’ Surely I had misunderstood what they said.
“‘Did you say that Jesus had 12 turtles?’
“‘Let us explain! Around here there is a certain time every year when river turtles come up on the banks and lay their eggs. Because this is so regular, it can be used as a way of counting years. Someone’s age is said to be how many turtles that person has. So when we say that Jesus had 12 turtles, we mean that Jesus was 12 years old.’
“It was of course the familiar story of Jesus’ trip with his parents to Jerusalem. And certainly, as we all know, Jesus did indeed have 12 turtles at that time!”

In Tok Pisin, krismas (derived from “christmas”) is taken as the fixed annual marker, so Jesus had 12 “christmases” (Jisas i gat 12-pela krismas pinis) or Abram (in Gen. 12:4) had 75 (Abram i gat 75 krismas) (source: Norm Mundhenk). In Noongar it is biroka kadak or “summers had” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

See also advanced in years.

Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 24:15

The common Hebrew conjunction rendered But (also New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible) may be translated in this way because there is an implied contrast between life in Judah before and after Jehoiada’s death. But since the contrast does not appear until several verses later, many versions omit the conjunction here (so Good News Translation).

Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and he died means he died after living a long time. Long life was seen as a reward for faithfulness to God. But a literal translation of grew old and full of days may be quite unnatural in other languages. So translators should seek the most natural way in their language to express the notion that Jehoiada became very old. Revised English Bible says “old and weighed down with years,” while New American Bible uses the idiom “lived to a ripe old age” (similarly New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

He was a hundred and thirty years old at his death may be rendered “He was 130 years old when he died” (God’s Word).

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 .