cardinal directions

The cardinal directions “east” and “west” are easy to translate into Maan here since the language uses “where the sun comes up” and “where the sun goes down.” For “north” the translator had “facing toward the sun rising to the left,” and for “south” she had “facing toward the sun rising to the right.” So the listener had to think hard before knowing what direction was in view when translating “to the north and south, to the east and west.” So, in case all four directions are mentioned, it was shortened by saying simply “all directions.” (Source: Don Slager) Likewise, Yakan has “from the four corners of the earth” (source: Yakan back-translation) or Western Bukidnon Manobo “from the four directions here on the earth” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo back-translation).

Kankanaey is “from the coming-out and the going-away of the sun and the north and the south” (source: Kankanaey back-translation), Northern Emberá “from where the sun comes up, from where it falls, from the looking [left] hand, from the real [right] hand” (source: Charles Mortensen), Amele “from the direction of the sun going up, from the direction of the sun going down, from the north and from the south” (source: John Roberts), Ejamat “look up to see the side where the sun comes from, and the side where it sets, and look on your right side, and on your left” (source: David Frank in this blog post).

In Lamba, only umutulesuŵa, “where the sun rises” and imbonsi, “where the sun sets” were available as cardinal directions that were not tied to the local area of language speakers (“north” is kumausi — “to the Aushi country” — and “south” kumalenje — “to the Lenje country”). So “north” and “south” were introduced as loanwords, nofu and saufu respectively. The whole phrase is kunofu nakusaufu nakumutulesuŵa nakumbonsi. (Source C. M. Doke in The Bible Translator 1958, p. 57ff.)

“West” is translated in Tzeltal as “where the sun pours-out” and in Kele as “down-river” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel).

In Morelos Nahuatl, “north” is translated as “from above” and “south” as “from below.” (Source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)

The Hebrew text that gives instructions where to place items in the tabernacle with the help of cardinal directions (north and south) had to be approached in the Bambam translation specific to spacial concepts of that culture.

Phil Campbell explains: “There are no words in Bambam for north and south. In Exodus 26:35, God instructs that the table is to be placed on the north side and the lamp on the south side inside the tabernacle. The team wants to use right and left to tell where the lamp and table are located. In many languages we would say that the table is on the right and the lampstand is on the left based on the view of someone entering the tabernacle. However, that is not how Bambam people view it. They view the placement of things and rooms in a building according to the orientation of someone standing inside the building facing the front of the building. So that means the table is on the left side and the lampstand is on the right side.”

See also cardinal directions / left and right.

Abraham

The name that is transliterated as “Abraham” in English is translated in virtually all sign languages, including American Sign Language with the sign signifying “hold back arm” (referring to Genesis 22:12).


“Abraham” in American Sign Language (source )

In Tira it is transliterated as Abaram. The choice of this, rather than the widely-known “Ibrahim,” as used in the Tira translation of the Qu’ran, was to offset it against the Muslim transliteration which originates from Arabic. (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

Click or tap here to see two short video clips about Abraham (source: Bible Lands 2012)

See also our ancestor Abraham and Abram.

concubine

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “concubine” in English is translated in Kutu as “slave made to be his woman” or “female slave he married.”

Similarly, in Kwere it is translated as “slaves who were like wives.” The translation team explained: “We discussed how concubines are different from prostitutes (there is a word for that) in that they have a similar status to wives (they live with the man often and are provided for physically) and so we decided not to use the word for prostitute which is a loose woman or someone engaging in sexual immorality. But since concubines were an accepted part of the society and culture, this would give wrong meaning.” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Genesis 25:6)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 25:6:

  • Newari: “Before he died, Abraham gave gifts to the sons that he had from other wives. Separating [them] from the household of Isaac, he sent them towards the east.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Before Abraham died, he left all of his possessions to Isaac. But he gave gifts to his other children from his other wives, and he had- them -live in the land(s) in the east, far from his child Isaac.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “But while Abraham was still living, he gave gifts to the sons of his concubines/slaves that he had taken to be his secondary wives, and then he sent them away to live in a land to the east, to keep them far from his son Isaac.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 25:5 - 25:6

Verse 5 shows that Abraham’s line continues only through Isaac, and therefore Isaac is Abraham’s only heir. Verse 6 contrasts what Abraham did for Isaac with what he did for his other sons.

Abraham gave all he had to Isaac: the wording of this verse expresses the same thought the servant conveyed in 24.36. Gave is used here in the special sense of a person passing on his property at death to an heir. In English this thought is expressed by such verbs as “bequeath,” “will,” “give as inheritance,” “leave.” Good News Translation says “left everything he owned.” In other languages it may be necessary to follow the customs that apply for inheritance; in one situation, for example, the translation says “Then Abraham called all his people together and told them that when he died everything of his would belong to his son Isaac.” For a discussion of “heir” see 15.2. In languages in which it is more natural to speak of inheriting, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy provides a model: “Isaac inherited everything that Abraham had.”

It is reasonable to assume that Abraham is still alive in verse 5 when he arranged for Isaac to inherit his property. To assume he is dead in verse 5 may conflict with the statement that he gave gifts to his sons while he was still living in Gen 25.6. However, we may also translate these two closely related verses so that their time in relation to Abraham’s death is made clear; for example, “When Abraham died he left all his property to Isaac. However, while he was still alive he gave gifts to … and sent them away….”

Another possible adjustment is to change the order of verses 5 and 6. In this case we may translate “While Abraham was still living he gave gifts to … and sent them away… Later, when Abraham died, he left all his property to Isaac.”

But to the sons of his concubines: concubines (see discussion of this term in 22.24) appears strange if the reference is to Keturah, who is not referred to as concubine in Gen 25.1. The plural form of this word may refer to Keturah and Hagar, or to these two and still others not mentioned elsewhere. In languages that distinguish between the main wife and secondary wives, it is advisable to use something equivalent to secondary wives here.

Abraham gave gifts: gifts translates a general word for presents. These may have been in the form of jewels, precious metals, animals, slaves, or combinations of these. In any event they would be movable gifts that could be taken to another area. The gifts are probably given as a legal settlement that will enable these sons to begin life on their own. It is unlikely that money as it is used in the modern world would have been a part of these gifts, but quantities of precious metals served the same purpose; therefore it is legitimate to include money along with other items in translation, if a descriptive expression is required.

He sent them away from his son Isaac: the purpose of sending these sons away is to remove them from Isaac so that they will not be a threat to Isaac’s wealth and security. In translation it may be necessary to make clear that Abraham is separating these other sons from Isaac. We may translate, for example, “He sent them far away to keep them separated from Isaac.” Another example from some translations is “He sent them away to countries in the east, because he didn’t want them to stay there with his son Isaac.”

Eastward to the east country: some take this repeated use of east to refer to a land in the east called “East.” A similar expression is found in 29.1. Moffatt translates “eastward to the land of Kedem.” (The Hebrew word for “east” is qedem.) According to Driver the expression is a general designation of the land that lay to the east, northeast, or southeast of Canaan. For some languages Good News Translation will be a suitable model, but for others it will be necessary to use local conditions to designate east; for example, “to a land where the sun rises,” “to a land beyond the big mountains.”

Verse 6 completes the genealogy and the separation of Isaac’s future line from that of his half-brothers. The next subdivision will end with God blessing Isaac after Abraham’s death and burial.

Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .