brothers

“Brothers” has to be translated into Naro as “younger brothers and older brothers” (Tsáá qõea xu hẽé / naka tsáá kíí). All brothers are included this way, also because of the kind of plural that has been used. (Source: Gerrit van Steenbergen)

This also must be more clearly defined in Yucateco as older or younger (suku’un or Iits’in), but here there are both older and younger brothers. Yucateco does have a more general word for close relative, family member. (Source: Robert Bascom)

brother (older brother)

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “brother” in English is translated in Kwere as sekulu and in Mandarin Chinese as gēgē (哥哥), both “older brother.”

Note that Kwere also uses lumbu — “older sibling” in some cases. (Source for Kwere: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

complete verse (Genesis 37:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 37:14:

  • Kankanaey: “‘Go see if nothing (reassurance particle) has happened to them and their animals-being-pastured. Then return to go tell me,’ said his father. And he saw- Jose -off (lit. caused- Jose -to-set-out) on the plain at Hebron to go to Sekem. When he arrived then at Sekem,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Israel said — ‘Go and see what your elder brothers and the sheep are doing, then come to tell me.’ Then he sent him from Hebron valley to Shechem.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Now, Jacob said to Jose, ‘Your (sing.) siblings (are) there in Shekem watching-over the animals. [You (sing.)] go there and [you (sing.)] see if good is the situation of your (sing.) siblings and the animals. Then [you (sing.)] come-back and tell me.’ Jose replied, ‘Yes, father.’ So from the Valley of Hebron, Jose went to Shekem.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Jacob said, ‘Go and see if they are doing okay, and if the flocks are doing okay. Then come back and give me a report.’ So Jacob sent Joseph from the valley where they were living, the valley where Hebron is located, to go north to find his brothers. When Joseph arrived near Shechem city,” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 37:14

Go now, see if it is well with your brothers, and with the flock: Joseph is told to go and see the shalom of his brothers and the shalom of the animals. Shalom is used in verse 4, where it is translated “peace.” In the context of verse 14, it refers to the safety, security, and welfare of the brothers and the flock. We may translate, for example, “Go there and see if everything is all right,” “Go find out if there is any trouble.”

Bring me word again: that is, “then come back and tell me,” “bring me news,” “come and let me know.”

So he sent him from the valley of Hebron: the valley of Hebron runs northwest to southeast, and the town of Hebron is located in the valley. He sent him from … may have to be restructured in some languages to separate the different actions or movements; for example, “… and he sent him off. Joseph set out from … Hebron and traveled toward Shechem.” Some translations say “At this time Jacob and his clan were in the valley of Hebron, and Joseph set out from there and began walking.” Valley refers to a broad low-lying plain between two mountain ranges. In some languages a valley is called “the low land between the hills.”

And he came to Shechem: note that Good News Translation begins a new paragraph here. Revised Standard Version, which translates the Hebrew connective as and, forms three short sentences: “and he came … and a man found … and the man asked.” It will often be more natural to restructure these along the lines of Good News Translation, or say, for example, “When he reached Shechem, a man found him … and asked him.”

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 .