complete verse (Genesis 49:17)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Genesis 49:17:

  • Newari: “Dan is a serpent staying on the side of the road, he is a poisonous serpent staying on the road. He bites the heel of a horse, and the rider [lit.: the one who is staying on the horse’s body] falls down.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “You will-be like a poisonous snake beside the road that bites the feet of the horse that passes-by, so (the one)-riding on this falls.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Your descendants will be like snakes at the side of a road, like poisonous snakes lying beside a path. They will strike the heels of horses that pass by, causing the riders to fall backwards as the horses rear up on their hind legs.'” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Genesis 49:17

Dan shall be a serpent in the way: Dan is praised, and this may be understood as a prayer, “May Dan be a snake on the road.” The serpent/viper image is not used to criticize Dan but to picture this tribe as small but dangerous to its enemies. In some languages it is offensive to be called a snake. It may help in such cases to say “Dan will be dangerous as a snake on the road.”

A viper by the path: viper translates a Hebrew word found only here. Some translate it as “horned viper” or “horned snake.” If the horned viper is unknown, the model of Good News Translation “snake … poisonous snake” may be satisfactory. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy gives another model, “Dan will be like a viper beside the road,” and does not have a second line.

That bites the horse’s heels: the snake/viper that lies concealed beside the road strikes at the heels of the passing enemy’s horse.

So that his rider falls backward: as the snake strikes, the horse rears, causing the rider to fall to the ground. In the words of one translation, “he bites the horse, making it buck and throw the rider off.”

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 .