Isaiah, Jesse

In Fuyug the name “Jesse” sounded like a word meaning to have sex, so a change was needed to avoid this. Then there arose a risk of confusion with the name “Isaiah.” It ended up with Jesse as “Aisaja” and Isaiah as “Isai.”

beget (was the father of)

The Greek that is translated as “beget” (or “begat” in the past tense) in older English versions and “was the father of” in more recent ones is translated into Latvian with dzemdināt: “make to give birth” (from dzemdēt “give birth”).

genealogy in Matthew 1

Genealogies play an important role among many of Indonesian language groups and it’s important to follow the right format to make them recognizable as such. Daniel Arichea explains (in The Bible Translator 1986. p. 232ff. ):

“In translating the genealogies, we need to pay attention to the standard form of genealogical lists in the language of translation. Among the Bataks, it was discovered after some research that the genealogies are recorded in the form of a list of ancestors. Furthermore, this list almost always starts from the ancestor and goes down to the descendants. This seems to be true also for many other Indonesian groups, although there are some variations. For the genealogies to have meaning among the Bataks and other groups of similar cultures, these genealogies must be in a form which is appropriate.

“In Matthew 1:2-16, the biblical form is strange to many Indonesians. (…) The second edition of the Common Language Indonesian New Testament (Alkitab dalam Bahasa Indonesia Masa Kini) discarded the biblical form and came out with a series of ancestral lists. (…) When this was tested, however, many Indonesians did not recognize these lists as genealogical lists, but saw them simply as a list of names. In the light of such reactions, the new edition which is included in the recently published common language Bible has printed these lists as genealogical lists moving downward from the ancestors to the descendants. Thus, verse 2 reads: “From Abraham until David, the names of the ancestors of Jesus are as follows” [which is then followed by a list].”

You can see this in the following screen capture (available right here ):



In the Kölsch translation (publ. 2017), the genealogy is summarized: “From Abraham to David there were fourteen generations. There were another fourteen generations from David until the Jews were deported to Babylon and from Babylon to Jesus there were yet another fourteen generations. This shows that Joseph (Jupp), Mary’s husband, was a descendant of Abraham and David.” (Translation: Jost Zetzsche)

Ruth

The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Ruth” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “respect” referring to the respect that she shows for the mother-in-law as shown in Ruth 1:16. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Ruth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with a sign that depicts Ruth collecting ears of grain, referring to Ruth 2:2 and following.


“Ruth” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

complete verse (Matthew 1:5)

Following are a number of back-translations of Matthew 1:5:

  • Uma: “Salmon was the progenitor of Boas (the name of his mother: Rahab), Boas was the progenitor of Obed (the name of his mother: Rut), Obed was the progenitor of Isai,” (Source: Uma Back Translation)
  • Western Bukidnon Manobo: “As for Salmon his wife was Rahab, their child was Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. Ruth was Obed’s mother. Obed was the father of Jesse.” (Source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
  • Kankanaey: “Salmon, that was the father of Boaz, and Rahab was his mother. Boaz in-turn was the father of Obed, and Ruth was his mother. Obed, he was the father of Jesse,” (Source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
  • Tagbanwa: “Salmon married Rahab. They gave birth to Booz. Booz married Ruth. They gave birth to Obed. Well Obed was the father of Jesse,” (Source: Tagbanwa Back Translation)
  • Tenango Otomi: “Salmon was the father of Boaz. The mother of this Boaz was named Rahab. Boaz was the father of Obed. The mother of this Obed was named Ruth. Obed was the father of Jesse.” (Source: Tenango Otomi Back Translation)

Translation commentary on Matthew 1:5 – 1:6

In 1 Chronicles 2.11 Salmon is listed as the father of Boaz, though Rahab is not mentioned. Obed and Jesse are Septuagint forms and come from 1 Chronicles 2.12. The names of the women Rahab and Ruth are not listed in the genealogy of 1 Chronicles.

David the king: there are several ways to translate this naturally: “King David” (Good News Translation) or “David who was (or, became) king.” Some languages have to specify the people over whom he was king. These translations can say “the king of Israel.”

Those translators who used a short summary at the beginning of verse 2 to introduce the list of ancestors will do a similar thing here: “These are the descendants of David until the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon” or “After David, and until the people of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon, these are the names of his descendants.”

For Good News Translation‘s “Babylon” and “exile” (or, “deportation”), see comments on verse 11.

Solomon is listed in 1 Chronicles 3.5, 10. As with Rahab and Ruth, the wife of Uriah is not given in the Chronicles list, either by name or by indirect allusion.

By the wife of Uriah: as with “by Tamar” in Matthew 1.3, this phrase may need a separate sentence: “His mother was Uriah’s wife.” In many cases it is important to specify that she was not Uriah’s wife at the time of Solomon’s birth but had been his wife previously. Translators can follow Good News Translation or even say “His mother had been the wife of Uriah before.”

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Stine, Philip C. A Handbook on the Gospel of Matthew. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1988. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .