desert, wilderness

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The Greek that is translated as “desert” or “wilderness” in English is translated in a number of ways:

Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).

See also wilderness and desolate wilderness.

inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Num 10:31)

Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)

The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).

For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the exclusive pronoun, excluding Hobab.

Translation commentary on Numbers 10:31

And he said introduces Moses’ response to Hobab’s refusal to accompany the Israelites. Good News Translation makes the referent for the pronoun he clear by saying “Moses said,” which other languages may find helpful.

Do not leave us, I pray you: Moses asks Hobab to stay with them. I pray you renders the Hebrew particle naʾ, which serves to underline the request made to Hobab. This particle is better rendered “I beg you” (Revised English Bible) and “Please” (Good News Translation).

For you know how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us: The connector for introduces the reason why Moses wants Hobab to accompany them. Since Hobab knows where to camp in the desert, Moses wants him to be their guide. Moses does not seem to trust the LORD, who had sent the cloud to guide the people on their journey (see verse 34 and 9.15-23). This lack of trust on Moses’ part becomes a theme in Numbers from this point. You know how we are to encamp in the wilderness may be rendered “you know the places to camp in the desert” (Contemporary English Version). For the Hebrew word rendered wilderness (midbar), see 1.1. You will serve as eyes for us is an idiomatic Hebrew expression, which Good News Translation renders nonfiguratively by saying “you can be our guide.”

Quoted with permission from de Regt, Lénart J. and Wendland, Ernst R. A Handbook on Numbers. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2016. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .