inclusive vs. exclusive pronoun (Num 20:19)

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 the king of Edom.

Translation commentary on Numbers 20:19

And the people of Israel said to him: The people of Israel probably refers to Moses’ messengers mentioned in verse 14. They returned with Moses’ second appeal for passage through Edom on behalf of all the people. The pronoun him can refer to the Edomite king or his people (see the previous verse).

We will go up by the highway: The Hebrew word for highway differs from the one used in verse 17. The word here refers to any flattened road in general, a set course or path that does not change. Good News Translation and New Living Translation provide a helpful model for this clause, saying “We will stay on the main road” (similarly New International Version). An idiomatic rendering in English is “We will keep to the beaten track” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).

And if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then I will pay for it: Singular pronouns (rendered your, I and my) are used again in Hebrew here to refer to the Edomites and the Israelites. The Israelites are presented as speaking in the singular, as a collective entity (compare verse 14). In many languages it will be necessary to use plural forms (so Good News Translation). The Hebrew word for cattle (miqneh) is very general and includes all types of herded animals, including cows, donkeys, camels, sheep and goats, so it is better rendered “livestock” (New Revised Standard Version).

Let me only pass through on foot, nothing more: The Hebrew expressions here are clearly submissive and deferential in tone. These words also seek to downplay the magnitude of this request. Translators should render this request in a way that sounds similarly submissive and deferential, but they should use speech that is appropriate for kings and leaders; for example, New Revised Standard Version says “It is only a small matter; just let us pass through on foot,” La Bible de Jérusalem Nouvelle has “It is only a matter of letting me pass through on foot,” and Revised English Bible translates “Ours is a trifling request; we would simply cross your land on foot.”

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 .