Philistines

The term that is transliterated as “Philistines” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the helmet the Philistine warriors wore was decorated with feather-like objects. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Philistines” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Philistines (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Saul

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


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

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about King Saul (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Saul .

complete verse (1 Chronicles 10:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 10:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “And when it dawned, the Philistines came and took/removed the things of battle and the clothes from all the corpses that they could make use of. Then they found the body of Saul and of his sons on the hill of Gilboa.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The next day the Philistines went to take things from the Israelite men who had died. They found the corpses of Saul and his sons on Mt. Gilboa.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The next day, after the battle, the Filistinhon went to the Mountain of Gilboa to take the weapons of those who died. They saw the corpse of Saul there and his children.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The next day, when the Philistines came to take away the weapons of the dead Israeli soldiers, they found the corpses of Saul and his three sons on Gilboa Mountain.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 10:8

On the morrow: In the preceding verse the action is interrupted to state that the Philistine soldiers occupied various Israelite towns. The time indicated by the phrase On the morrow is “The day after the battle” (Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje) described in verses 1-6. New Revised Standard Version, English Standard Version, and Holman Christian Standard Bible say “The next day.”

When the Philistines came to strip the slain: The slain is literally “the pierced” (as in verse 1), referring to those who had died in battle. The Philistines intended to remove from the bodies of the dead Israelite soldiers anything of value. Good News Translation renders to strip the slain as “to plunder the corpses,” and International Children’s Bible says “to take valuable things from the dead bodies.” In languages that have a word for dead bodies, such as “corpses” (Good News Translation) or “cadavers” (Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond, La Bible du Semeur, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), that word may be used here.

They found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa: Instead of fallen, it may be clearer in certain languages to say “lying dead.” Others may prefer to add the word for “corpses” by rendering this clause as “they found the corpses of Saul and his sons lying on Mount Gilboa” (similarly Good News Translation).

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Chronicles 10:8

10:8a The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead,

The next day, the Philistines came to take away the weapons of the dead ⌊soldiers⌋ .
-or-
The day after the battle the Philistines came to take valuable things from the dead bodies. (English Easy-to-Read Version: English Bible League International, 2004).

10:8b they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.

They found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa.
-or-
There on Mount Gilboa they found the dead bodies of Saul and his sons.

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