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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 12:29:
Kupsabiny: “And the people who came from the clan of Benjamin where Saul hailed from were three thousand (3,000). Many soldiers from this clan of Saul still honored (him/Saul).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “From the tribe of Banjamin came 3,000 [men]. They were relatives of Saul. Up to that time most of the men of the tribe of Benjamin had continued to be faithful to Saul.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “From the tribe of Benjamin who were blood-relatives of Saul: 3,000 soldiers. Most of the descendants of Benjamin continued to be-loyal to Saul.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “There were 3,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin who were Saul’s relatives. Most of them had previously wanted one of Saul’s descendants to be the king.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
From Benjamin’s tribe that Saul belonged to, there were three thousand men. -or-
From the tribe of Benjamin, Saul’s relatives, there were three thousand (3,000) men.
12:29b most of whom had remained loyal to the house of Saul up to that time
Most of those men had served Saul faithfully until that time. (EEB) -or-
Most of them stayed faithful to Saul’s family until that time.
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