41These, registered by name, came in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah and attacked their tents and the Meunim who were found there and exterminated them to this day and settled in their place, because there was pasture there for their flocks.
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
The name that is transliterated as “Hezekiah” in English means “the Lord my strength,” “the might of YHWH,” “strength of the Lord.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
It is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs for “king” and “facing the wall” referring to Isaiah 38:2. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that signifies a model, a parameter for his life, referring to “he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done” of 2 Kings 18:3. (Source: Missão Kophós )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 4:41:
Kupsabiny: “but when Hezekiah was ruling the land of Judah, the people from the clan of Simeon came and destroyed the descendants of Ham and the Meunites. Then those people of Simeon lived there.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “The people whose names have been written above, came in the time of Hezekiah, king of Judah. They completely destroyed those of the clan of Ham and their dwelling places and the Meunite group who were there. They destroyed them totally without even allowing their names to survive.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “But the time when Hezekia was king of Juda, the descendants of Ham were-attacked by the descendants of Simeon whose names were-mentioned above. They also attacked the Meunhon who also lived there, and they destroyed them completely. Then they were the ones-who-lived there until now, because there was pasture there for their sheep.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But while Hezekiah was the king of Judah, the leaders of the tribe of Simeon came to Gedor and fought against the descendants of Ham and destroyed their tents. They also fought against the descendants of Meun who were living there, and they killed all of them. So now there are no descendants of Meun living there. The descendants of Simeon started to live there, because there was good pastureland there for their sheep.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
These, registered by name, came in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah: The demonstrative pronoun These apparently refers to the members of the tribe of Simeon who have already been named in verses 34-38. New Century Version translates These, registered by name as “These men listed above,” while New Jerusalem Bible is even clearer with “These Simeonites, recorded by name.” The Hebrew verb rendered registered means simply “to write,” so Complete Jewish Bible says “Those whose names are written above.” Good News Translation makes explicit the fact that the men in question are whose who went to Gerar. However, the destination would be Gedor if the Masoretic Text is followed in verse 39. Good News Translation also restructures the verse by beginning with the historical setting (“In the time of King Hezekiah of Judah”). Hezekiah ruled over Judah in the years 716–687 B.C. (see 2 Kgs 18–20). The beginning of this verse may also be translated “These, registered by name in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, came….” The Hebrew most likely means that these people came while Hezekiah was king, but it is also possible to understand that they were registered in the time of Hezekiah. The parallel with verse 38 favors the interpretation in Revised Standard Version (and nearly all other versions).
And destroyed their tents and the Me-unim who were found there: A change in the vowels and the word division of the Hebrew word rendered their tents would yield the reading “the tents of Ham,” which is the basis for the translations found in New Living Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and Luther. But such a correction is not based on manuscript evidence. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project gives an {A} rating to their tents, but Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament does not even give a rating to the Masoretic Text since there is no manuscript evidence for the suggested change to “the tents of Ham.” Since the pronoun their actually refers back to the Hamites mentioned in verse 40, a dynamic rendering of the recommended text could read “the tents of the Hamites.”
Many modern versions take Me-unim as the name of an ethnic group and say “Meunim” (New Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Moffatt) or “Meunites” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Osty-Trinquet). This group is also listed among the enemies of King Uzziah of Judah in 2 Chr 26.7. But the Hebrew word for Me-unim may also be understood as a common noun related to the Arabic word maʾan meaning “dwellings” (New Jerusalem Bible). This is the understanding of King James Version (“habitations”) and Good News Translation (“huts”), as well as numerous other translations that adopt this reading (so American Bible, Bible en français courant, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, Reina-Valera revisada). Compare 2 Chr 20.1, where there is also some confusion about the Meunites.
And exterminated them to this day: The Hebrew verb translated exterminated is a technical term that is sometimes translated in Revised Standard Version as “to destroy utterly.” For exterminated them, New Jerusalem Bible says “put them under a curse of destruction.” In other languages this may be translated “caused them to disappear completely.” The Israelites had been commanded to completely destroy the original inhabitants of the land (see Deut 7.1-2). This practice, called the “ban,” consisted of dedicating something or someone to a god by destruction (see Deut 13.6-18; Josh 10.28, 30, 32, 35, 37, 39, 40; 11.12). New Living Translation, which translates “completely destroyed,” has the following footnote, which may be useful to include in other translations: “The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.”
The expression to this day is a phrase that occurs throughout the books of 1–2 Chronicles. This is the first of eleven occurrences in the two books. It is not clear whether these words here and in verse 43 belong to the ancient source that the author was following or whether he was making a statement regarding the situation in his own time. For this whole clause New Jerusalem Bible says “They put them under a curse of destruction still in force today.” Bible en français courant has “and they wiped out the population, of whom no trace is found today.”
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia suggests that the words to this day originally came after the words and settled in their place, but there is no textual evidence for this.
Because there was pasture there for their flocks: For the word flocks, see the comments on verse 39.
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 .
4:41a These who were noted by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah.
These leaders, whose names were written above, came during the reign of king Hezekiah of Judah. -or-
The leaders whose names were listed above came ⌊to Gedor⌋ when Hezekiah was king of Judah.
4:41b They attacked the Hamites and Meunites there in their dwellings,
They attacked the descendants of Ham who lived in their tents. They also attacked the Meunites who lived in that region. -or-
They fought the people who were descended from Ham. They also attacked the Meunites who lived there.
4:41c devoting them to destruction even to this day.
They completely destroyed them, as is evident till this day. -or-
They killed everyone. So today none of those people live in that region.
4:41d Then they settled in their place, because there was pasture for their flocks.
Then they ⌊took over⌋ that land and settled there, because the land had good pasture for their livestock. -or-
They saw that there was good grass for their animals. So they took over that land and lived there.
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