Solomon

The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Solomon” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wise” referring to 1 Kings 3:12. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Solomon” 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 Solomon (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Solomon .

complete verse (1 Kings 10:14)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 10:14:

  • Kupsabiny: “Each year Solomon was brought twenty three thousand (23,000) kilograms of gold every other year.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Every year about 23,000 kilograms of gold would come to King Solomon.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Every year Solomon received about 23 tons of gold,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Each year there was brought to Solomon a total of 25 tons of gold.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

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.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Kings 10:14

Section 10:14-29

Solomon gained great riches

10:14 The weight of gold that came to Solomon each year was 666 talents,

The Hebrew phrase that the New International Version translates as “yearly” is literally “in one year.”

The gold that Solomon gained/obtained in one year weighed about twenty-five tons.
-or-
In ⌊that⌋ one year ⌊King⌋ Solomon received about twenty-five tons of gold.

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