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)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, 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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
King Solomon made two hundred large shields of beaten gold: In certain languages it will be more fitting to say that Solomon had these shields made (as in Bible en français courant and Parole de Vie) or that he caused workmen to make them. The verb made is not to be taken in its most literal sense.
The Hebrew noun rendered large shields refers to rectangular shields that protected the whole body. It differs from the Hebrew noun for “shields” in verse 17, which Good News Translation renders “smaller shields” (also La Bible Pléiade). The Jerusalem Bible (Jerusalem Bible) follows the Septuagint in reading “three hundred” shields, but New Jerusalem Bible reads “two hundred,” as do most modern versions.
It is possible that the shields were made of gold, but more likely they were made of wood or some kind of metal and “overlaid” with gold (so Good News Translation, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The adjective beaten translates a Hebrew participle from the verb usually meaning “to slaughter.” In this context it is usually understood to mean “to beat”; that is, the gold was beaten or hammered into very thin sheets that covered the shields made of wood. Most modern versions are based on this understanding of the Hebrew verb and say beaten gold (for example, Revised Standard Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “overlaid with gold.”
However, according to Holladay, the Hebrew verb should be understood in light of a similar verb in Arabic which means to mix wine with water. In this case the Hebrew verb will mean “mixed” or “alloyed,” that is, the gold was mixed with some other kind of metal. This understanding is followed in Bible en français courant, which says “gold alloy.”
Six hundred shekels of gold is literally “six hundred gold,” but the noun shekels is understood and is supplied in the Revised Standard Version translation. The modern equivalent of a shekel is 11.4 grams or 0.4 ounces. In pounds the equivalent of six hundred shekels is “almost fifteen pounds” (Good News Translation). In kilograms the equivalent is about “six kilos” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “seven kilos” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). A recently discovered bronze weight in the shape of a dome has the word “shekel” written in Hebrew on it. The weight comes from the early eighth century B.C. and weighs 0.57 ounces, which is considerably more than the average shekel, which weighed 0.4 ounces.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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