Pharaoh

The term that is used for monarchs in ancient Egypt and is transliterated as “Pharaoh” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying the “fake metal beard (postiche)” that was used by Pharaohs during official functions. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)


“Pharaoh” in Finnish Sign Language (source )

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Pharaoh .

army

The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

complete verse (1 Kings 11:21)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 11:21:

  • Kupsabiny: “When Hadad heard in Egypt that David and Moab had died, he said to Pharaoh, ‘Allow me to return to go to my country.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “In Egypt Hadad heard the report that David and his commanding general, Joab had died. He said to the King of Egypt, "Allow me to go back to my own country."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When Hadad was in Egipto, he heard-a-news that David and Joab the commander of the soldiers are now dead. Hadad said to the king, ‘Let- me now -go-home to my nation.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “While Hadad was in Egypt, he heard that David had died , and that Joab, the commander of David’s army, was also dead. So he said to the king of Egypt, ‘Please allow me to return to my own country.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English means “beloved.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


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

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

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

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

Japanese benefactives (-sete)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way to do this is through the usage (or a lack) of an honorific prefix as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. When the referent is God, the “divine” honorific prefix mi- (御 or み) can be used, as in mi-kao (御顔) or “face (of God)” in the referenced verses.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 11:21

Many modern translations omit the common Hebrew conjunction rendered But at the beginning of this verse. It is probably better simply to begin a new paragraph here, as in Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, New International Version, New Century Version, and Revised English Bible.

When Hadad heard in Egypt …: This word order may sound awkward in certain languages. Since Hadad was in Egypt, the idea of this expression is “while Hadad was in Egypt, he heard….”

Slept with his fathers is a common Hebrew euphemism meaning “died.” See the comments at 1 Kgs 2.10, where the same thing is said earlier of David.

In some languages it may be more natural to reduce the rather repetitious structure in the first half of this verse and say simply “Hadad heard that David and Joab had both died.”

Country is literally “land” (see the comments on verse 18).

In languages that prefer indirect discourse in this context, it will be possible to translate the last part of this verse as follows: “Hadad asked the king of Egypt to let him return to his home country.”

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Kings 11:21

11:21a When Hadad heard in Egypt

While ⌊Hadad⌋ was in Egypt,
-or-
When he was living in Egypt,

11:21b that David had rested with his fathers

he heard that David had passed away
-or-
Hadad received the news/message that ⌊King⌋ David

11:21c and that Joab, the commander of the army, was dead,

and that Joab the captain of the army was also dead.
-or-
and Joab ⌊his⌋ army chief were both dead ⌊and buried⌋.

11:21d he said to Pharaoh, “Let me go, that I may return to my own country.”

Then Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Allow (sing) me to depart and go back to my own country.”
-or-
So Hadad said to Pharaoh, “Please give (sing) me permission to leave ⌊Egypt/you⌋ and return to my homeland.”
-or-
So he asked the king ⌊of Egypt⌋ for permission to return to his own country.

© 2020 by SIL International®
Made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA) creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0.
All Scripture quotations in this publication, unless otherwise indicated, are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible.
BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee.