The name that is transliterated as “Abiathar” in English means “father of plenty,” “father of the great one.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) it is translated with a sign that combines “priest” and “last.” Abiathar was a priest during the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon. He was also the last priest in the lineage of Eli (1 Kings 2:27). (Source: Missão Kophós )
The Hebrew that is translated as “Joab (also: Abishai) the son of Zeruiah” in English presented a problem in Maan. “In a patriarchal society like Mano, Zeruiah is assumed to be the father of Joab. Since we know that she was his mother (see 2Sam 17:25), we expressed this phrase as ‘Joab whose mother was Zeruiah.'” (Source: Don Slager)
In Batak Karo, Zeruiah also has to be identified as a woman. M.K. Sembiring (in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 217ff. ) explains: “Unlike the Hebrew language, nouns in Batak Karo have no gender. The literal translation of the biblical names therefore does not indicate whether they are female or male names. Names are generally understood as male names when they occur in expressions like ‘the son of…’ or ‘the daughter of…,’ because in the Karo culture, if ever the names of the parents are mentioned, it is usually the name of the father that is used in identifying the children. For example, 1 Sam 26:6 says, ‘Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah,’Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” In Hebrew, Zeruiah will be recognized as a female name because of its ending, but in Karo the name will be considered as a male name for the reason given above. It is necessary then to identify Zeruiah as a female name by saying that Zeruiah was the mother of Joab and Abishai. The translation of the first part of that verse into Batak Karo is as follows,’Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai (the mother of these two is Zeruiah)…'”
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “son of” in English is translated in all Icelandic Bible versions of the Icelandic Bible Society (latest edition 2007) in parallel with the Icelandic patronymic naming system . This means that for instance in Matthew 16:17 the name that is transliterated and translated in English as “Simon son of Jonah” becomes “Simon Jónasson” or in Isaiah 8:2 “Zechariah son of Jeberechiah” becomes “Sakaría Jeberekíason” where in both cases the “-son” means “son of.”
In cases where “son of” does not refer to a literal father or perhaps stepfather but to lineage, however, this system is not used. So in Matthew 1:1 “Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham” is translated as “Jesú Krists, sonar Davíðs, sonar Abrahams.”
The referenced verses all have at least one instance where the patronymic naming system is used. (Source: Halldór Elías Guðmundsson)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Ge’ez, and Greek that are typically translated as “priest” in English (itself deriving from Latin “presbyter” — “elder”) is often translated with a consideration of existing religious traditions. (Click or tap for details)
Bratcher / Nida (1961) say this:
“However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher;’ ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Eastern Maninkakan), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo (Dinė)), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle, and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Hausa); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal).”
In Obolo it is translated as ogwu ngwugwa or “the one who offers sacrifice” (source: Enene Enene), in Mairasi as agam aevar nevwerai: “religious leader” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Ignaciano as “blesser, one who does ritual as a practice” (using a generic term rather than the otherwise common Spanish loan word sacerdote) (source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.), and in Noongar as yakin-kooranyi or “holy worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
For Guhu-Samane, Ernest Richert (in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. ) reports this: “The [local] cult of Poro used to be an all-encompassing religious system that essentially governed all areas of life. (…) For ‘priest’ the term ‘poro father’ would at first seem to be a natural choice. However, several priests of the old cult are still living. Although they no longer function primarily as priests of the old system they still have a substantial influence on the community, and there would be more than a chance that the unqualified term would (in some contexts particularly) be equated with the priest of the poro cult. We learned, then, that the poro fathers would sometimes be called ‘knife men’ in relation to their sacrificial work. The panel was pleased to apply this term to the Jewish priest, and the Christian community has adopted it fully. [Mark 1:44, for instance, now] reads: ‘You must definitely not tell any man of this. But you go show your body to the knife man and do what Moses said about a sacrifice concerning your being healed, and the cause (base of this) will be apparent.'”
For a revision of the 1968 version of the Bible in Khmer Joseph Hong (in: The Bible Translator 1996, 233ff. ) talks about a change in wording for this term:
Bau cha r (បូជាចារ្យ) — The use of this new construction meaning “priest” is maintained to translate the Greek word hiereus. The term mean sang (មាន សង្ឃ) used in the old version actually means a “Buddhist monk,” and is felt to be theologically misleading. The Khmer considers the Buddhist monk as a “paddy field of merits,” a reserve of merits to be shared with other people. So a Khmer reader would find unthinkable that the mean sang in the Bible killed animals, the gravest sin for a Buddhist; and what a scandal it would be to say that a mean sang was married, had children, and drank wine.
In Cherokee (Jewish) priests are translated as atsilv-anelohi (ᎠᏥᎸ-ᎠᏁᎶᎯ), “fire feeders.” Bender / Belt (2025, p. 26) explain: “[This] provides a point of semantic overlap between the Jewish priests mentioned in the book of John and traditional Cherokee leaders who would have maintained a ceremonial fire. No loanword or semantic extension would have highlighted this specific similarity. Just as the New Testament Christ seeks to supersede the priests of his day, the missionaries working to translate the New Testament hoped to replace traditional ceremonialism with Christian beliefs and practices. Describing the Jewish priests as ‘fire feeders’ may have been a way to emphasize the obsolescence of fire-based ceremonialism. Strikingly, this word has become the term for Catholics. The vast majority of Cherokee converts to Christianity are Protestants.”
In Cuban Sign Language (the Jewish) priest is translated referencing the ephod , the traditional apron that was worn by priests:
Alain Montano (in: The Bible Translator 2026, p. 173ff.) explains: “A second challenge arose in translating the term ‘priest’ in Luke 10:31, referring to the priest who was descending from the temple. The translation team consisted primarily of Evangelical translators and included one Catholic translator. The initial sign proposed for ‘priest’ referenced the clerical collar, a symbol commonly associated with clergy across multiple Christian denominations, such as Methodists, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Reformed, Catholics, Moravians, and others. While most team members considered this option acceptable, the Catholic translator raised concerns that this representation could generate confusion, as it encompassed denominational identities not directly related to the priest described in the biblical text.
“Given this observation, the team began searching for a sign that accurately represented the priest in question and his role, with the aim of ensuring that the translation and interpretation of the text was as faithful as possible. Signs referencing a bishop’s miter or the skullcap worn by cardinals and popes were discarded, as the priest in question did not belong to the Catholic tradition as the evangelical translators initially understood it.
“The possibility of representing the high priest—using the breastplate and the Urim and Thummim — was also rejected, since the character in the text was not the high priest, but a Levitical priest serving his assigned turn in the temple. The challenge was ultimately resolved through the creation of a new sign referencing the ephod, which more accurately represented this type of priest, who served as an assistant in the work of the temple of Israel.”
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 1:7:
Kupsabiny: “Adonijah talked with Joab who was the commander of the soldiers of war and Abiathar who was a burner of sacrifices/priest. Then/At that time, both of those people accepted to help Adonijah to take up the rulership.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Adonijah talked with Joab son of Zeruiah and Abiathar the priest. They said they would help him to become king.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He spoke to Joab the child of Zeruya and to Abiatar the priest about his plan to become the king, and these two agreed to help him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “One day he conferred with Joab, David’s army commander, and Abiathar the priest, and they promised/agreed to help/support Adonijah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
He conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest: He conferred with is literally “And his words were with.” This expression, which also occurs in 2 Sam 3.17, seems to mean that “He entered into negotiations with” (La Bible du Semeur) or “His confidants were” (De Vries). Another possible way of conveying the same meaning is “He took counsel with” (Revised English Bible). In this context these Hebrew words seem to imply that Adonijah had private dealings with Joab and Abiathar, and the sense may be “He conspired with” (Anchor Bible). Others, however, take the meaning more generally as “He had a discussion with” (Nouvelle Bible Segond). One African language says “He became one head with.” If there is ambiguity in using the pronoun He, the name Adonijah may be used (so New Living Translation, Parole de Vie).
Joab, a son of David’s sister Zeruiah (1 Chr 2.16), was the commander of David’s army during much of his reign (2 Sam 8.16; 20.23). Zeruiah was the mother of Joab. Unless this is made explicit, as in Good News Translation, many readers will assume that Zeruiah was the father. Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch include important implicit information in their translations by indicating that Joab was a “general.” The first readers would probably have been aware of this fact (2 Sam 19.13), but a modern reader starting at the beginning of this book might need to be reminded. The information is, in fact, made explicit in the Hebrew later in this chapter (verses 19 and 25).
On David’s relation to Abiathar, see 1 Sam 22.20-23.
Use of the definite article in the phrase the priest should not be understood to mean that Abiathar was the only priest in Israel at this time. Rather, he was the senior priest, the one who served as David’s personal priest. Zadok is also called “the priest” in the following verse. The word priest is used at least a dozen times in this chapter alone. The term refers to the person who offers sacrifices. In the Old Testament the office of the priesthood was limited to the tribe of Levi, and more specifically to one family of that tribe, the family of Aaron. The priests served as intermediaries between God and the people of Israel. Regulations with regard to the qualifications of priests are given in Lev 21.16-23. In some cultures there is an organized priesthood that is involved in ritual matters involving healing or consulting the spirits of ancestors. In some cases the word used for this office may be used to translate priest. But if the term is considered unacceptable, translators may use a descriptive expression such as “offerer of sacrifices” or “sacrifice-making person.” If at all possible, the church’s term for priest should be avoided.
They followed Adonijah and helped him is literally “they helped after Adonijah,” which is an expression meaning that they gave their support or backing to his efforts to become king. New Jerusalem Bible says they “both rallied to Adonijah’s cause,” and New Living Translation reads “they agreed to help him become king.” Another possible way of saying this is “they assured him of their support” (Revised English Bible) or simply “they supported him [or, Adonijah]” (New American Bible, Anchor Bible).
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 .
1:7a So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest,
Adonijah discussed these things/matters with ⌊the commander/general⌋ Joab, who was one of the sons of Zeruiah, and with the priest Abiathar. -or-
He/Adonijah told his plans to ⌊David’s military leader⌋ Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and also to the ⌊leading/senior⌋ priest Abiathar.
1:7b who supported him.
These men encouraged/supported him. -or-
They ⌊both⌋ promised/agreed to help him ⌊to become king⌋.
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