9Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatted cattle by the stone Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel, and he invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the royal officials of Judah,
“Sheep are known throughout most of the world, even though, as in Central Africa, they are a far cry from the fleecy wool-producing animals of colder climates. Where such animals are known, even by seemingly strange names, e.g. ‘cotton deer’ (Yucateco) or ‘woolly goat’ (Inupiaq), such names should be used. In some instances, one may wish to borrow a name and use a classifier, e.g. ‘an animal called sheep’. In still other instances translators have used ‘animal which produces wool’, for though people are not acquainted with the animals they are familiar with wool.” (Source: Bratcher / Nida)
In Dëne Súline, it is usually translated as “an evil little caribou.” To avoid the negative connotation, a loan word from the neighboring South Slavey was used. (Source: NCEM, p. 70)
Note that the often-alleged Inuktitut translation of “sheep” with “seal” is an urban myth (source Nida 1947, p. 136).
The Hebrew that is translated as “fatted cattle” or similar in English is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible as shanun da ake kiwo a gida or “cows which they had fattened in the house.” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
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)
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.”
This verse is connected to the preceding verses with the common Hebrew conjunction, which Revised Standard Version does not translate here. Since the events in verses 9 and following occur at some unspecified time after the events of verses 7 and 8, it may be preferable to introduce this verse with a general temporal expression such as “One day” (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, New Jerusalem Bible).
Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen, and fatlings: Instead of the verb sacrificed, New American Bible and Anchor Bible have “slaughtered.” The Hebrew verb rendered sacrificed almost always carries specific, religious overtones. What was happening here may not have been a strictly religious observance, but a gathering and a meal to which certain people were invited and others were excluded. But since religious acts often were part of the ceremonies when a new king took the throne, it is better to indicate in the translation, if possible, that the animals killed were offered as a sacrifice to God. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “Adonijah made a sacrificial feast….” Bible en français courant reads “Adonijah organized a great feast … sheep, bulls, and fattened calves were sacrificed there.” The latter translation may be the best model for many other languages.
The list of animals that Adonijah sacrificed differs slightly in various translations. All agree that sheep are the first kind of animal listed. The second kind of animal is called oxen in Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version and “bulls” in Good News Translation. The Hebrew noun rendered oxen is a collective term that is often translated “cattle” or “herd.” It refers to bovine cattle and may include bulls, cows, calves, and heifers. The word itself does not necessarily refer to male animals (compare verse 19).
The third group of animals, called fatlings in Revised Standard Version and “fatted cattle” in New Revised Standard Version, refers to domestic animals raised for meat or to be used as a sacrifice. The Hebrew term for fatlings focuses more on the nature of the animal as having been fattened than on the kind of animal. For this reason the New English Bible (New English Bible) and Revised English Bible translate this noun “buffaloes.” The term “buffaloes” here, however, refers to cattle with humps and does not refer to bison found on the plains of North America. It is preferable, therefore, to translate “fat calves” (Contemporary English Version, New Century Version) or “other fattened beasts” (Knox).
The Serpent’s Stone is literally “the stone of hazzocheleth.” The Hebrew word zocheleth probably comes from a verb meaning “to crawl” or “to glide.” Bible en français courant and Parole de Vie call this “the Stone that Glides” and Contemporary English Version says “Crawling Rock.” On the assumption that the Hebrew word comes from the verb “to glide,” Revised Standard Version has the Serpent’s Stone. Possibly the reference is to a well-known sacred stone that was dedicated to a god whose symbol was a serpent. Some translations, however, transliterate the Hebrew word as a proper name; compare “the stone Zoheleth” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, Anchor Bible) and “the Stone of Zoheleth” (New International Version, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente; similarly New Living Translation). As a third alternative, other interpreters have suggested that zocheleth is related to a modern Arabic word meaning “slippery rock slope.” This is the basis for the New Jerusalem Bible rendering “the Sliding Stone” (similarly De Vries). All of these interpretations are possible and translators may wish to add a footnote giving the other alternatives regardless of which one is preferred in the text.
En-rogel was a spring near Jerusalem (located in the Kidron Valley near the place where it joins the Hinnom Valley to the southeast of the city of Jerusalem), and it marked a boundary line between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin (Josh 15.7; 18.16). The first two letters in the name (En) mean “spring” in Hebrew. While most English versions transliterate the two parts together as if a single name, it will probably be better to translate the meaning of the first part (at least); for example, “the spring of Rogel” (New Century Version) or “Rogel Spring” (Contemporary English Version, De Vries). And since the meaning of the word rogel is thought to be “fuller” (that is, a person who shrinks and thickens wool cloth by moistening, heating and pressing), New Jerusalem Bible translates both parts as “the Fuller’s Spring” (similarly Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Another possible way to translate this name is to transliterate the Hebrew name and then include the meaning of the name in parentheses following the name. Good News Translation makes explicit that this was a “spring” (also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Bible en français courant, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
He invited all his brothers, the king’s sons: The words the king’s sons are in apposition to the words all his brothers. It should be clear in translation that these two expressions do not refer to two different groups. Since Adonijah was himself one of the king’s sons, some translations say “the other sons of King David” (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Parole de Vie).
The royal officials of Judah is literally “the men of Judah servants of the king” (similarly Anchor Bible). Here, as in verse 2, the word “servants” has the more specific sense of “government officials.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “the king’s courtiers of the tribe of Judah.” The name Judah may also be qualified in translation as “the region of Judah” (so Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).
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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