elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

See also elders of Israel (Judah).

complete verse (1 Kings 21:8)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 21:8:

  • Kupsabiny: “After that, that woman wrote letters and signed (them) with the stamp of king Ahab. After that, (she) sent those letters to the leaders who were in the city.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Then she wrote letters in the name of Ahab, put his wax seal on it, and sent it to the elders and other great men of Jezreel.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So Jezebel wrote-a-letter in the name of Ahab, and she sealed it with the seal of the king, and sent (it) to the ones-who-rule and to the other officers of the town where Nabot lives.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then Jezebel wrote some letters, and she signed Ahab’s name on them. She used his official seal to seal them. Then she sent them to the older leaders and other important men who lived in Naboth’s town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 21:8

The common Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of this verse may be taken as logical (Revised Standard Version So) or temporal (Good News Translation “Then”). But the majority of modern English versions seem to take it as a logical connector.

She wrote letters: In Hebrew plural nouns are sometimes used where English would use a singular form of the noun. In a few places in the Old Testament, the plural letters is used of a sheet folded into several pages, but the reference is to a single letter, that is, to the whole composed of several parts (2 Kgs 19.14). Nearly all interpreters understand the plural letters here to mean several letters; but New Jerusalem Bible and Osty-Trinquet consider this to be an example of the plural form meaning “a letter” (also the Septuagint). The meaning is not greatly different either way. Either Jezebel wrote individual letters to each person (Revised Standard Version) or she wrote one letter that was circulated among all of the leaders (New Jerusalem Bible).

In Ahab’s name: Some languages may have difficulty expressing the idea of writing a letter “in the name of” someone else. As the Good News Translation rendering indicates, this means simply that Jezebel actually wrote the letter or letters, but signed the name of her husband so that they would have the authority of the king. In some languages it will have to be specifically stated that Jezebel “signed the name of the king” or something similar.

Sealed them is literally “sealed.” Revised Standard Version has added the pronoun them according to the sense of the Hebrew. New Jerusalem Bible and Osty-Trinquet say “sealed it” because of their translation “a letter.”

With his seal: Kings wore a signet ring that had the king’s name or personal insignia engraved on it in a reverse design (see Jer 22.24). The ring was pressed into a substance such as wax on the seal of a document or object in order to show the king’s official authorization. Such a ring was a sign of power and authority.

The elders and the nobles: Regarding elders, who were heads of families, see the comments on 1 Kgs 8.1. The nobles (literally “freemen”) were wealthy landowners who had certain rights not given to all members of the society. It is possible that these two terms, elders and nobles, are two different ways of referring to the same group of people.

Who dwelt with Naboth in his city: The words who dwelt with may be translated literally as “who sat with.” The writer may simply be describing where the elders and nobles lived. Compare New American Bible: “who lived in the same city with Naboth” (similarly New Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible). But more likely these words in Hebrew mean that they were counselors along with Naboth in judicial hearings, that is, they sat with him. Compare Revised English Bible: “who sat in council with him.”

Some translations (Osty-Trinquet) follow the Septuagint in omitting the words in his city. Translators may choose to omit these words for translational reasons even if the Masoretic Text is followed. The city is, of course, Jezreel. The text seems to emphasize the fact that this is Naboth’s city. The words “his city” are repeated twice in verse 11. So it may be best to translate “in Jezreel, his city” to retain the emphasis of the text.

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 21:8

21:8a Then Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal,

So Jezebel wrote some letters in the name of Ahab. She sealed them with his ⌊official/royal⌋ seal.
-or-
Then Jezebel wrote/composed letters and signed them with Ahab’s name. She marked the letters ⌊as authentic⌋ with Ahab’s own official mark/seal.

21:8b and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.

Then she sent the letters to the elders and ⌊other⌋ leaders in the city where Naboth lived.
-or-
Then she sent one letter to each of the leading men and ⌊other⌋ important people who lived in the same city as Naboth.

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