Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 22:47:
Kupsabiny: “There was no king in the country of Edom. So, a person of Jehoshaphat also ruled that country.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “There was no king in the land of Edom. A District Officer chosen by the King of Judah ruled there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “That time there was no king in Edom; this was-being-ruled only by a leader/[lit. head] whom Jehoshafat had-chosen.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “At that time, there was no king in Edom; a ruler who had been appointed by Jehoshaphat ruled there.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, 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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
There was no king in Edom: The introduction of the discussion about Edom seems rather abrupt. For this reason it may be necessary in some languages to say “During the reign of Jehoshaphat there was no king in Edom.” Compare New Century Version “During this time the land of Edom had no king” and Contemporary English Version “The country of Edom had no king at the time.”
Regarding the territory of Edom, see the comments on 1 Kgs 11.1.
A deputy was king translates two Hebrew words, and there are textual and translation difficulties here. One important manuscript of the Septuagint omits the name Jehoshaphat at the beginning of the next verse and makes these words the subject of what follows. A number of scholars have proposed that the vowels of these two Hebrew words be changed to read “a deputy of the king” or “a deputy of king Jehoshaphat” and that the verse division of the Masoretic Text be changed. The resulting changes allow for translations such as “47 Also, there being no king in Edom, 48 Jehoshaphat’s deputy built a deep-sea vessel…” (Moffatt) and “47 Now there was no king in Edom. 48 But the deputy of King Jehoshaphat made ships…” (An American Translation). New Jerusalem Bible is based on a different correction of the Hebrew text and reads “48 At the time, Edom had no king, and King 49 Jehoshaphat built ships….”
But it is not necessary to change the text. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text and suggests that the meaning is “There was no king in Edom, but a deputy exercised royal functions.” Compare Good News Translation, which states that this deputy of Edom was “appointed by the king of Judah” (also Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). At this time the king of Edom was a vassal-king, subordinate to the king of Judah. English translations use technical terms such as “viceroy” (Revised English Bible), “regent” (New American Bible) and deputy to refer to this subordinate ruler.
Revised English Bible adds the word “only” to this verse, saying “There was no king in Edom, only a viceroy of Jehoshaphat.” It suggests in a note that the word “only” was probably in the original text. But even if the Masoretic Text is followed, Revised English Bible seems to express the intended sense.
The relationship of this verse to what follows may not be immediately clear to many readers. The port of Eziongeber was located on the north shore of the Gulf of Aqaba. Since the territory of Edom was ruled by Judah, Jehoshaphat had easy access through Edom, which lay between Judah and the Gulf of Aqaba.
New International Version includes this verse as the end of a paragraph beginning with verse 45, while some other translations make a separate paragraph of this verse alone (Good News Translation, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, La Bible du Semeur). Neither of these divisions helps the reader understand the purpose of this verse.
The sense of verses 47-48 seems to be “The land of Edom had no king of its own at this time but was ruled by a king appointed by Jehoshaphat. Therefore, since Jehoshaphat had access through Edom to the Gulf of Aqaba, he made ocean-going ships built to sail to the land of Ophir….” Such a translation may be too much of a paraphrase, but translators should at least consider beginning a new paragraph with verse 47, which will include also verses 48-49 (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, La Bible Pléiade, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).
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 .
22:47 And there was no king in Edom; a deputy served as king.
No king ruled in ⌊the land/country of⌋ Edom at that time. A deputy/officer acted as king. -or-
The people who lived in Edom had no king ⌊of their own⌋ in those days, but only a deputy/governor.
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