Philistines

The term that is transliterated as “Philistines” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the helmet the Philistine warriors wore was decorated with feather-like objects. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Philistines” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

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

Saul

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


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

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

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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Saul .

horn

The musical instrument that is most often translated as “(ram’s) horn” or “trumpet” in English is translated in the following ways:

  • Yakan: tabuli’ (big sea shell used to give signals) (source: Yakan Back Translation)
  • Mairasi / Bariai: “Triton shell trumpet” (source: Enggavoter 2004)
  • German Luther translation: Posaune, today: “trombone,” originally with the meaning of a wind instrument made from cow horn (from Latin bucina [bovi- / “cow” + the root of cano / “sing”]. Incidentally, bucina is also used in the Latin Vulgate translation). By the time of Luther’s translation it referred to the natural trumpet or a fanfare trumpet (see also trumpet). Once the meaning morphed to “trombone” in the 19th century, trombone ensembles started to play a central role in Protestant German churches and do so to the present day. In 2016, “Posaunenchöre” became added to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list . (Note that Exodus 19:13 is the only exception in the Luther Bible. From the 1956 revision on, Widderhorn or “ram’s horn” is used here) (source: Zetzsche)

In the UBS Helps for Translators‘ Human-made Things in the Bible (original title: The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible) it says the following:

Description: The horn was a wind instrument made from the horn of an animal, usually a male sheep.

Usage: The animal horn was softened so that it could be shaped. The point of the horn was cut off to leave a small opening through which the user blew. The vibration of the lips produced the sound.

The ram’s horn served two general purposes:

1. It was blown in certain religious contexts, not as musical accompaniment to worship but as a signal for important events. Some of these events were the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai, the Day of Atonement, the bringing of the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, and the coronation of kings.

2. It also served as a signal or alarm when war was approaching. Such references are particularly common in the prophetic books, when the prophets are calling the people to repent (Hosea 5:8; 8:1; Joel 2:1; 2:15; Amos 3:6).

Translation: In many passages the purpose of the ram’s horn called shofar in Hebrew was to sound an alarm. This will be easy to express in those cultures where the horns of animals are used as musical instruments to give signals to large groups of people. In other cultures it may be possible to find another instrument that is used for an equivalent purpose. In some languages, for example, instruments such as bells or drums are the warnings for war. Some translations have transliterated the word shofar. Unless the instrument is well known, such a borrowing should normally be accompanied by a footnote or a glossary entry.

In some passages it will be necessary to expand the translation in order to indicate that the blowing of the ram’s horn was not just for music; for example, in Ezekiel 7:14 Contemporary English Version has “A signal has been blown on the trumpet,” and the German Contemporary English Version says “An alarm is sounded” [elsewhere, the same German version refers to the horns as Kriegshörner or “war horns.”]

Man blowing ram’s horn (source: Knowles, revised by Bass (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1994)

Quoted with permission.

complete verse (1 Samuel 13:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 13:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “After that/Then, Jonathan went and attacked the soldiers of the Philistines in Geba and defeated them. There and then, that message reached the Philistines and all the Israelites also heard that Saul had destroyed the Philistine soldiers. That message sparked off/enraged the Philistines. Then Saul told all the people in the whole country to blow trumpets/horns preparing them for war. It was a must for those soldiers to gather on Gilgal.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Jonathan attacked the Philistine camp that was in Gibeah. News of this reached the Philistines.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Jonatan attacked the camp of the Filistinhon at Geba, and this was-heard by some Filistinhon. So Saul commanded to-have- the trumpet/horn -blown/sounded throughout the land of Israel to-prepare the Hebrews for battle.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Jonathan and the men who were with him attacked the Philistine soldiers who were camped at Geba. The other Philistines heard about that. So Saul realized that the army of Philistia would probably come to fight the Israelis again. So Saul sent messengers to blow trumpets throughout Israel to gather the people together and proclaim to them, ‘All you Hebrews need to hear that now the Philistines will start a war with us!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 13:3

Defeated: literally “to strike,” “to hit.” This verb may also mean “to strike down” in the sense of “to kill” or “to wound.” In this context it will be rendered defeated or “killed,” depending on whether the following noun is translated “garrison” or “commander.”

Garrison: on the translation of this term, see the comments on 10.5. In this context quite a few modern versions, like Good News Translation, take the word to refer to the individual in charge of the Philistine contingent at Geba rather than to the group as a whole (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, Osty-Trinquet, and Anchor Bible). Either solution is possible, and whichever is adopted, the alternative should probably be given in a footnote.

Geba: it is uncertain whether Geba is another name for the town of Gibeah (New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible read “Gibeah” here), or whether the two names refer to two separate locations. It is common in the ancient versions and in Hebrew manuscripts for these two names to be confused with one another. Geba is identified in the Old Testament as a town in the territory of Benjamin (Josh 18.24).

Since 1838 Geba has been located by archaeologists as a site about nine kilometers (about five and a half miles) northeast of Jerusalem, directly opposite Michmash on the other side of the pass of Michmash. Since about 1930 most archaeologists have located the city of “Gibeah” at a site only five kilometers (three miles) north of Jerusalem. More recent studies, however, suggest that Geba and “Gibeah” are different names for the same town (see verses 15-16). Possibly “Gibeah” is the older Israelite name, while Geba is the name used in Judah. See the comments on 14.16.

Trumpet: this trumpet, made of a ram’s horn, sounded only two or three notes and was used to signal people in times of war (see the comment on 2 Sam 2.28; also Judges 3.27; 6.34; Jer 4.5; 6.1, 17). It is not probable that Saul himself traveled throughout the land, so some modern versions say that Saul “sent messengers” (Good News Translation) or that he “had the trumpet blown” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

It is unusual in 1 and 2 Samuel for Israelites to refer to themselves as “Hebrews” (see the comments on 4.6). Some interpreters therefore consider the words spoken about the Hebrews to be the words of the Philistines and not the words of Saul. Various corrections and reordering of words have been proposed for this verse. The Septuagint ends with the words “And Saul sounds the trumpet through all the land, saying, ‘The servants have despised us.’ ”

A comparison of modern translations reflects the uncertainty regarding the text of this verse. Compare “and the news spread among the Philistines that the Hebrews were in revolt. Saul sounded the trumpet all through the land” (Revised English Bible, and similarly New Jerusalem Bible, Osty-Trinquet, Anchor Bible, and Stuttgarter Erklärungsbibel).

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text and suggests that the word Hebrews refers to persons who had given up their freedom through a semivoluntary slavery (see 14.21). If this understanding of the word Hebrews is accepted, then a more meaningful translation will be something like the following: “Let those Hebrews who have surrendered to the enemy hear that the revolt has begun!” Or a footnote may be provided giving the same information, if such a translation is considered too bold. If the direct quotation is to be made indirect, Good News Translation provides a possible model.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .