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)
The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone njenjenje (“shake-shake”) to emphasize movements like trembling, dancing, or shaking in these verses. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)
Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Gad” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “tent,” signifying army tents that refer to Genesis 49:19. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 13:7:
Kupsabiny: “The rest crossed river Jordan and fled to the country of Gad and Gilgal. But Saul was still in Gilgal and people were following him with fear.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Some Hebrews also crossed over the Jordan river and went running away to the districts of Gad and Gilead. But as for Saul, he stayed in Gilgal and all the people who came following him, being afraid, trembled greatly.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Some of them crossed the River of Jordan and fled to Gad and Gilead. Saul on-the-other-hand stayed at Gilgal, and his companions were-trembling with fear.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Some of them crossed the Jordan River at a place where it was very shallow. Then they went to the area where the descendants of Gad lived and to the Gilead region. But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the soldiers who were with him were shaking because they were so afraid.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )
The beginning of this verse in the Masoretic Text has seemed too difficult by some interpreters, who have followed the Septuagint, which is the basis for the conjecture in Revised Standard Version. New Revised Standard Version, however, has attempted to make sense of the Hebrew, rendering the beginning “Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan.” The meaning seems clear enough: some Israelite troops hid in caves, thickets, and holes in the ground (verse 6), and some fled to the east across the Jordan River. Although the Masoretic Text does not have the word “some” or “others” before the noun “Hebrews,” the sense will require that it be included in some languages. Compare New American Bible, “and other Hebrews passed over the Jordan.” The English word fords refers to shallow places that may be crossed by wading.
Gad and Gilead were east of the Jordan River. Gad was the territory occupied by the tribe of Gad, between the Jabbok and Arnon rivers. See Josh 13.24-28. Gilead was the mountainous territory assigned to the tribes of Gad and Reuben. Later this territory was ruled by the Ammonites and the Moabites.
Followed him trembling: it seems contradictory to say that some people fled across the Jordan, and then to say that all the people followed him [Saul] trembling. For this reason some interpreters suggest that the Hebrew text should be changed to agree with one form of the Septuagint that says “and all the people deserted him in terror.” It seems better, however, to understand the last part of this verse as referring to all of the Israelites, both those who had fled and those who were still with Saul, and translate similarly to Revised English Bible: “and all his followers were in a state of alarm.”
Trembling: the Hebrew verb expresses different degrees of intensity, depending on the context. It often describes a state of horror and suggests extreme insecurity.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.