13The three eldest sons of Jesse had followed Saul to the battle; the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and next to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 17:13:
Kupsabiny: “Three of Jesse’s sons had joined the soldiers of Saul. Those boys are: Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “His eldest, [his] second eldest and [his] third-born sons had been going to battle with Saul. The eldest [was] Eliab, the second eldest [was] Abinadab, and the third-born was Shammah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “His three oldest children/(sons) accompanied/went-with Saul to the battle. The first-born (was) Eliab, and second (was) Abinadab, and the third (was) Shama.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Jesse’s three oldest sons, Eliab and Abinadab and Shammah, had gone with Saul to fight the Philistines.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Jesse’s three oldest sons were introduced earlier in 16.1, 6-13, though the text there does not explicitly state which was the firstborn.
A literal translation of the form of this verse into English results in a heavy style. To repeat, for example, the words to the battle is unnatural in English. Good News Translation has restructured this verse according to English style, and translators should aim for an equally natural equivalent.
The oldest son, Eliab, appears again in verse 28 below.
Next to him should not be taken to mean that Abinadab was standing beside Eliab during the battle. Rather it indicates that Abinadab was the next son born in Jesse’s family. In some languages the most natural way to say this will be to say that he was the “second son.” The Hebrew says literally “his second.”
Shammah: a variant form of this name in 1 Chronicles (see 1 Chr 2.13, for example) is “Shimea.” But in order to avoid confusing the reader, the same form should be used in all cases where the reference is to the same person.
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 .
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