The Hebrew that is translated as “Saul has killed his thousands; and David his tens of thousands” or similar in English is translated in Falam Chin as “Saul killed by the hundreds, David killed by the thousands.”
“While translating the book of 1 Samuel, we came across a number of verses (18:7; 21:11; 29:5) where people sang praises to David for his skill in killing the Philistines. The people sang: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ I asked myself: Did the people of Israel actually count the bodies killed by Saul (thousands) and by David (ten thousands) at every place where battles had taken place? It was very doubtful to me that they did it. It seemed more likely that they sang this song with a figurative meaning: that is, David had killed ten times more than Saul had, without any thought for the exact numbers. Being figurative it was not necessary that we translate the verse literally; adjustment could be made if necessary without being unfaithful to the text. Compelling us in this direction was also the fact that in the Falam language it would be unnatural to translate the above song literally. It would be funny to sing it. So we changed it to read ‘hundreds’ and ‘thousands’:
“(English equivalent):
‘Saul killed by the hundreds,
David killed by the thousands.’
“Fortunately there is even an internal rhyme in this verse in Falam. And the figurative meaning of David killing ‘ten times’ more than Saul did is kept. This, in my view, is an acceptable translation in spite of the adjustment made. The principle of making an appropriate adjustment in figurative language without being unfaithful to the text seems to be true in this case also.”
The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff.)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, 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 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.”
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
The servants of Achish: regarding the range of meanings and translation of the word servants, see page 12 and following. The usual translation of the Hebrew noun as “servants” will probably suggest to most readers that these people took care of the king’s personal needs. The Hebrew noun is also used to refer to officials and advisors who were subordinate to a king (see, for example, 29.3; 2 Kgs 22.12; Neh 2.10, 19). The latter meaning seems more likely in this context (so Good News Translation, La Bible du Semeur, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). See also verse 14.
The king of the land: in Josh 12.7-24, “kings of the land” designates rulers of small city-states. The translation “the king of his country” (Good News Translation) probably suggests that David ruled a very large area, since in English the word “country” is used for such a large geographical area. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “He is like a king in his land.” Most interpreters understand these words as referring to David. It is possible, however, to understand this as a direct address to Achish. Compare La Bible Pléiade, “The servants of Achish said to him, ‘King of the land, is not this David?’ ”
The question format that includes the familiar song about David may be quite unnatural in certain languages. The purpose of the question is certainly not to obtain information, so it may be better translated as a strong affirmation. New Century Version introduces the quotation by saying “He’s the man they dance and sing about, saying….”
Saul has slain … ten thousands? This repeats the words of 18.7, which occur again in 29.5.
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 .