25Saul and his men went to search for him. When David was told, he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David into the wilderness of Maon.
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)
Low German translation by Johannes Jessen, publ. 1933, republ. 2006: “steppe”
Yakan: “the lonely place” (source: Yakan Back Translation)
Western Bukidnon Manobo: “a land where no people lived” (source: Western Bukidnon Manobo Back Translation)
Kankanaey: “the place with no inhabitants” (source: Kankanaey Back Translation)
Cherokee: inage or “far away downstream” (source: Bender / Belt 2025, p. 16)
Matumbi uses various term: lubele (desert, sandy place without water) — used in John 11:54, lupu’ngu’ti (a place where no people live, can be a scrub land, a forest, or a savanna) — used in Mark 1:3 et al.), and mwitu (a forest, a place where wild animals live) — used in Mark 1:13 et al.) (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)
Chichewa Contemporary translation (2002/2016): chipululu: a place uninhabited by people with thick forest and bush (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Adioukrou: loj or “savannah” — “land that is not village, nor forest, nor field (source: Hill 2006)
Note that in Luke 15:4, usually a term is used that denotes pastoral land, such as “eating/grazing-place,” in Tagbanwa (source: Tagbanwa Back Translation).
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 23:25:
Kupsabiny: “Saul with his people went on looking for David. When David was told that message, he descended to a place called Rock in the wilderness of Maon and stayed there. And when Saul heard like that, he followed David to that place in the wilderness.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Saul and his people went to search for David. On hearing this report, David went and stayed in the Maon desert where there were some large rocks. As soon as Saul heard this report, he went to the desert of Maon in search of David.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When- Saul and his men -arrived at Zif, they looked/searched for David. When David learned this, he hid in the large/big rock in the desolate-place of Maon, and he stayed there. When Saul heard-the-news of this, he went to the desolate-place of Maon looking/searching for David.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Saul and his soldiers went to search for David, but David heard about that. So he and his men went further south to a rocky hill/peak in the Maon Desert. When Saul heard about that, he and his men followed David and his men to the Maon Desert.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
And Saul and his men went to seek him: literally “And Saul went, and his men, to seek.” The Hebrew verb form places the focus more squarely on Saul, since the story is essentially one of confrontation between Saul and David.
David was told: literally “they told David.” The subject is not stated, and in some languages it will be necessary to follow the form of the Hebrew rather than that of Revised Standard Version. Others that wish to avoid the passive may say “someone told David.”
The rock: the Hebrew noun is the usual word for “rock” preceded by the definite article (so Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, and New International Version). The exact meaning in this context, however, is not clear. Other translations include “a rocky hill” (Good News Translation), “the rocky region” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), and “a refuge in the rocks” (Revised English Bible). New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible call this a “gorge,” referring to the valley that runs through the desert of Maon. Most likely the definite article is used with the noun “rock” in anticipation of verse 28, where this same rock is called “the Rock of Escape.” In this case the reference is not to a large boulder but rather to a steep, rocky cliff.
Which is: this rendering is based on a suggested correction of the Hebrew text, with support from the Septuagint. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text. New Revised Standard Version follows the Hebrew, saying “he went down to the rock and stayed in the wilderness of Maon.” Good News Translation also follows the traditional Hebrew text at this point.
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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