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 .

making implicit plural form explicit (1 Samuel 23:28)

In many, if not most of the languages in the Philippines, proper nouns, such as personal names, are tagged with a marker that signals their grammatical role within a sentence. For Tagalog and the Visayan languages , this typically includes si to mark the proper noun as the actor or subject (nominative case), ni to mark the proper noun as an owner (genitive case), and kay to mark the proper noun as as an indirect object, i.e. the one to or toward whom an action is directed (dative case). All of these also have plural forms — sina, nina and kina respectively — and unlike in the biblical languages or in English, the plural form has to be used when only a single proper name is mentioned but implicitly that proper name includes more than just one.

In this verse, where English translates “(stopped pursuing) David,” the Tagalog translation translates “kina David” because the context of the text makes clear that it was David and his men who had been pursued. (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)

complete verse (1 Samuel 23:28)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 23:28:

  • Kupsabiny: “Saul left David and went to fight with the Philistines. From that day on, that place where David was staying is called, ‘The Separating Hill.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So Saul gave up running after David [and] went to fight with the Philistines. Accordingly, that place was called "Sela-Hamalekwəthə" [Rock of Parting].” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So Saul stopped pursuing David and he went-back to-fight with the Filistinhon. Because in that place David and Saul parted-ways, that place was-called ‘Rock which was-the-Place-of-Parting-Ways.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So Saul stopped pursuing David, and he and his soldiers went to fight against the Philistia army. That is the reason that people call that place ‘Escape Rock’.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English means “beloved.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated 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. )


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

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

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

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

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

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 23:28

So: the common conjunction is appropriately translated in such a way as to show the logical relationship between the message Saul received and the interruption of his chasing after David.

That place, that is, the place where Saul had been chasing David (see verse 25).

Was called: literally “they called.” The passive form of Revised Standard Version, like the ambiguous third person plural pronoun in Hebrew, leaves open the question who originated this name. In languages where passive forms are not used, translators may prefer to state in vague terms “people began to call that place….” And in some cases a literal rendering of the Hebrew form may be satisfactory.

The Rock of Escape: the name in Hebrew is Sela-hammahlekoth (compare New International Version, which says “That is why they call this place Sela Hammahlekoth”), but transliteration is not recommended. Sela in Hebrew means “rock” and is the same word as that translated “rock” in verse 25. The meaning of the last part of the Hebrew name is disputed, and the writer may have been using popular etymology. The context, however, suggests an intended meaning such as “Divisions,” “Escape” (New Revised Standard Version), “Uncertainty” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), or “Separations” (Good News Translation, La Bible du Semeur, and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Revised English Bible says “the Dividing Rock,” and New American Bible “the Gorge of Divisions.”

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 .