making implicit plural form explicit (1 Samuel 26:13)

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 “David (went),” the Tagalog translation translates “sina David” because the context of the text makes clear that David was with his men. (Source: Kermit Titrud and Steve Quakenbush)

complete verse (1 Samuel 26:13)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 26:13:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then David crossed a certain valley and went and stood on top of a certain mountain. He wanted to be far from where Saul had slept.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “And David went to stand on top of a hill a great distance away on the other side.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Then David and company went to the other-side of the valley and stood on top of a hill/mountain just a-short-distance-away/not-too-far from the camp of Saul and-company.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “David and Abishai went across the valley and climbed to the top of the hill, a long way from Saul’s camp.” (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 26:13

The other side: see verse 3. A valley separates David from Saul’s camp.

With a great space between them: that is, between David and the camp where Saul and his soldiers were sleeping. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “There was a great distance between him and the camp.” New American Bible translates “at a great distance from Abner, son of Ner, and the troops,” shifting certain information forward from the following verse. The expression implies that David will be in a place where it will be safe for him to speak out without fear of immediate danger. This implicit information is made explicit in Good News Translation, which says that David was “a safe distance away.”

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 .