10When Achish asked, “Against whom have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.”
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 27:10:
Kupsabiny: “Then Achish asked him that, ‘Where did you attack today?’ David replied falsely that, ‘I attacked the lower side of Judah, or the land inhabited by the clan of Jerahmeel or the Kenites.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Achish would ask him like this, "Where did you do your plundering today?" And he would say, "In the Negev country of Judah," or "In the Jerahmeelites’ place" or "In the Negev country of the Kenites."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When/if Akish asked where they attacked that day, David would-reply that they attacked in the south of Juda or in the Jerameelinhon or the Kenhanon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Each time Achish would ask David, ‘Where did you go raiding today?’ David would lie to him. Sometimes he would reply that they had gone to the southern part of Judah, and sometimes he would say that they had gone to Jerahmeel, or to the area where the Ken people-group lived.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Against whom: the footnote in Revised Standard Version is not precise. Not only does the Masoretic Text lack the word whom, it appears to say “not” instead of against. The Masoretic Text seems to say “you [second person plural] do not raid.” Some manuscripts and versions are based on a slight change in the second letter of the Hebrew word for “not,” which changes the meaning to “where?” and this seems to be the basis for the translations of Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, and others that say “Where did you raid?”
Since the Hebrew negative “not” and the Hebrew preposition “against” have the same two consonants, others assume that the Hebrew should be corrected by supplying the word “whom.” This is the solution in Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament resolves the difficulty by claiming that the Hebrew word usually rendered as a negative is here a dialectical variant of another Hebrew word that means “where.” Whichever solution to the textual problem is followed, the meaning is basically the same, “Where did you raid?” or “Whom did you raid?”
In some languages the direct question of Achish may be better translated as an indirect quotation: “Whenever King Achish asked David where he had been raiding….” David’s responses may also be rendered as indirect speech, following the model of Good News Translation.
Today: the Hebrew noun has a wide range of meanings. Here it does not refer to a period of twenty-fours hours. Rather it refers to the recent time during which David had been carrying out raids. In some languages it will be better to say “this time” (Good News Translation, New American Bible).
The Negeb refers to the southern, dry region of the kingdom of Judah (see also 30.1, 14, 27; 2 Sam 24.07). But the term is used three times here. Instead of transliterating the term in each case, New Century Version focuses on the meaning, “the southern part of” Palestine, which was traditionally divided according to the groups living in the area. Contemporary English Version, on the other hand, highlights the fact that these areas were in the desert:
• David would answer, “Oh, we attacked some desert town that belonged to the Judah tribe.” Sometimes David would say, “Oh, we attacked a town in the desert where the Jerahmeel clan lives” or “We attacked a town in the desert where the Kenites live.”
In any case, King Achish would have had the impression that David was attacking Israelite territory, and his confidence in David would therefore have increased.
The Jerahmeelites and the Kenites (see also 15.6) are mentioned again in 30.29 as people who received spoils of war from David’s army (see the comments there).
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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