complete verse (1 Samuel 30:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 30:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “When God had said like that, David pursued those Amalekites. He went with about six hundred of his soldiers. When they reached river Besor, two hundred of David’s soldiers remained there because they were tired. David with the other four hundred remaining men pursued the enemies.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “So David and his 600 men walked from there and reached the Besor river” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So David and his 600 men went-(out) until they arrived at the Stream of Besor. Stayed-behind there” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So David and the 600 men who were with him left, and they came to the Besor Ravine. Some of his men stayed there with some of their supplies.” (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 30:9

The six hundred men who were with him: see 27.2.

The brook Besor is mentioned in the Old Testament only here and in verses 10 and 21. It was one of the two major brooks (or wadis) in the western Negeb (see verse 1). This wide brook (100-150 meters, or more than a hundred yards), like many in Palestine, carried no water during the dry season. In the rainy season it drained water from the desert westward into the Mediterranean Sea. On the word brook see the comments in 15.5, where Revised Standard Version translates “the valley.” The width of this wadi leads some translators to speak of a “gorge” (Contemporary English Version) or a “ravine” (New International Version, New Century Version).

Where those stayed who were left behind: verse 10 states that two hundred men from the group of six hundred stayed here at the brook Besor because they were too tired to continue traveling. These words, considered by some to be a later addition to the Hebrew text, are omitted by some modern translations (so Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Anchor Bible, and Osty-Trinquet). The repetition of information in verses 9 and 10 may lead some translators to combine the two verses in translation. See, for example, the model for this kind of restructuring given at the end of verse 10.

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 .