son vs. grandson

“Son of x, son of y” must be rendered as “son of x and grandson of y” in Tibetan or else it will sound like two different people.

Note: The same translation solution is chosen in many contemporary English Bibles that emphasize easy readability, such as the Contemporary English Version, Common English Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, or New Living Translation.

See also father / grandfather.

complete verse (1 Samuel 9:1)

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

  • Kupsabiny: “There was a rich man from the clan of Benjamin who was called Kish. The father of Kish was Abiel the son of Zeror, and the father of Zeror was Bekorath who was the son of Aphiah.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin who was honorable and rich. His name was Kish. He was son of Zeror, grandson of Becorath, [and] great-grandson of Aphiah.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “There-was a mighty man from the tribe of Benjamin. His name (was) Kish, and he (was) the child/(son) of Abiel. Abiel (was) the child/(son) of Zeror. Zeror (was) the child/(son) of Becorat. And Becorat (was) the child/(son) of Afia the descendant of Benjamin.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “There was a rich and influential man whose name was Kish. He belonged to the tribe descended from Benjamin. Kish was the son of Abiel and the grandson of Zeror. He was from the family of Becorath and from the clan of Aphiah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
  • Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
  • Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))

Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:

“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 9:1

The five names listed in this verse are linked in Hebrew with the word “son of.” The exact number of persons referred to is not clear, however. The Hebrew text contains the words “son of” (Hebrew, ben) five times, not just four times as in Revised Standard Version. According to Revised Standard Version there are five persons, but the Hebrew refers to six persons. The Hebrew text does not say son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite but “son of Aphiah, son of a man a Yiminite.” Aphiah is the fifth person in the list, and the Yiminite man is the sixth person.

Many interpreters assume that the word “Yiminite” is a shortened form of “Benjaminite” (so Revised Standard Version). If that is the case, the Hebrew still refers to an ancestor of Aphiah, that is, Aphiah is the son of a Benjaminite. Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Almeida, and Reina-Valera revisada say “son of Aphiah, son of a man of Benjamin.” Good News Translation avoids the problem by omitting the clan name for Aphiah, and this solution may be a good model for other languages.

In some languages it will be more natural to connect all of these names in their relationship to Kish by using terms such as “son,” “grandson,” “great-grandson,” rather than linking each person to the previous person by the words “son of.”

A man of Benjamin: it may be helpful to indicate that Benjamin is not a place name but is rather the name of a “tribe” (Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).

Son of Becorath: the relationship of Kish to Becorath may be expressed in various ways. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “his [Kish’s] great-grandfather was Becorath.” Another model may be “great-grandson of Becorath.” Good News Translation provides still another model, taking Becorath as representative of a larger family unit.

Becorath, son of Aphiah: the name Becorath is feminine in form, but here it is clearly a man’s name. The Septuagint has a masculine form of this name, and translations are unanimous in calling Becorath the son of Aphiah.

A literal translation, following the Hebrew structure of this verse as in Revised Standard Version, could incorrectly suggest that Aphiah was a man of wealth. By restructuring this verse Good News Translation correctly indicates that these words at the end of the verse refer to Kish (see also New International Version: “There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish”).

A Benjaminite is literally “son of a Yiminite man” (see the comments above).

A man of wealth is literally “strong of power [or, wealth].” The noun translated as of wealth has various meanings depending on the context: “power,” “ability,” “wealth,” “property.” Some understand the sense here to be “a brave man” or “a stalwart man” (New American Bible). Others take it to mean “a wealthy man” (Revised Standard Version). Still others agree with Good News Translation in taking the general sense to be that Kish was “a man of standing” (New International Version) or “a person of rank” (New Jerusalem Bible).

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 .