Ephraim

The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ephraim” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “palm tree” referring to the palm of Deborah in the land of Ephraim (see Judges 4:5. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Ephraim” 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 .

For Deborah, see here.

More information about Ephraim and the Tribe of Ephraim .

complete verse (1 Samuel 9:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 9:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Saul went with one slave to look for the donkeys. They went along the hills of Ephraim up to Shalisha, but they did not find the donkeys. They continued looking for it up to the area of Shaalim but they never found any donkey. After that, they went back to the area/district of Benjamin while looking for the donkeys but they never found (them).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “He went to Shalishah district by way of the hill country of Ephraim, but he was not able to find them there. They went through the district of Shaalim but were not able to find them there either. They went through the territory of Benjamin, but they were also not able to find them there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “So Saul and the servant went-(out). They went to the hills/mountains of Efraim/[Efraim] up-to the place of Shalisha, but they did- not -find the donkeys. So they went to the place of Shaalim and to the places of Benjamin, but they also did- not -find (them) there.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So Saul did that. He took a servant, and they walked through the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, and then they went through the areas named Shalishah and Shaalim, and then they went through all the area where the descendants of Benjamin lived, but they could not find the donkeys.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 9:4

Though the text does not say from where Saul and his servant set out, they probably left from Gibeah (see 11.4; 15.34).

In Revised Standard Version in this verse the first five verbs referring to Saul and the servant are plural. Good News Translation makes all six verbs plural. The Hebrew, however, is literally “he passed through … he passed through … they did not find … they passed through … he passed through … they did not find.” Receptor language considerations may determine how this problem is handled, but in many cases it will be most natural to use the plural form throughout.

The hill country of Ephraim was located in central Palestine (see 1.1). The precise locations of Shalishah, Shaalim, and Jamite (see below) are not known. Probably the reader is to understand that Saul traveled in a northwestern direction.

The land of Shalishah: probably a region in the northern part of Ephraim. It is likely that the place called “Baal-Shalishah,” mentioned in 2 Kgs 4.42, was situated in this region.

The land of Shaalim is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament. It appears to be a region within the territory of Ephraim.

The land of Benjamin: literally “the land of Jamite” (or, Yamite; see verse 1). Many versions render the Hebrew place name as Benjamin, but such a translation makes little sense. If Saul started his trip in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin and was moving northward in the hill country of Ephraim, why would he have returned south to the land of Benjamin, only to turn back north toward the land of Zuph (verse 5)? Various conjectures have been made, including “the land of Jabin” (Anchor Bible) and “the district of Jemini” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). If the name Benjamin is retained in translation, it will be more logical to say “went back through the territory of Benjamin.” It is conceivable that in looking for lost animals the search party may have followed a circular route.

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 .