6Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the older men who had attended his father Solomon while he was still alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?”
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Solomon” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wise” referring to 1 Kings 3:12. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Rehoboam” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs for “king” + “divide” + “south.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
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:
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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
The common Hebrew conjunction rendered Then is a temporal connector here, introducing the next event in the story. Good News Translation simply begins a new paragraph at this point.
King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men: The verb phrase took counsel may be rendered “asked advice” (Knox, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie), “called … and asked,” or simply “consulted” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Moffatt). Most interpreters understand the old men and “the young men” of verse 8 as referring to age and not to formal titles of two groups who made decisions when the assembly of Israel gathered. Good News Translation and New Living Translation refer to the old men as “the older men.”
Who had stood before Solomon his father: Revised Standard Version has a literal translation of the Hebrew here, but New Revised Standard Version expresses the meaning more clearly with “who had attended his father Solomon.” The sense is that these elders had been available to give advice to King Solomon. For the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father, New Living Translation says “the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon.” But the New Living Translation rendering does not show that these men served in an official capacity. Better renderings are “the old councillors who had served his father Solomon” (Moffatt) and “some leaders who had been his father’s senior officials” (Contemporary English Version).
While he was yet alive: Good News Translation leaves implicit that Solomon was no longer alive (also Moffatt, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje). However, since the death of Solomon was recorded in the previous chapter, and may not be known to readers who have not already read that chapter, it may be better if the Good News Translation model is not followed here. Others have translated this clause as “during his lifetime” (New International Version, New Century Version) and “before he died.”
How do you advise me to answer this people?: Neither Revised Standard Version nor Good News Translation shows the emphasis that the Hebrew places on the second person plural pronoun you in Rehoboam’s question here and in verse 9 as he seeks the advice of two different groups. Compare Traduction œcuménique de la Bible: “You, how do you advise me to respond to this people?” The Hebrew participle translated advise comes from the same root as the verb rendered took counsel. This participle does not have the object me in Hebrew. Revised Standard Version adds it for naturalness in English. The Hebrew verb translated answer is literally “return word.” In some languages the direct quotation here will be more naturally rendered by indirect discourse. Possible models are “He asked them how they thought he should respond to these people” and “He inquired how they would advise him to answer the people.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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