11Moreover, Uzziah had an army of soldiers, fit for war, in divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by the secretary Jeiel and the officer Maaseiah, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders.
The name that is transliterated as “Uzziah” in English is translated in Libras (Brazilian Sign Language) with a sign that refers to Uzziah contracting a rare forehead disease until he died as a result of him wrongly wanting to make an offering in the temple (see 2 Chronicles 26:16, 26:19, and 26:21). (Source: Missão Kophós )
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
Moreover translates the common Hebrew conjunction again. As in 2Chr 26.9, it may be expressed by beginning a new paragraph (so Good News Translation).
Uzziah had an army of soldiers is literally “it was to Uzziah an army doing battle.” This clause may be expressed as “Uzziah had an army of professional soldiers” (God’s Word) or “Uzziah had a standing army” (similarly Complete Jewish Bible). According to verse 12, this army was commanded by 2,600 officers. According to verse 13, there were 307,500 soldiers under their command. So the army consisted of 310,100 soldiers, counting the commanders and the troops.
Fit for war is literally “going out for service.” See the comments on 1 Chr 5.18, where this expression is rendered “ready for service.” Here it may be translated “ready for battle” (Good News Translation) or “ready to go to war” (God’s Word).
In divisions according to the numbers in the muster made by Je-iel the secretary and Ma-aseiah the officer: Jeiel and Maaseiah had taken a census of Uzziah’s troops, and the troops were organized in military units according to this census (so Bible en français courant). The passive expression made by Je-iel … (literally “by the hand of Jeiel…”) may be made active where necessary by saying “which Jeiel … had made.” Je-iel is called the secretary, which means he kept the records for the army (see the comments on 1 Chr 18.16). Ma-aseiah is called the officer. His exact function is not clear. He may have been the person who had authority to muster the troops. For the Hebrew word rendered officer, see the comments on 1 Chr 23.4. Other renderings here for this word include “clerk” (Revised English Bible), “recorder” (New American Bible), “staff-officer” (New Jerusalem Bible), “comptroller” (Moffatt), and “administrator” (Bible en français courant). Good News Translation and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente include both Je-iel and Ma-aseiah as secretaries without distinguishing their functions. But this is not advisable since the text uses two different terms.
Under the direction of Hananiah is literally “under the hand of Hananiah,” but the meaning is expressed well by Revised Standard Version. New Century Version says “Hananiah … was their leader.”
One of the king’s commanders may be rendered “a member of the king’s staff” (Good News Translation) or “one of the royal generals” (Moffatt).
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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