19King Pul of Assyria came against the land; Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, so that he might help him confirm his hold on the royal power.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Kings 15:19:
Kupsabiny: “Then the king of Assyria who was called Pul decided/wanted to fight the country of Israel. Then, Menahem paid that king off with thirty-four thousand kilos of silver so that that person did not fight his country.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Tiglath-pileser, King of Assyria attacked Israel. Then Menahem, thinking to get his help to strengthen his power over the land, gave him 34,000 kilograms of silver.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Now, King Tiglat Piliser of Asiria went to Israel to attack it. Menahem gave Tiglat Piliser 35 tons of silver so-that Tiglat Piliser would-help him to strengthen even more his kingship.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then King Tiglath-Pileser of Assyria came with his army to attack Israel. So Menahem gave him thirty-eight tons/35,000 kg. of silver in order that Tiglath-Pileser would help Menahem to continue to be king and rule his country more strongly.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.”
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
The Assyrian ruler referred to here as Pul is better known as “Tiglath Pileser.” The name Pul is found in the Old Testament only in this verse and in 1 Chr 5.26, where it is in apposition with “Tilgath-pilneser.” The name Pul is an abbreviated form of the name Pulu, by which this Assyrian ruler is sometimes known in cuneiform records. The form “Tilgath-pilneser” is also found in 1 Chr 5.6 and 2 Chr 28.20. The form “Tiglath-pileser” is found later in this chapter (verse 29) and in 2 Kgs 16.7 and 10. Translators are advised to use a uniform spelling for all three forms of the name used to refer to this ruler of Assyria. The best known form in English is undoubtedly Tiglath Pileser.
Three Assyrian rulers had the name Tiglath Pileser. The reference here is to Tiglath Pileser III, who ruled 744–727 B.C.; but since the other two rulers by this name are not mentioned in the Old Testament, there is no danger of readers confusing the different rulers with one another. For this reason it is not necessary to identify him as Tiglath Pileser III.
King of Assyria: Assyria was located around the upper Tigris River in what is now known as northeastern Iraq. At the height of its power in the mid-seventh century B.C., the Assyrian Empire included a large part of the Ancient Near East, extending from southern Egypt to Cyprus and north through Palestine and Syria and east to Mesopotamia to the Iranian plateau. Since Assyria was an empire that included other kingdoms within the territory it ruled, Good News Translation uses the term “emperor” rather than king when referring to the rulers of the Assyrian Empire. In many languages, however, the two words will probably be translated the same.
Came against the land: As is often the case in the Old Testament, the land refers to the land of Israel. Here the Hebrew verb and preposition translated came against may be rendered “attacked,” “invaded” (Good News Translation, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New International Version), or “marched against” (American Bible). Some interpreters, however, think that the words translated came against mean only that the Assyrian king “came into” Israel to inspect the land that he considered to be subject to his rule.
A thousand talents of silver: For the word talents, see the comments on 1 Kgs 9.14. Some translators may have special difficulties here because of the unusually large amount of silver involved. Since a talent weighed about 34 kilograms or 75 pounds, the weight of the silver in this case would have been about 34,000 kilograms or 75,000 pounds (Good News Translation “thirty-eight tons”). However, in view of the uncertainty of the exact equivalence for a talent, it is not unreasonable to round the figure off and say “thirty tons” (Bible en français courant) or possibly “thirty-five thousand kilograms.”
That he might help him to confirm his hold of the royal power: The pronouns he, him and his may have to be clarified. The meaning is “so that Tiglath Pileser might help Menahem confirm Menahem’s hold on the royal power.”
That he might help him is literally “that his hands might be with him.”
Confirm his hold of the royal power is literally “cause to strengthen kingly power in his hand.” Some other possible models for conveying this idea are “make him a stronger king” and “cause him to be more powerful in ruling his kingdom.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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