king

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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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 2 Kings 6:26

Now renders the Hebrew verbal transition that is sometimes translated “And it happened.” Here it is used merely to continue the flow of the story. It may not be necessary to translate it in many languages. Good News Translation carries on with the story but shows the transition by beginning a new paragraph at this point.

The king of Israel was passing by upon the wall: The king was no doubt surveying the situation on the outside of the wall (the surrounding enemy army) and on the inside (his own suffering people). See the comments at 2 Kgs 3.27 regarding the fact that people carried on various activities on top of the city wall. Possibly a footnote will be required here for certain languages. The identity of the king of Israel is difficult to determine since it is uncertain which king of Syria is in view in this story. If these events took place in the early ninth century B.C., the Israelite king may have been Joram. If they took place late in the ninth century, the king may have been Jehoash.

A woman cried out to him, saying: The woman shouted to the king since he would have been some distance from her and since she would have been feeling desperate. For cried out, see the comments at 2 Kgs 2.12. The use of both cried out and saying will be unnatural in many languages. The two verbs may be rendered as one verb; for example, Contemporary English Version has “shouted.”

Help: The Hebrew verb used here is the same one that is translated “save” in other contexts. And, of course, that meaning is not out of the question in this story. It may in fact be a more natural meaning to translate in certain languages. If an object is required, translators may say “Save me/us” or “Help me/us.”

My lord, O king: See the comments at verse 12.

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 .