וַיֹּ֤אמֶר דָּוִד֙ לְא֣וּרִיָּ֔ה רֵ֥ד לְבֵיתְךָ֖ וּרְחַ֣ץ רַגְלֶ֑יךָ וַיֵּצֵ֤א אֽוּרִיָּה֙ מִבֵּ֣ית הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַתֵּצֵ֥א אַחֲרָ֖יו מַשְׂאַ֥ת הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃
8Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king.
David tells Uriah (in English translations) to “go down to his house and wash his feet.” This refers to stay the night, and in particular sleep with his wife (see v. 11). The Chamula Tzotzil translated it as “sweep out your heart,” meaning the same thing as “make yourself at home.”
Dan translators translated it as “to go home and relax.”
(Click or tap here to see details)
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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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).
The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )
“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).
“David” in German Sign Language (source )
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .
Following Uriah’s report David gives him permission to go home. This was clearly an attempt on the part of the king to clear himself and make it look like Uriah was the father of the child that Bathsheba would eventually have.
The expression wash your feet has caused a great deal of discussion by biblical scholars. Many take it to be nothing more than an invitation for Uriah to refresh himself after a long journey over dusty roads and wearing only sandals (Gen 18.4; 19.2; 24.32; Judges 19.21). Other commentators, however, note that in certain contexts this is a euphemism referring to sexual intercourse, since the word “feet” sometimes referred to the genitals (see, for example, Ruth 3.4, 7, 8; Song 5.3). It is quite possible that David intentionally used an expression that was ambiguous but that could have made Uriah think of sex. The information about this possible double meaning, however, can only be made clear to the reader in a footnote, since it would be inappropriate if not impossible to include it in the text.
There followed him a present from the king: the way this is worded in Revised Standard Version makes it sound almost as if the king’s present to Uriah was an animal of some kind that could have followed him home of its own accord. The meaning, however, is that the king sent him a gift, probably a portion of food. Goldman, in fact, translates present as “a mess of food.” Anchor Bible, on the other hand, alters the Hebrew text and comes up with the following reading: “he marched out with the weapon-bearers.” However, the most probable meaning is that a portion of food from the king’s table was sent to Uriah’s house. The sending of such gifts was apparently an indication of favor shown by a superior in Old Testament times (Gen 43.34). Note that New American Bible translates “a portion was sent out after him from the king’s table,” and New Jerusalem Bible says “was followed by a present from the king’s table.”
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
No comments yet.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.