elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 12:17

The elders of his house: some translations give a rather literal rendering, “the elders” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) or “the older men” (Revised English Bible). But this expression refers to a specific group, that is, to the important officials in the royal household. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh speaks of “the senior servants of his household,” while Moffatt attempts to get at the idea with “sheikhs of his household.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente calls them “his most authoritative servants.” Bible en français courant, on the other hand, takes this to mean “the most respected of his servants.” The basic sense seems to be that these were men of David’s household whom David trusted and who had special authority and influence.

Stood beside him: a slight alteration of the traditional Hebrew text gives a somewhat different meaning: “approached him” (Anchor Bible). This seems to be the basis of the Good News Translation translation as well. This is supported by one manuscript of the ancient Greek version and by one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, but it is not mentioned in Hebrew Old Testament Text Project/Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, perhaps because there is no serious difference in meaning between the two readings.

To raise him from the ground: it is unclear whether this means “tried to talk him into getting up” (Contemporary English Version) or “intending to get him off the ground” (New Jerusalem Bible). But several modern versions prefer the idea of “inducing” or “urging” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version) rather than physical action. This seems to fit the context better.

But he would not: that is, he would not allow his officials to help him up. Rather he remained on the ground and refused to eat.

In some languages it will be redundant to say eat food, since the idea of food is already contained in the verb.

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 .