וַיֻּגַּ֖ד לְיוֹאָ֑ב הִנֵּ֨ה הַמֶּ֧לֶךְ בֹּכֶ֛ה וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֖ל עַל־אַבְשָׁלֹֽם׃
2 Samuel 19
1It was told Joab, “The king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.”
Hand colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1972).
Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe.
For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.
See also Absalom.
The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Absalom” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs depicting “hair + caught” referring to 2 Samuel 18:9. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
“Absalom” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España
For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .
See also Absalom (image).
Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Absalom .
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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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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).
Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.
One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the usage of an honorific construction where the morpheme rare (られ) is affixed on the verb as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. This is particularly done with verbs that have God as the agent to show a deep sense of reverence. Here, mo ni fukushiteo-rare-ru (喪に服しておられる) or “mourning” is used.
(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )
It was told Joab: as in 3.23 and numerous other cases, this passive construction is easily transformed into an active one in languages where the passive presents problems. Translators may say “Someone told Joab” (Contemporary English Version), “people told Joab” (New Century Version), or “Joab learned….” The precise rendering of this phrase may be determined by the way in which the direct quotation that follows is translated. In some languages the quotation may be more naturally rendered indirectly as in New American Bible and Good News Translation.
Behold: the focusing particle here is intended to draw attention to the words that follow. These words are somewhat surprising in view of the fact that Absalom was the leader of the rebellion against David. But David’s response to the death of Absalom was that of a father who had lost his son rather than that of a military leader who had won a war.
Since this is a new section, it may be more natural and helpful to the reader to make it clear that the king being talked about is David and that Absalom is his son. This will be especially important in view of the fact that the previous context deals with a rival to the throne.
If the direct quotation is made indirect, a possible model for the verse as a whole is “Joab learned [or, heard] that King David was crying and grieving for his son Absalom.”
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 .
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