17with him were a thousand people from Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan ahead of the king
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Benjamin” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wolf,” referring to Genesis 49:27. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 19:17:
Kupsabiny: “He went with one thousand people of his clan. Ziba was also there, (a) servant from the home of Saul, together with his fifteen sons and twenty servants. They hurried and they reached earlier there at the river Jordan before the king reached.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He went, taking with him Ziba head servant of Saul’s clan, his fifteen sons and 20 servants, and one thousand Benjaminites. They ran to the Jordan. The king was staying there.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “With him were 1,000 Benjaminhon, including here was Ziba the servant of the family of Saul, and his 15 male children and 20 servants. They hurried to meet David at the River Jordan.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “There were 1,000 men from the tribe of Benjamin who came with him. And Ziba, who had been the servant of Saul, also hurried down to the Jordan River, bringing 20 of his servants with him. They all came to the king,” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew, Greek and Ge’ez that is translated as “Jordan” means “descending (rapidly),” “flowing down.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the river bordering Jordan and Israel, along with the general sign for river. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)
“Jordan river” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )
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.
From Benjamin: that is, from the tribe of Benjamin.
Ziba: see chapters 9 and 16, where Ziba is frequently mentioned. It should be clear in translation that the fifteen sons and the twenty servants belong to Ziba and not to Shimei.
The house of Saul refers here to Saul’s family. The translation should not suggest a building in which people live.
Rushed down: this does not represent the same word as made haste in the previous verse. Elsewhere this verb is translated “come mightily upon” (1 Sam 10.6, 10; 11.6). On the basis of a similar verb in Aramaic, some interpreters think that in this context the verb means “waded through” the river (Anchor Bible). The most common rendering appears to be “rushed” or “hurried,” though translators should feel free to follow the interpretation expressed in Anchor Bible.
Before the king: or “to meet the king.”
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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