complete verse (2 Samuel 2:3)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 2:3:

  • Kupsabiny: “He went with his soldiers together with their women/wives and their children. Those people went and stayed at the town of Hebron and other towns near there.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “David went with the men he had with him with [their] families, and they lived in Hebron and the cities of that place.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “David also took-with-him his men including their families, and they settled/dwelled there in Hebron and its surrounding barangays.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English means “beloved.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In Spanish Sign Language it is translated 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.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 2:3

If repetition of the name David seems awkward, it can be replaced by the pronoun.

Every one with his household: this shows that each of the men (or, soldiers) who went with David was also able to take his family members along.

Dwelt: that is, “took up residence in” (Anchor Bible) or, as most modern versions put it, “settled in” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible, and New Revised Standard Version as well as Good News Translation). Other languages may find it more natural to say something like “began to live in….”

The towns of Hebron: in verse 1 Hebron is said to be one of the “towns of Judah” (Revised Standard Version, “cities of Judah”). Here the same term is used, but it is unclear what is meant by the “towns of Hebron.” Many interpreters (Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) take this to be a reference to the smaller villages surrounding the larger town of Hebron (compare, for example, Josh 15.32, 36, 41). But this is not the usual way that Hebrew expresses this idea. For this reason some scholars change the plural to a singular (“in the city of Hebron” [New English Bible]) or drop the word for “towns” completely and say simply “in Hebron” (Anchor Bible). According to Josh 15.54 Hebron was also named “Kiriath-arba,” which means “City-of-Four.” Perhaps the reference here is to these four cities that made up the city of Hebron. But probably the wisest course for translators is to follow the majority and say something like “the villages near Hebron.” It is possible that some of David’s men lived in Hebron with him while others lived in the surrounding towns, but the Hebrew seems to suggest that they did not live in Hebron.

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 .