complete verse (2 Samuel 23:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 23:22:

  • Kupsabiny: “That matter made also the name of Benaiah famous/well-known, but he did not reach to (the level of) the thirty men. Those thirty men respected Benaiah a lot. Then David gave Benaiah to be in charge of the soldiers he guarded him (his body guards).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, did great deeds like that. He became a famous soldier like the three brave soldiers.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Those were what Benaya the child of Jehoiada had-done. He became famous also like the three mighty men,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Those are some of the things that Benaiah did. As a result, he became famous, like the three greatest warriors were.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 23:22

This verse and the one that follows constitute a kind of summary statement of what has been said about Benaiah. But the structure may be unnatural if followed literally in other languages. Some versions such as Contemporary English Version combine the two verses, since there is a reordering of elements. However, the final sentence of verse 23 is not really a part of the summary. It is rather the result of Benaiah’s proven bravery.

As indicated by the difference between Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation, the confusion between three and “thirty” continues. The traditional Hebrew text has the number three (so, for example, New Revised Standard Version, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), but in addition to Good News Translation the following versions and commentators feel that the original reading was probably “thirty”: New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised English Bible, and Anderson. This is comparable to the same problem in verse 19. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, recommends “three,” giving the Masoretic Text a {B} rating.

Won a name beside the three …: this is taken by the same versions as in verse 18 to mean “just as famous as the Three.” But as in verse 18, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente translates this as “in the group of three Warriors,” and this seems to be the best translation of the Hebrew.

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 .