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 different Hebrew and Greek terms that are translated as “(olive) oil” and “(animal) fat” in English are translated in Kwere with only one term: mavuta. (Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
The name that is transliterated as “Judah” or “Judea” in English (referring to the son of Jacob, the tribe, and the territory) is translated in Spanish Sign Language as “lion” (referring to Genesis 49:9 and Revelation 5:5). This sign for lion is reserved for regions and kingdoms. (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. and Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 2:4:
Kupsabiny: “Then, the leaders of Judah came to the town of Hebron and anointed David to become the ruler/king of Judah. Then David got the message that the people of Jabesh in Gilead had buried Saul.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “And the men of Judah came and anointed David king there according to the family of Judah. When they told David that it was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Sometime later, the leaders/[lit. heads] of Juda went to Hebron and they rubbed with oil the head of David to show that he is now the king of Juda. When David heard that those who come-from-Jabesh Gilead were- the -ones-who-buried Saul,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and one of them poured olive oil on David’s head to show they were appointing him to be the king of the tribe of Judah. When David found out that the people of Jabesh town in the Gilead region had buried Saul’s body,” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.”
The men of Judah: New Revised Standard Version and Contemporary English Version have translated “the people of Judah” in order to make the language more inclusive. However, it is quite possible that this delegation is the same as the “elders of Judah” mentioned in 1 Sam 30.26-31, in which case they all were men.
Note that Good News Translation also supplies the information that these people came “to Hebron,” which is not in the original but is clearly the intended meaning.
Anointed: see 1 Sam 2.10 and verse 14 in the previous chapter. Contemporary English Version provides an excellent model for some languages that may have difficulty in expressing the idea of anointing: “poured olive oil on his head to show that he was their new king.” Although the Hebrew verb is plural, that is, “they anointed,” the sense is probably that a priest or prophet anointed him on behalf of the men of Judah. In languages where passive forms are common, it may be more natural and quite legitimate to translate “David was anointed king….”
The house of Judah: this expression occurs forty times in the Old Testament as well as in Heb 8.8. Here it refers to the whole community of people thought to be descended from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. These people lived in the region assigned to that tribe in southern Palestine. Later in Jewish history they combined with the tribe of Benjamin to make up the kingdom of Judah, after its separation from the northern kingdom (Israel); this happened after the death of Solomon. Here Knox has translated “the line of Juda[h].”
When they told David: literally “and they told David, saying.” Revised English Bible translates using the passive form, “It was reported to David.” Some may prefer to translate here “When David learned” or “When David heard.”
The men of Jabesh-gilead: the same word is used here as in the expression “men of Judah” at the beginning of the verse, but here the context definitely favors more inclusive language. Translators should probably say “people of…” as in Good News Translation. On Jabesh-gilead see the comments on 1 Sam 11.1.
The construction of the second half of this verse in Revised Standard Version may prove to be awkward to follow in other languages, since it has a direct quotation within a subordinate clause. Good News Translation resolves the problem by making the direct quotation indirect. Another possible solution is to make an independent sentence of the subordinate clause and begin a new sentence at the beginning of the next verse, as the Hebrew text does. The resulting model will look something like this:
• Then the men of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David king of Judah. They told David that it was the men of the town of Jabesh in Gilead who buried Saul.
When David heard this, he sent messengers….
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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