soldier

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated as “soldier” in English didn’t have a direct equivalent in Enlhet so it was translated with “those that bind us” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1969, p. 24ff. ) and in Noongar it is mammarapa-bakadjiny or “men of fighting” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).

Judah, Judea

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)


“Judah” and “Judea” 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 Judah, Judah (son of Jacob) , and Tribe of Judah .

complete verse (2 Samuel 24:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 24:9:

  • Kupsabiny: “Joab went to show/explain to the king how many the men of war were. In Israel, the men were eight hundred thousand (800,000) who were able to go for war. And Judah, that (place) had five hundred thousand men (500,000).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king. There were 800,000 men in Israel and 500,000 men in Judah who were able to serve as soldiers.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Joab reported to King David the number of the males who are able to fight: 800,000 from Israel and 500,000 from Juda.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “They reported to the king the number of people that they had counted. There were 800,000 men in Israel and 500,000 men in Judah who were able to become soldiers in the army.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

king

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Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • 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.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

See also king (Japanese honorifics).

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

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.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 24:9

As has been noted at the beginning of this section, the Hebrew noun translated the people in Revised Standard Version refers specifically to soldiers, that is, to men old enough to fight for the king. New International Version again says “the number of the fighting men.”

Gave the sum of the numbering: this rather awkward wording in English is replaced in New Revised Standard Version by “reported … the number of those who had been recorded.” It is almost certainly incorrect to translate as in New Century Version, “gave a list of the people to the king.” This implies a register of more than a million names. But the meaning of the text is almost certainly that total numbers were presented to David rather than a complete list of names.

The numbers given do not correspond to those in the account in 1 Chronicles, where they are given as 1,100,000 for Israel and 470,000 for Judah. The wording, however, is different in 1 Chronicles (21.5), and various explanations have been given for the different figures. Translators must, however, translate the numbers as they stand in both cases, since there is no justification for harmonizing them.

In either case the numbers seem rather high, and some scholars have interpreted the word that is normally translated “thousands” as representing military units considerable smaller than a thousand men. But virtually all translations retain the rendering “thousands.”

Valiant men who drew the sword: the only difference between this phrase in 2 Samuel and the corresponding one in the account in 1 Chronicles is the presence of the word translated valiant here. The term actually has more to do with ability than with valor. Revised English Bible, like Good News Translation, uses the word “capable,” while other versions include this meaning in the verb, saying “who can serve in the army” (Contemporary English Version) or “who could wield the sword” (New Jerusalem Bible). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh speaks of soldiers who are “ready to draw the sword.”

As noted in verse 1, Israel and Judah refer to the tribes of the north and to the southern tribe, Judah. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente may provide a helpful model, with “in Israel, to the north, … in Judah, to the south, five hundred thousand.”

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 .