The following is a stained glass window from the Three choir windows in the Marienkirche, Frankfurt (Oder), Germany, of the 14th century, depicting Abner’s defection to David:
Source: Der gläserne Schatz: Die Bilderbibel der St. Marienkirche in Frankfurt (Oder), Neuer Berlin Verlag, 2005, copyright for this image: Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologisches Landesmuseum
Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 3:20:
Kupsabiny: “When Abner and his twenty people reached Hebron, David made for them a feast.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “When Abner arrived before David, at that time it happened that he had 20 men with him and David put on a feast for them all.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When- Abner -arrived at Hebron together with his 20 men, David had-a-feast for them.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “When Abner came with 20 of his soldiers to see David at Hebron, David made a feast for all of them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
If verses 17-19 have been treated as a flashback, then verse 20 resumes the story from verse 16.
David made a feast: this wording may give the impression to some readers that David himself prepared the food for the meal. But this was surely not the case. Although New Revised Standard Version retains this wording, most modern English versions say “gave a feast” or “held a feast” (New Jerusalem Bible). Fox says “a drinking-feast,” since the Hebrew word comes from a root that means “to drink.” The Hebrew word denotes a feast at which wine was served. In some languages it will be more natural to use a causative form of the verb, saying something like “caused much food to be prepared for them” or “caused them to eat a big meal.”
Abner and the men who were with him: this expression at the end of the verse repeats the same information given at the beginning. For this reason the pronoun “them” may be substituted as in Good News Translation.
The following restructuring of the verse as a whole may serve as a good model for some languages:
• Abner brought twenty men with him as he came to see David at Hebron. And David had a big meal prepared for Abner and all his company.
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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