4Saul’s son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, and in her haste to flee it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
In Aekyom, years are counted as “turtles” (ambum).
Norm Mundhenk tells this story:
“Recently I was checking some New Testament material in the Aekyom language of western Papua New Guinea. It seemed relatively clear until suddenly we came to a passage that started, ‘When Jesus had 12 turtles, …’ Surely I had misunderstood what they said.
“‘Did you say that Jesus had 12 turtles?’
“‘Let us explain! Around here there is a certain time every year when river turtles come up on the banks and lay their eggs. Because this is so regular, it can be used as a way of counting years. Someone’s age is said to be how many turtles that person has. So when we say that Jesus had 12 turtles, we mean that Jesus was 12 years old.’
“It was of course the familiar story of Jesus’ trip with his parents to Jerusalem. And certainly, as we all know, Jesus did indeed have 12 turtles at that time!”
In Tok Pisin, krismas (derived from “christmas”) is taken as the fixed annual marker, so Jesus had 12 “christmases” (Jisas i gat 12-pela krismas pinis) or Abram (in Gen. 12:4) had 75 (Abram i gat 75 krismas) (source: Norm Mundhenk). In Noongar it is biroka kadak or “summers had” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 4:4:
Kupsabiny: “(There was a grandchild of Saul who was called Mephibosheth. He was the child of Jonathan and he had five years when his grandfather and father died. When the news arrived coming from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had been speared/killed, (his) caretaker/nurse grabbed (him) and (she) wanted to flee immediately. But, that boy slipped from her hands and fell down and both legs broke making (him) lame.)” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “(Saul’s son Jonathan had a son. His name was Mephibosheth. When the news came from Jezreel that Saul and Jonathan had died Mephibosheth was five years old. Hearing the matter/news, picking him up, his care person ran away. But, feeling rushed when they went to escape, Mephibosheth fell on the way and became crippled. He was crippled in both feet)” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “(Aside from Ishboshet Saul has still a descendant that was left who was Mefiboshet, the child of Jonatan. He was five years of age when Saul and Jonatan died at Jezreel. When the nanny/caretaker of Mefiboshet heard-the-news that Saul and Jonatan died, she picked- him -up and fled. But while the nurse was-in-a-hurry to flee, she accidentally-drop the child, and the result was he/[lit. it] became-lame.)” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Saul’s son Jonathan had a son named Mephibosheth. When Mephibosheth was five years old, Saul and Jonathan died in the battle. When people brought that news from Jezreel, Mephibosheth’s nursemaid picked him up and ran away. She ran very fast, with the result that she dropped him, and his legs became crippled.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The introduction of Mephibosheth at this place in the story interrupts the narrative and points forward to 9.1-13, where David’s goodness is shown, in contrast with Mephibosheth’s alleged cowardly treason (see also 16.1-4; 19.24-30). Even though Ishbosheth will be killed, Saul has one more descendant who remains alive.
The structure of Good News Translation is rather different from Revised Standard Version in this verse. The name is introduced earlier, in accordance with the normal way of telling such a story in English. Other adjustments have also been made in Good News Translation, but translators should follow the normal structure of their own language.
Crippled in his feet: the term rendered crippled here and in 9.3 is not often used in the Old Testament. It is found elsewhere only in Isa 66.2, where it is accompanied by the word for “heart” and is therefore translated “contrite.” Some languages may have a single word that translates the idea of being crippled in the feet or legs (as opposed to the arms or some other part of the body). Such a word would certainly be appropriate here.
The term lame later in this verse focuses on the resulting behavior of being crippled, that is, stumbling or walking with a limp. It may be translated “became unable to walk properly” or “was disabled.”
When the news … came: in some languages it will not be considered normal to make the news the subject of the sentence. The idea is “when someone brought the news….” It may be helpful to state explicitly, as Good News Translation does, that the news about Saul and Jonathan was about their deaths or that they had been killed in battle (see 1 Sam 29.1, 11; 31.6).
His nurse: the word so translated has no particular medical connotations as may be imagined by some readers of the English term. The root meaning is that of “faithfulness.” So a nurse was a person that could be counted on for support and help. Some have suggested the translation “foster mother” or “caregiver.” The same word is found in Ruth 4.16, where it is used to describe Naomi’s relationship to Obed, the son of Ruth. In some languages this word will have to be translated by a longer phrase like “the person who watched over [took care of] him” or something similar.
Mephibosheth: Some manuscripts of the ancient Greek version have “Mephibaal” at this point. And this reading is recommended by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, which gives a {B} rating to it. This same person is called “Meribaal” in 1 Chr 8.34 and 9.40. See 2.8 on names that include “baal” and “bosheth.”
As noted at the beginning of this verse, Good News Translation has slightly restructured the order of some parts of this verse. Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente provides a different model, with more extensive restructuring:
• There was another descendant of Saul, one of his grandsons, a son of Jonathan, whose name was Mephibaal. He had both of his feet crippled from the time when he was five years old. Indeed his nurse had dropped him because of the haste of fleeing when the news of the deaths of Saul and Jonathan had arrived from Jezreel.
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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