The name that is transliterated as “Mordecai” in English means “little man,” “bitter bruising,” “bitterly reduced,” “bitterness of my oppression.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )
It is translated in Spanish Sign Language with a sign depicting the tearing of clothes, referring to Esther 4:1. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
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:
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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
In verses 5-7 the narrative briefly and suddenly turns to a completely different subject, in order to introduce Esther and explain how she came to be in Susa. In verses 12-14 something similar happens in order to provide background information.
There was a Jew in Susa: the Hebrew text makes an abrupt break with the preceding story line. In dramatic fashion the author interrupts his account to announce “A man a Jew was in Susa the citadel and his name was Mordecai.” Most translations reflect this interruption and change of focus as both Revised Standard Version and Today’s English Version have done. Today’s English Version, however, highlights the city Susa rather than the man Mordecai. There is no word in the Hebrew corresponding to the word Now in Revised Standard Version. The English word Now is used in Revised Standard Version to indicate a transition point in the story (so also New Jerusalem Bible, Maredsous, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch).
Jew: only after telling his reader that Mordecai was a Jew does the author indicate where he lived, and only then that his name was Mordecai. Jew was the name given to the people of Judah after the Babylonian exile in 586 B.C., and after that it came to be applied to Israelites more generally, including people of the tribe of Benjamin. It may be rendered by a borrowed term or by an equivalent expression such as “child of Judah” or “Judah-person.”
Although the Hebrew says only that Mordecai was “in” Susa, the meaning probably is that he lived there (so Today’s English Version, New Jerusalem Bible).
Susa the capital is here “the citadel of Susa” (New Revised Standard Version). See comments on 1.2.
The son of Jair, son of Shimei, son of Kish: this tells us the ancestral line of Mordecai. It is not clear whether the persons named are his immediate ancestors, that is, his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, or whether they are his distant ancestors. The pattern of repeating “the son of” is a common construction for citing genealogies in the Old Testament. Translations should follow accepted practice for citing ancestry; for example, “son of…, grandson of…, great-grandson of….”
Mordecai was a Benjaminite, that is, he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. This information about the ancestry of Mordecai is important for understanding the conflict between Mordecai and Haman (see the comments on 3.1). The translation may specify that he belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, or it may use an equivalent expression such as the Hebrew, “he was a man of Benjamin,” or else “he was a son of Benjamin.”
Septuagint 2.5
As indicated above, this verse is of dramatic importance in the story, and the structure of the Greek version follows the Hebrew almost word for word. However, unlike the Hebrew, which has no transition word, this verse in Greek begins with the word kai, which serves to introduce something new. New Revised Standard Version signals the break in discourse structure by introducing the new episode with the adverb Now.
The Septuagint does differ from the Hebrew version in several details. It refers to Susa as “the city” rather than the citadel. The names of Mordecai’s ancestors are given Greek forms, that is, “Jairus,” “Semeios,” and “Kisaeus” in the Septuagint; and the name “Mordecai” is also given in a Greek form, “Mardochaeus” (Revised English Bible). Though both New Revised Standard Version and Today’s English Version spell Mordecai’s name the same in the translation of the Greek as in the Hebrew throughout the Greek text, translators may want to transliterate the Greek form as Revised English Bible does. The Greek also states explicitly that Mordecai was of the tribe of Benjamin.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on the Book of Esther — Deuterocanon: The Greek Text. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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