king

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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:

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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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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).

Translation commentary on Greek Esther 6:7 - 6:8

Esther 6:7f.

The Hebrew phrase For the man whom the king delights to honor does not contain a main verb, and for that reason most translations treat it as part of the sentence that continues in verse 8. It is possible, though, to punctuate verse 7 as a question (so La Bible Pléiade, “Is there a man whom the king would like to honor?”; also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). In either case, repeating these words of the king from verse 6 highlights the unknown identity of the person whom the king wishes to honor.

The horse which the king has ridden: Hebrew does not have a definite article before the word “horse.” Probably no specific horse was intended as the Revised Standard Version translation the horse seems to suggest. Better is the rendering “and a horse which the king has ridden” (so New Revised Standard Version). Where horses are not known, it may be necessary to borrow a term for “horse,” or one may use a descriptive phrase; for example, “an animal ridden by the king.” To substitute the name of another animal such as a mule or an elephant would be to distort the historical context of the story of Esther.

On whose head a royal crown is set may be thought to refer to the head of the person whom the king is to honor, especially since the same word is used for the crown or diadem worn by Vashti and by Esther (see 1.11; 2.17). Since the royal robes are for the man to wear, then one would also expect that the crown is for the person. However, the Hebrew most naturally refers to the head of the horse; and archeological evidence confirms that Persian horses did wear a kind of crown on their heads. Translators should make clear that the “royal crown” is set on the horse’s head. English translations such as Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible use the pronoun “its” to show that the crown is not on the man’s head: “and a horse on which the king rides, with a royal diadem on its head” (Revised English Bible). Royal in this context means clothing and adornments that are symbols of the king’s rank as ruler of the kingdom.

These two verses may be restructured if necessary, as Today’s English Version has done, but the formal style of court language should be retained (see comments on 1.15). Bible en français courant uses the title “Majesty” as a formal term addressing the king.

Septuagint 6.7-8

Verse 7 may be punctuated as a question as in Revised English Bible: “So he answered, ‘For the man whom the king wishes to honor?’ ” Such a translation suggests that Haman is thinking aloud as he repeats the king’s question.

The Hebrew text does not state who is to bring the royal robes, but the Greek says “may the servants of the king bring out.” The Greek word here translated servants implies that they were of lower status than those who were serving in the king’s presence. Traduction œcuménique de la Bible refers to them as “valets” (see also Septuagint 7.4, where the context is that of slavery). The Greek also states that the robe to be brought is a linen robe. The robe is to be one that the king has worn, just as the horse is to be one that he rides (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The final words of verse 8, “and on whose head a royal crown is set,” are omitted in the Greek.

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 .