The following is a copy of this letter: “The Great King, Artaxerxes, to the governors of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, and to those who are loyal to our government, greetings.
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.
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:
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.”
[Today’s English Version E.1; Revised Standard Version 16.1]
Compare the introduction of this letter with the king’s earlier letter (B.1). On the names Artaxerxes and “Xerxes,” see comments on A.1-3.
The one hundred and twenty-seven satrapies is in apposition to the provinces. That is, provinces and satrapies refer to the same thing. Some translations, however, suggest that the provinces are within the satrapies (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Indeed, the Hebrew text distinguishes between satrapies and provinces in 3.12; 8.9; 9.3, though the Greek text does not. In spite of the clear distinction in the Hebrew text between these two administrative units, the Greek text should not be harmonized to agree with the Hebrew. Many translations of this verse omit the word satrapies (Today’s English Version, Revised English Bible, Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Since the writer seems to use these two nouns as synonyms, translators may wish to follow the model of New Revised Standard Version: “to the governors of the provinces from India to Ethiopia, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, and to those who are loyal.”
Addition B (13.1-7) was addressed to the government officials only. This letter (Addition E) is addressed both to the officials and to the rest of the citizens of the empire, that is, to those who are loyal to our government.
Loyal to our government: the text says “those who uphold [or, mind] our [things].” It is not made explicit what our describes. Therefore some translations interpret it to refer to the government (Revised Standard Version), others to the king’s interests or affairs (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous), and some say generally “loyal subjects” (Bible en français courant and New Jerusalem Bible). This may be simply stated “all those who stand behind us” or “who uphold our interests.”
Our government: the note in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible indicates that throughout Addition E the first person plural pronoun is a plural of majesty, which refers to the king himself (see verses 3, 7, 8, 10, 13, 15; and see also the comment on 13.1, which is B.1). It is in fact unclear whether all of these pronouns are a plural of majesty. Most translations maintain the plural of majesty, but Today’s English Version uses the first person singular in verses 8, 10, 13, 15, though not in verses 3 and 7. On the other hand, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente uses the first person singular in verses 7-11, 13-16. The translator should follow natural practice in receptor culture usage.
Greeting: following formal identification of the sender of the letter and of the intended recipients, the King expresses his official greetings. It may be helpful to restate this introduction in complete sentences; for example, “This letter is from … to… The King greets you.” Or if appropriate it may be stated in the first person: “It is I… I greet you.” In some languages it may be more natural to express the greeting before identifying the source of the letter (see Today’s English Version), but the translator should be careful not to change the author’s focus.
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 .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.