trumpet

The musical instrument that is most often translated as “trumpet” in English is translated in the following ways:

In the UBS Helps for Translators‘ Human-made Things in the Bible (original title: The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible) it says the following:

Description: The trumpet was a wind instrument, frequently used in signaling, especially in connection with war. It was made of metal (the trumpets mentioned in Numbers 10:2 et al. were made of silver). It was a straight, narrow tube, about 40-45 centimeters (16-18 inches) in length. One end had a mouthpiece, while the other end was widened into a bell shape.

Usage: The sound on the trumpet was made by blowing into the mouthpiece in such a way as to vibrate the lips. The vibrations were magnified as they passed along the widening body of the tube.

The purpose of the trumpet in Israel was primarily to signal. Numbers 10 lists a variety of occasions in which the trumpets were to be used, including signaling the people to break camp, calling all of the people together for a meeting, calling only the leaders together, sounding an alarm at the beginning of a battle, and blowing them for liturgical purposes during certain festivals. It is significant that it was the task of the priests to sound the trumpets.

Translation: Generally speaking, translators may distinguish between the Hebrew words chatsotsrah and shofar by rendering chatsotsrah as “trumpet” or “bugle” and shofar with a more generic word for “horn” or with “ram’s horn.” Note the following comment in Translation commentary on Psalm 98:4 – 98:6: “In some languages it will not be possible to make a distinction between the two Hebrew terms translated trumpets and horn. In such cases the local term for a horn will be used. The Greek Old Testament used only one term.”

The exact meaning of the Aramaic word qeren in Daniel 3:5 and following is debated. It probably refers to a brass wind instrument and is best rendered “horn.”

The present-day equivalent for the Greek word salpigx is “bugle.” A bugle is generally smaller than a trumpet and is often associated with the sounding of military signals.

Man blowing a trumpet (source: Horace Knowles (c) British and Foreign Bible Society 1954, 1967, 1972)

Quoted with permission.

See also trumpet / bugle.

complete verse (Daniel 7:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 7:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “While I still watched, I saw the tiny horn still talking boastful words. Then I saw the fourth beast being slain and was thrown into the flaming fire it got destroyed.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “While I kept on watching I heard the boastful talk from that small horn. I kept on watching until that animal was killed, his body destroyed and thrown into the flaring fire. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘I kept watching while that horn is-boasting until I saw that the fourth animal was-killed. It was-thrown into the fire and its body was-burned.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “While I was watching, I could hear the little horn speaking very boastfully. As I continued to watch, the fourth beast was killed. Its corpse was thrown into a fire and completely burned.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Daniel 7:11

I looked then: that is, “I kept on looking,” or “I went on watching” (Revised English Bible). Compare verse 6.

Great words: as in the similar expression in verse 8, this also refers to proud, insolent speech, and this should be made clear in the translation. New Revised Standard Version has “arrogant words.”

The beast: since the text describes four different beasts in the previous verses, it is probably wise to say clearly here that it was “the fourth beast” who was killed (see verse 7).

Was slain: while it may be necessary to avoid the passive here, it is probably better not to state clearly who actually did the killing. In most languages it is possible to say something like “someone killed” or “they (indefinite) killed.”

Destroyed and given over: the Aramaic order of the two verbs, which is reflected in Revised Standard Version, will probably be unnatural in many languages. There would be nothing left to throw into the fire if the beast were already destroyed. And again, the passive forms should be translated in such a way as to avoid stating clearly who performed the action.

Burned with fire: this will be unnecessarily redundant in many languages, and the words with fire may be omitted.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .