Many languages distinguish between inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns (“we”). (Click or tap here to see more details)
The inclusive “we” specifically includes the addressee (“you and I and possibly others”), while the exclusive “we” specifically excludes the addressee (“he/she/they and I, but not you”). This grammatical distinction is called “clusivity.” While Semitic languages such as Hebrew or most Indo-European languages such as Greek or English do not make that distinction, translators of languages with that distinction have to make a choice every time they encounter “we” or a form thereof (in English: “we,” “our,” or “us”).
For this verse, the Jarai and the Adamawa Fulfulde translation both use the inclusive pronoun, including everyone.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Deuteronomy 3:1:
Kupsabiny: “Then we went up heading towards Bashan. Then king Og of Bashan came together with all his soldiers and fought us where it is near the city of Edrei.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Next we turned and went towards Bashan. In Edrei king Og of Bashan and his army came to fight with us.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “‘Then we (incl.) went to Bashan, but we (incl.) were-attacked by King Og of Bashan and all his soldiers there at Edrei.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “‘Then we turned north and went toward the Bashan region. Og, the king of that area, and all his soldiers marched south to fight against us at Edrei town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.”
With the beginning of a new section, it is a good idea to introduce Moses again as the speaker, and to summarize briefly what leads up to this in chapter 2; for example, “Moses said to the people of Israel, ‘After killing King Sihon we turned north….’ ”
Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan: the Israelites headed north to the region of Bashan, which is elevated land that lies to the northeast of Lake Galilee. The name Bashan means “fertile land.”
Og … and all his people: the text does not mean that all men, women, and children of Og’s kingdom went to battle with him; rather it means “all his fighting men,” or “all his soldiers.” For a comment on king see 1.4.
Edrei was on the southern boundary of Bashan (see 1.4).
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.