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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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 Esther 1:18   

This very day: these words stand at the beginning of the verse in Hebrew and express the urgency of the situation. By restructuring into more natural English word order, Good News Translation seems to have lost something of this urgency.

On the identity of Persia and Media, see the comments on 1.3.

The ladies of Persia and Media in the Hebrew refers to the noblewomen (Good News Translation “the wives of the royal officials”; New Revised Standard Version “the noble ladies”) and not to women in the Persian Empire in general as in 1.17, where Gordis translates “all the ordinary womenfolk.” Though some versions translate these words rather literally as “the ladies of Persia and Media” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible), most versions make clear that they are “wives of the Persian and Median officers-of-state” (New Jerusalem Bible; so also Bible en français courant, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible).

This verse is difficult for interpreters, since the verb “they shall say” (will be telling) has no direct object. The Hebrew word order is literally “This very day they will say the ladies of Persia and Media who have heard of the conduct of the Queen to all the king’s princes….” Revised English Bible is quite literal here, since it gives no direct object for the verb “to quote”: “The great ladies of Persia and Media, who have heard what the queen has said, will quote this day to all the king’s officers….” While the Revised English Bible translation is literal, it is not good English; the verb “quote” normally requires an object to specify what is quoted.

Because of this grammatical difficulty, some interpreters change the Hebrew verb “they shall say” by omitting one letter so that the verb becomes “they shall rebel against [all the king’s princes]” (see New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version, and Anchor Bible). However, most versions consider the object of “they will say” to be what the wives will have heard of the Queen’s behavior (Good News Translation). Following this last interpretation, Revised Standard Version, New Jerusalem Bible and An American Translation supply the word it, referring to the Queen’s behavior, after the verb will be telling.

The contempt will be directed against the husbands by the wives, and the wrath will be directed against the wives by the husbands. Good News Translation makes explicit the agents of these two words: “Wives everywhere will have no respect for their husbands, and husbands will be angry with their wives” (see also Bible en français courant and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). Other interpretations are also possible: (1) New American Bible reads that the wives “will rebel against all the royal officials, with corresponding disdain and rancor.” This suggests either that both “disdain” and “rancor” are descriptive of the husbands’ attitudes, or that there will be general discord between husbands and wives (so the New English Bible [New English Bible]: “and there will be endless disrespect and insolence!”); (2) Moffatt understands both nouns to refer to the attitudes of the wives only, who are “talking proudly and petulantly.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 1:18

1:18a

the king’s officials: See note on 1:3a.

1:18b

much contempt and wrath: There would be discord or quarrels between husbands and their wives, because the husbands would be angry about their wives’ behavior.

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