The Hebrew that is rendered into English as “palace” is translated into Bukusu as “the house of the big chief.”
king
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 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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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 1:5
And when these days were completed refers back to the 180 days of verse 4. New Jerusalem Bible reads “At the end of this period.” This clause may be translated as a transitional phrase that moves the story from the general setting of the first big banquet to the second and smaller banquet, where the story really begins.
All the people: the Hebrew says literally all the people, but since verse 9 says that the queen also gave a banquet for the women, some translations make explicit in verse 5 that the king’s banquet was for the men of the fortress or acropolis: “for all the men” (Anchor Bible [Anchor Bible]). However, to avoid giving the impression that the author is making an important point of distinguishing between men and women, it is preferable to translate with a general term people as Revised Standard Version has done. Since the banquet in verses 3-4 was for officials of the empire, Gordis translates these words as “for all the common people.”
As in verse 1, in Susa the capital refers not to the town but to the acropolis.
Both great and small: this does not mean that adults and children were present at the banquet. Great and small refers to the important people and the unimportant people, big people and little people alike (the same Hebrew terms are translated “high and low” in 1.20; see also 1 Sam 30.19; 2 Chr 15.13). Many translations show that social rank and not age is intended: “rich and poor” (Good News Translation); “high and low” (Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible); “from the least to the greatest” (New International Version); “from the most important to the most humble” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). What must be made clear in the translation is that the invitation to the banquet was all-inclusive.
The second banquet of the king lasted seven days. Good News Translation uses the more common English expression “a whole week.” The number “seven,” which often has symbolic meaning of completeness and perfection in the Bible, occurs frequently in Esther: seven days (1.5), seven eunuchs (1.10), seven princes (1.14), seven chosen maids (2.9), and the seventh year of the king’s reign (2.16). Because of this repeated occurrence of the number “seven,” and because of the emphasis the author places on precision in marking time throughout the book, it is preferable to retain the number “seven” but to use it according to receptor language practice; for example, seven days may need to be rendered “seven nights.” Translators may wish to indicate in a footnote the frequent use of the number seven and its significance for the Israelite people.
In the court of the garden of the king’s palace: in front of the king’s palace was a courtyard. This was an open space that was paved with special stones (see verse 6 below). Around the courtyard was a garden or gardens (Good News Translation). This was an area where there were trees and perhaps flowers. It was not a field for farming or a vegetable garden. The courtyard, the garden, and the palace were all surrounded by a fortified wall.
The Hebrew word here translated as palace is not the usual “house of the king” (see verse 9 below and 2.8, 13) but another word that may refer to an open structure with columns and a roof. Chouraqui and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible in a footnote refer to it as a “pavilion,” and Anchor Bible says “in the courtyard of the king’s pavilion.”
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 .
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