complete verse (Esther 3:1)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 3:1:

  • Kupsabiny: “There was a certain person called Haman son of Hammedatha who was from the clan of Agag. The king one day promoted that person to become a big leader surpassing all others in that empire.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Some time later, King Ahasuerus promoted Haman, son of Hammedatha to a higher rank than the other courtiers with whom he worked and made him chief minister of the country.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Sometime later King Ahasuerus promoted/[lit. caused-to-become-high] the position of Haman the child of Hamedata the Agagnon. He made him the highest officer in his kingdom.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Eastern Bru: “When those things were finished, King Xerxes, raised the authority of Haman to become greater than all the other officials. Haman was the son of Hammedatha of the clan of Agag.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • English: “Some time later, King Xerxes promoted/gave his most important job/work to Haman, the son of Hammedatha, who was a descendant of King Agag. Haman became more important than all his other officials. Only the king was more important.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

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).

SIL Translator’s Notes on Esther 3:1

Section 3:1–6

Haman became angry with Mordecai

The next event in the story was that the king promoted one of his officials called Haman to the highest position in the land, next to the king himself. The king ordered all his servants to bow down to Haman in respect to him, but Mordecai refused to do this because he was a Jew. When Haman heard about this, he was angry and planned to destroy all the Jews in the empire. He cast lots to find out the best day to choose for killing the Jews.

Paragraph 3:1–6

3:1a

After these events: The text doesn’t state an exact time here, but it was probably about four years after Esther had become queen.

honored: No reason is given why the king suddenly decided to honor Haman.

Agagite: Agag was the name of the king of the Amalekites whom King Saul conquered and took prisoner and whom Samuel cut in pieces (1 Samuel 15:8, 33). It may be that Haman was descended from this king.

3:1b

elevating him: This means that Xerxes promoted Haman and gave him a more important position in his government than he had had before.

princes: See note on 1:3b.

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