elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

Translation commentary on Judges 11:5

And when the Ammonites made war against Israel: This verse once again opens with the Hebrew word wayehi (literally “And it was”). The repetition of the Ammonites made war against Israel from 11.4 slows down the story and builds suspense. It is this precise situation that leads the people of Gilead to reverse their decision and to go seek Jephthah’s help. If there is too much repetition here, translators may say “When this happened” or simply “At that point.”

The elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob: In verse 10.18 the narrator refers to “the leaders of Gilead,” which may have referred to military commanders. Here the elders of Gilead seems to refer to the leaders of the region. The Hebrew word for elders was first used in verse 2.7, where it referred to the elderly leaders who outlived Joshua. In many cultures elders are respected and the natural heads of the community. If a reference to age does not convey the idea of leadership, it would be better to say “leaders” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Gilead obviously refers to the region of Gilead, not to an individual (see verse 11.1). Went to bring Jephthah is literally “went to take Jephthah.” The leaders either made the journey themselves or sent someone to persuade Jephthah to come back home to Gilead. For the land of Tob, see verse 11.3.

Translation models for this verse are:

• And after the Ammonites attacked Israel, the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land of Tob.

• When the Ammonites attacked Israel, the leaders of Gilead went to Jephthah to bring him back from the land of Tob.

Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .