Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 15:15:
Kupsabiny: “Then Samson saw a jawbone of a donkey on the ground. He reached for that bone, picked it up and killed one thousand Philistines.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He found the new jawbone of a donkey, and, taking it with his hand he killed a thousand men with it.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Then he saw a jawbone of a donkey that has- just -died recently. He took it and used (it) to kill the 1,000 Filistinhon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then he saw a donkey’s jawbone lying on the ground. It was fresh, so it was hard. He picked it up and killed about 1,000 Philistine men with it.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “donkey” in English was translated in the 1900 Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) translation (a newer version was published in 2000) as siutitôĸ or “‘something with big ears.” “[This] is based on the word siut ‘ear’ combined with the same suffix –tôĸ (-tooq).” (Source: Lily Kahn & Riitta-Liisa Valijärvi in The Bible Translator 2019, p. 125ff.)
These Hebrew and Greek words (with the exception of pōlos and hupozugion — see discussion below) all definitely refer to the Domestic Donkey equus asinus. However the different words do have slight semantic differences among them.
Chamor and onos are the generic words for donkey while ’athon (feminine gender) refers specifically to a saddle donkey or a donkey used for riding. A saddle donkey is usually a large strong female donkey the males are too difficult to control when they are near a female in heat. The Hebrew word is derived from a root that means “strong”.
‘Ayir refers to the young male or jack donkey (probably with an emphasis on its liveliness and the difficulty in controlling it since the Hebrew root means something like “frisky”).
Onarion means a young donkey of either sex. Some languages will have a special word for a young donkey. This will be appropriate for translating onarion.
The word hupozugion often translated “donkey,” actually indicates any beast of burden. Walter Bauer, the famous German New Testament scholar, has argued very convincingly that the animal referred to in Matthew 21:5 in the expression epi pōlon huion hupozugiou is the foal of a horse not a donkey (1953:220-229). In some languages it will be possible to express this in a way that does not designate a specific species of animal`, as in “beast of burden.”
Pōlos usually refers to a foal, that is a young horse, unless a word for donkey follows.
Donkeys are domestic animals belonging to the same family as the horse, but they are smaller and have longer ears. The donkey bred and used in the Middle East is the domesticated Nubian or Somali Wild Ass Equus Asinus africanus. In its original wild state this was a gray ass with pale, whitish belly and dark rings on the lower part of the legs. It was domesticated in Egypt as early as 2500 B.C. In its domesticated version, as a result of interbreeding with donkeys from Europe and Persia, the donkey came to be a variety of colors from dark brown, through light brown to the original gray and occasionally white. The Hebrew chamor comes from a root meaning “reddish brown.”
Donkeys are good pack animals being able to carry as much as the larger mule without the latter’s unpredictable moods. They also have great stamina and are easy to feed since they eat almost any available vegetation. Larger individual animals (usually females) are also often used for riding.
Donkeys were highly prized in biblical times especially females since they were suitable for packing and riding and had the potential for producing offspring. Donkeys were seen as man’s best friend in the animal kingdom. They were the common man’s means of transport and many ordinary families owned a donkey. They were used for plowing and for turning large millstones as well as a means of transport.
Today domestic donkeys are found all over savannah Africa the Middle East South and Central Asia Europe Latin America and Australia. They do not seem to be reared in rain forest or monsoon areas but they are nevertheless often known in these areas.
A donkey was considered to be a basic domestic requirement and thus the number of donkeys available was a means of measuring the relative prosperity of a society at any given time. While only powerful political or military people rode horses (which were usually owned by the state) the common people rode donkeys. This is the significance of the passage in Zechariah 9:9: the victorious king would return to the city riding a donkey thus identifying himself as a common Israelite rather than a victorious warlord.
In the majority of languages there is a local or a borrowed word for donkey. This is the obvious choice. In areas of Southeast Asia, Papua New Guinea, West Africa, and other places, where donkeys are rare or unknown, the word from the dominant major language or trade language (for example, English, Spanish, French, Chinese, or Arabic) is often transliterated.
In most contexts ’athon should be translated by the equivalent of “female” donkey, but in some contexts riding donkey is better.
‘Ayir should be translated according to the specific context. In Genesis 32:15 the translation should definitely be the equivalent of “male donkey”, and probably also in Judges 10:4 and Judges 12:14. The significance of these latter passages is that female donkeys were the more normal choice of mount.
In Job 11:12 the emphasis is probably on the friskiness of the donkey, and the translation should be the equivalent of “He ties his young donkey to a grapevine, his frisky young ass to the best of the vines” (indicating a certain amount of irresponsibility, and perhaps extravagance).
In Job 11:12 and Zechariah 9:9 the obvious emphasis is on the youth of the donkey, so the equivalent of “colt”, “foal”, “young donkey”, and so on should be used.
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
At this climax of the episode, pronouns are used in Hebrew instead of full nouns to refer to Samson. This is typical of such high points. Also there is a series of short clauses describing the action. Many languages will use similar stylistic devices to mark a climax. Much is implicit in this narration between 15.14 and this verse. Samson breaks free of his bonds and certainly must have moved about before the next action.
And he found a fresh jawbone of an ass: The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered And may also be translated “Then” (Good News Translation) or omitted (Contemporary English Version, New International Version). Here it introduces the first thing Samson did after he was free of his bonds. He saw a donkey jawbone lying on the ground. He found may be rendered “he happened to see” (similarly NET Bible) or “he noticed.” A fresh jawbone of an ass refers to the jawbone of a recently killed donkey. Such a jawbone is a triangular-shaped bone, which would have made a good weapon in the hand of a strong person. Most languages will have a word for this body part of a domestic animal. Fresh renders a rare word in Hebrew, occurring elsewhere only in Isa 1.6, where it is translated “bleeding.” This detail is crucial to the narrative since rather than being a dried-out bone, this one was raw and probably full of blood. Once again Samson openly breaks his Nazirite vow by touching part of a dead body. For ass see verse 1.14.
And put out his hand: Put out renders the Hebrew verb meaning “send” (shalach), which is used often in the judges’ stories, especially at moments of victory over Israel’s enemies (see, for example, verse 4.6; verse 6.35; verse 7.24). The reference to his hand is yet another occurrence of this key term. Here it reinforces the idea that Samson is breaking his vow by touching a part of a dead body.
And seized it: Samson grabbed the jawbone with his hand. Seized is an important word, since it puts special emphasis on how Samson violated his Nazirite vow. This short clause and the previous one are typical of story climaxes in Hebrew. They slow down the action before the high point. In some languages these clauses may not be appreciated, but translators should still look for means to emphasize Samson’s act of picking up the jawbone. Good News Translation says “He reached down and picked it up,” which is acceptable but somewhat flat. A word such as “grabbed” (Contemporary English Version) might be more effective here.
And with it he slew a thousand men is literally “and he struck with it a thousand man.” For the Hebrew verb rendered slew (nakah), see the comments on verse 1.4. There it is translated “defeated,” but here it certainly means “killed” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “slaughtered.” A thousand men refers to Philistine men rather than men of Judah, despite the fact that the latter were the ones who handed him over to the enemy. New Living Translation says “1,000 Philistines” for clarity.
Translation models for this verse are:
• He noticed nearby the jawbone of a donkey that had recently died. He picked it up in his hand and beat to death a thousand men with it.
• Then Samson found a jawbone of a donkey that was not yet dried out. He reached out and grabbed it in his hand and with it slaughtered a thousand Philistine men.
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 .
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