Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 19:28:
Kupsabiny: “Then he said, ‘Get up and let us go.’ But the woman did not say a word. When he checked, he saw that she was actually dead and/so he carried the body of his wife on the back of the donkey and went home.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “He said to her — "Get up, let’s go." but she did not respond. So he put her on the donkey and went home.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The Levita said, ‘Get-up now for we (incl.) will-go-home now.’ But the woman was indeed/[suprise particle] dead already, so he loaded the dead-body/corpse onto his donkey and set-out.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “He said to her, ‘Get up! Let’s go!’ But she did not answer, because she had died. He put her body on the donkey and traveled to his home.” (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.
The story of horror continues. The Levite, cold and uncaring, seems totally unaware of his wife’s condition. This verse begins with a waw conjunction in Hebrew, omitted by the majority of versions, including Revised Standard Version. But some languages might use a sequential “And,” “Then,” or even possibly “So.” Translators should read the text out loud and see what transition is most natural in their language.
He said to her, “Get up, let us be going”: Instead of seeing his wife’s distress, the Levite seems angry, ashamed, or disgusted. In his culture of honor and shame it is likely he does not want to lose face. Seeing her lying in the doorway, he tells her to Get up, which renders the Hebrew verb qum. Once again, this word has a great significance and conveys great irony, as the word used for the delivers of Israel arising to save Israel is used here to portray its great downfall. The political situation is in chaos, the social structure is falling apart, and the interpersonal relationships are clearly at an all-time low. This husband has no pity for his wife. Translators need to render the text as it stands, and let the readers draw their own conclusions. Let us be going is probably pronounced with a harsh tone, so translators might say “Let’s go!” (New Living Translation) or “We have to go!” If at all possible, direct speech should be used here, since this is a high point in the episode.
But there was no answer: This impersonal statement reflects the sadness of the situation. Instead of saying “But she did not answer,” the text says literally “And there was no answering.” Since a response is expected and not forthcoming, But is a good rendering of the Hebrew waw conjunction here. The woman did not move nor did she say anything. In some languages there are even shorter ways of conveying this idea. For example, translators might say “He said to her, ‘Get up! Let’s go!’ No reaction [or Nothing/Zero]!” Contemporary English Version tries to convey some of the drama: “ ‘Get up!’ he said. ‘It’s time to leave.’ But his wife didn’t move.” The narrator does not say she was dead, but the audience already knows this to be true. It is hard to know if this is part of the narrator’s way of drawing out the suspense until 19.29 when it becomes clear she is dead.
Then he put her upon the ass: The Levite’s lack of feeling is once again revealed, as he apparently shows no reaction. He simply picks up his wife’s body and puts it on one of the donkeys. This clause is literally “and he took her on the donkey.” The Hebrew waw conjunction rendered Then might also be translated “So” (New Living Translation, Revised English Bible). Put renders the Hebrew verb laqach meaning “take,” which has been used in this book for stealing (verse 17.2), for marriage (verse 19.1), and so on. Here it has the sense of “placed” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “lifted” (Revised English Bible). We might say “So he picked her up and put her on the donkey.” Translators should avoid using any verb that might convey “placed with care.” Nothing in the Hebrew suggests he was dealing with her body gently. The sketchiness in the details here emphasizes the horror of the situation. Since the narrator does not say the woman was dead, some versions try to make this clear. For example, Good News Translation says “So he put her body across the donkey,” and Contemporary English Version has “He lifted her body onto his donkey.” For ass see verse 1.14. Here in Hebrew the word ass is preceded by the definite article, referring certainly to one of the donkeys he had brought from his home (verse 19.3).
And the man rose up and went away to his home: As if nothing special had happened, the Levite went back home. The initial Hebrew waw conjunction rendered and introduces the next action, so it can be translated “then” or be omitted, depending on what is natural in the target language. Here the repetitive phrase the man underlines the impersonal nature of this scene. Some languages will prefer a pronoun here. Rose up renders the same key Hebrew verb (qum) translated Get up, here referring to the beginning of a journey. If at all possible, translators should try to maintain this word, so the irony as well as the literary links within the book can be clearly seen. Went renders the common Hebrew verb meaning “go.” To his home is literally “to his place.” Though Levites owned no land, they apparently could own houses. We might say “Then he arose and returned home [or, headed home].”
Translation models for this verse are:
• He said to her, “Get up! Let’s go!” But she didn’t move, so he picked her up and put her on the donkey and set off for home.
• He said to her, “Get up! We have to leave!” But there was no response. So he placed her body on the donkey and left for home.
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 .
He told her, “Get up. We are leaving now.”
-or-
He told her to get up and to go with him,
19:28b But there was no response.
But she did not answer him.
-or-
but she did not answer ⌊because she was dead⌋ .
19:28c So the man put her on his donkey and set out for home.
So he put her on the donkey and walked to his home.
-or-
Then he picked up her body/corpse and placed it on his donkey and started on his journey home.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.