3Then her husband set out after her, to speak tenderly to her and bring her back. He had with him his servant and a couple of donkeys. When he reached her father’s house, the young woman’s father saw him and came with joy to meet him.
The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated in English as “joy” or “happiness” is translated in the HausaCommon Language Bible idiomatically as farin ciki or “white stomach.” In some cases, such as in Genesis 29:11, it is also added for emphatic purposes.
Other languages that use the same expression include Southern Birifor (pʋpɛl), Dera (popolok awo), Reshe (ɾipo ɾipuhã). (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 19:3:
Kupsabiny: “But/And one day her husband went to talk to her so that she might return home. That man went with his servant and two donkeys. When he reached to his in-laws’ home, the father-in-law saw the man and welcomed/received him with joy.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Then her husband, taking a servant and two donkeys, convincing her to come back, he went into that woman’s house. Then that woman brought him to her own father’s house. When he saw that Levite that woman’s father also gladly welcomed him.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “the Levite decided that he would-go-after his wife and convince (her) that they will-stay-together again. So he set-out with his one servant and two donkeys. When he arrived there, the woman let- him -in. When he was seen by the father of the woman, he was- warmly -welcomed/greeted.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Then her husband took his servant and two donkeys and went to Bethlehem. He went to ask her to come back to live with him again. When he arrived at her father’s house, she invited him to come in. Her father was happy to see him.” (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.
Then her husband arose: Her husband is literally “her man.” In English the word husband usually refers to someone who is legally married. But in many cultures around the world, even in informal unions, the man is known as the husband. Translators should use a term that is appropriate to this situation. Arose renders the key Hebrew verb qum, which is often used to introduce deliverers (see, for example, verse 3.9, 15). Here in yet another ironic twist, it describes a villain, a man whose acts are in part responsible for the biggest civil war in the history of Israel. If possible, the verb arose should be kept to underline the thematic links throughout the book.
And went after her may be rendered “and went to find his wife” or “and went looking for her.” Of course, Revised Standard Version‘s rendering does not mean he went to attack her.
To speak kindly to her and bring her back: These two infinitive clauses explain why the Levite went to find his wife. First, he wants to speak kindly to her, which seems to suggest that the first Hebrew verb in verse 19.2 means “be angry” or “desert,” rather than “be unfaithful.” In most cultures his attempt to bring her back would be an indication that he was the one originally at fault. However, many things in this story are shocking, so no interpretation, even her infidelity, can be excluded. To speak kindly to her is literally “to speak to her heart,” meaning “to speak tenderly to her” (New Revised Standard Version). However, in Hebrew the “heart” is the seat not just of the emotions but also of the mind, so the Levite could be trying “to persuade her” (Good News Translation). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh’s “to woo her” and New American Bible‘s “to forgive her” are not very convincing.
Bring her back gives the second reason the Levite went after his wife, here with a causative form of the key Hebrew verb shuv (“return”). For these two clauses we might say “to persuade her to return home” or “to persuade her to come back with him.”
He had with him his servant and a couple of asses: These details show that the Levite was a well-off man. Not everyone had servants and most people walked on foot. The Hebrew word rendered servant (naʿar) can mean “male servant” or “young man” (see verse 7.10). There may be some irony here, since in the beginning of the first appendix, a Levite (perhaps the same one) is himself described as a “young man” (see verse 17.7). If this is the same Levite, that “young man” would have grown in status, having now himself a servant. Translating “young man” here rather than servant will preserve this literary tie. But in many languages this will not be natural. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “attendant,” which is one possibility. For asses see verse 1.14. A couple of asses may be rendered “a pair of donkeys” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or simply “two donkeys” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version). Probably the Levite brought two donkeys instead of one, so that he and his wife could both ride instead of walk. These animals play an important role in the remainder of this section. Indeed, at some point the Levite’s concern and care for his donkeys seem greater than his care and concern for his wife (compare verse 19.19, 21).
And he came to her father’s house: This rendering is based on the Septuagint. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project and many versions prefer the Hebrew text here, which reads “And she brought him to her father’s house” (followed by Good News Translation, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). However, the ver Septuagintver* rendering seems to make more sense in this context, since the Levite’s wife had already been at her father’s home for four months. But the Hebrew may reflect the practices of that day: it is possible that after she heard her husband was on his way, she went out to meet him, leading him back to her father’s house.
And when the girl’s father saw him renders an independent clause in Hebrew, literally “and the father of the young woman saw him.” Girl renders the feminine form of the Hebrew word translated servant. Here it refers to a young woman of marriageable age. Here it probably also reflects her lower status (compared to a wife). The word father is repeated twice here for emphasis. The text does not say whether the father saw this son-in-law for the first time, but the text that follows seems to imply they had already met, and this certainly would have been the cultural norm. We might say “When the young woman’s father saw her husband.”
He came with joy to meet him: Most parents want their children’s marriages to succeed, so this would explain the father’s joy. Also, as explained above (verse 19.2), the dissolving of a marriage contract was a family affair and often involved the loss of money. The Hebrew verb rendered came with joy is literally “was glad” or “rejoiced” (see comments on verse 9.19). The Hebrew verb translated meet usually means “meet unexpectedly.” Since it seems the two men knew each other, translators might rather say “he was overjoyed to see him [again].” Other models might be “he gave him a hearty greeting” (Good News Translation), “he gladly welcomed him” (New International Version), and “he received him warmly” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Contemporary English Version has “Her father was glad to see him,” which does not seem strong enough.
The storyteller’s skill can be seen here. The Levite’s father-in-law is overjoyed to see him and does everything he can to please him. However, the audience knows the Levite will soon be responsible for the brutal murder of this man’s daughter.
Translation models for this verse are:
• Then her husband [or, the Levite] went to persuade her to come back [with him]. He took along a young lad and two donkeys and arrived at her father’s house. When her father saw him, he welcomed him with joy.
• Then the Levite set off, with his servant and two donkeys, to convince his concubine to come back home with him. She led him to her father’s house, and her father was overjoyed to see him.
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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