The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”
In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)
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:
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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
And he presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab: The story now jumps from the time Ehud prepared his weapon, to the time when he is in front of the king. In many languages a transition will be needed, such as “So having prepared himself, Ehud arrived in front of Eglon, king of Moab, and presented his tribute” or more simply “Then Ehud went to present his tribute to Eglon.” Since there is a change in location and participants, Contemporary English Version puts a paragraph break here. If a new paragraph begins, then translators may want to replace the pronoun he with the name “Ehud.”
He presented the tribute means Ehud handed over the tax required by the Moabites. Presented translates a Hebrew verb meaning “brought near,” but translators can say “he took the tribute” or “he went with the tribute to give.” It is likely that the tribute was not something Ehud could carry alone, and the next verse makes it clear that other people were accompanying him. Contemporary English Version decides to bring this information forward by saying “Ehud and some other Israelites took the taxes,” which is one possibility. For tribute see verse 3.15.
Eglon king of Moab repeats the king’s full title once again. This repetition highlights the mocking tone here. However, some versions prefer to say simply “Eglon” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version) or “the king.”
Now Eglon was a very fat man: This sentence is yet another aside or comment giving background information. It notes that Eglon was very fat. As with the previous aside, at first this seems an unimportant detail, but it prepares the reader for something that is about to happen. Of course, the Israelites would know that the name Eglon in Hebrew sounds like the word for “fatted calf” or “young bull” (verse 3.12), so this would make the audience smile. These kinds of descriptions also slow the story down, which is a well-known technique for creating suspense. The readers/hearers are clearly waiting to see what will happen next. Now renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, here marking an aside rather than a time period. A word such as “incidentally” might show that this information is going to be important later on. Some versions put this description of Eglon into a relative clause, for example, “who was a very fat man” (Good News Translation). Translators need to decide how to best introduce this idea, which has special relevance to the story.
The adjective fat does not refer to height but to weight. Eglon was not necessarily big or muscular, but fat. This notion should be easy to express in any language, though in some languages it will be expressed by a verb rather than by an adjective. The word for fat in Hebrew is followed by an adverb for very, so an appropriate intensifier should be used.
This verse can be translated as follows:
• Then Ehud went to present the tribute to Eglon king of Moab, who, incidentally, was a very fat man.
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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