complete verse (Judges 9:40)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 9:40:

  • Kupsabiny: “But Abimelech defeated Gaal and chased (him) and his people plundering along the way. Many people died with the bodies in heaps until where the place of the city gate.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “But Abimelech defeated him and he escaped. There were corpses hither and thither all along the way leading up to the gate.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Some-time-later Gaal fled and Abimelec chased him. Many have-died in the battle; the ones-who- were -wounded scattered all-the-way to the gate of the town.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Abimelech and his men pursued them, and they killed many of Gaal’s men before they could return safely inside the city gate.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Judges 9:40

Abimelech’s army defeats Gaal and the leaders of Shechem, killing many of them and causing the rest to flee.

And Abimelech chased him: And renders the Hebrew waw conjunction, which is a possible rendering. A few versions propose “But” (New Living Translation, New American Bible) in this context. Contemporary English Version makes explicit that Abimelech refers to “Abimelech and his troops.” The pronoun him refers to Gaal, but includes his army as well, so we might say “Gaal and his men.”

And he fled before him: From the start of this surprise attack, it is clear Abimelech had the upper hand. The pronoun he refers to Gaal and his army, and the pronoun him to Abimelech and his army. Fled renders the same Hebrew verb (nus) used often to describe enemies running away from the Israelites (verse 1.6; verse 4.15; verse 7.21; verse 8.12), and may be translated “ran” or “tried to escape.” The text does not say which direction Gaal and his men ran, but the end of the verse reveals that many were killed at the entrance of Shechem’s gate. It is very possible that the men standing at the open gate retreated and went back into Shechem for safety. Contemporary English Version says “ran back into the town.”

And many fell wounded means many of Gaal’s men were killed. Translators need to read this section out loud to determine which connectors fit the context. Here the conjunction and may be rendered “but,” since despite their flight, many of them were caught and killed. Many may be expressed as “many of Gaal’s men” or “a great number of Gaal’s men.” Fell renders the same Hebrew verb (nafal) used to describe the defeat of many Israelite enemies, including King Eglon (verse 3.25) and General Sisera (verse 5.27), as they lay sprawled on the ground. Some versions think these men were just wounded (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version), while others say they were “killed” (Contemporary English Version; similarly Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Given the use of the word fell in other judges’ stories, it seems fairly certain that at least some of Gaal’s men died (compare verse 1 Sam 17.52). Translators should look for an idiomatic expression in their language which carries some of the impact and emotion expressed in the phrase fell wounded, such as “were cut down.”

Up to the entrance of the gate: See verse 9.35. It seems that while some of Gaal’s men retreated safely to Shechem, many were killed and their bodies flung here and there outside the town. Revised English Bible says “The ground was strewn with corpses all the way to the entrance of the gate.”

A translation model for this verse is:

• But Gaal and his men fled, and Abimelech and his troops pursued them. A great number of them were struck dead and their corpses were strewn about, all the way to the town gate.

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 .