Abimelech's downfall (image)

Hand colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1972).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe.

For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

complete verse (Judges 9:55)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 9:55:

  • Kupsabiny: “And/But when the people of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they scattered and each person went to his home.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Seeing Abimelech dead like this, the Israelites returned to their own homes.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “When the men of Abimelec saw that he was dead now, they went-home.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “When the Israeli soldiers saw that Abimelech was dead, they all returned to their homes.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Judges 9:55

This brief verse ends the episode.

And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead is an independent clause in Hebrew, which is literally “And the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead.” Here the phrase the men of Israel uses the generic Hebrew term for “man” (ʾish), where hearers might expect the word for “people” (ʿam). Once again the narrator reflects that there was some kind of Israelite unity at this time, a view that does not fit the historical facts. Translators should render the men of Israel as it stands, even though it is only a small portion of the Israelites who saw Abimelech die. For this phrase see verse 7.23. Since not all the people physically saw the body of Abimelech, some versions may want to say “learned,” “heard,” or “realized.”

They departed every man to his home is literally “and they went [each] man to his place.” This clause signals the end of the revolt led by Abimelech and his men. His attempt to gain power came to an end, and with it, this first attempt to establish a kingdom in Israel had ended. Translators should use language here that is appropriate for a conclusion. Good News Translation has “they all went home,” but the narrator again uses the Hebrew term ʾish (“man”). Though such stylistic features will be hard to render in translation, it is clear that the narrator is marking this text in a very particular way.

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 .