elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

complete verse (Psalm 105:22)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 105:22:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “advising the children of the king as he wanted
    and teaching wisdom to the elders.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “He managed the king’s aides.
    and he taught wisdom to the elders.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “As ruler, he has authority to discipline the officials of the king and to teach his advisers.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “so that Joseph teaches the officials of a king as he wishes,
    and he teaches the elders of the king wisdom.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “ili Yusufu aongoze watumishi wa mfalme,
    na kuwafundisha ya hekima viongozi.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “Joseph was permitted/He permitted Josephe to command the king’s servants
    to do anything that Joseph wanted them to do,
    and even to teil the king’s advisors the things that they should do for the people of Egypt.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 105:20 - 105:22

The “king of Egypt” released Joseph from prison and put him in charge of Egypt (verses 20-22; see Gen 41.37-45); in verse 20b the Egyptian king is called the ruler of the peoples. This may be taken as an honorific title, not in the technical sense that he was an emperor ruling over many nations. Ruler of peoples in line b is not a literary expression raising the poetic effect of line b. Neither does the expression make more specific or dramatic the title king in line a. Accordingly the two lines are semantically equivalent, and therefore in some languages it may be desirable to adjust the two titles by placing one in apposition to the other, as Biblia Dios Habla Hoy has done: “The king, who ruled many people, commanded that Joseph should be set free.”

In verse 21a his house means the palace, that is, the government, and in verse 21b all his possessions means the land of Egypt (see Gen 41.39-41).

In verse 22a the Masoretic text has the verb “to bind,” which Good News Translation translates “with power over”; but many prefer to follow the ancient versions, which have “to instruct,” which is a better parallel to the next line (see Revised Standard Version to instruct; also An American Translation, New Jerusalem Bible, Zürcher Bibel, New English Bible, Bible de Jérusalem, New International Version).20-22 Hebrew Old Testament Text Project (“B” decision) prefers the Masoretic text “to bind” and explains it: “The expression ‘to bind’ means here the exercise of authority and power….” New Jerusalem Bible takes the Masoretic text to mean “to discipline.” Revised Standard Version at his pleasure translates the Hebrew “in his nefesh,” a figure of complete authority. Princes and elders are the king’s high officials and the royal counselors. The literal language, as reflected in Revised Standard Version to instruct and to teach … wisdom, makes it appear that Joseph’s role was that of a teacher or instructor (see Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Bible en français courant); but in line with the events as reported in Genesis, it seems better to understand the language to mean that Joseph was given the authority to command the Egyptian officials and tell them what was the wisest course to follow in order to keep the country from being ruined by the seven years’ famine.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Reyburn, William D. A Handbook on the Book of Psalms. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1991. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .