hyena

The word tsavu‘a occurs only twice in the Bible one of them being in the phrase ‘ayit tsavu‘a (Jeremiah 12:9). The word ‘ayit is usually taken to mean a screamer and in Genesis 15:11 it is obviously a bird hence the interpretation “bird of prey.” tsavu‘a is taken to mean “speckled blotched”. Thus the “speckled screamer” is taken by some scholars to mean “speckled bird of prey” and by others to mean “hyena.” However, there are also scholars who relate ‘ayit to a different Hebrew root that means “to attack greedily” and take ‘ayit to mean “prey” or even “carrion”. These latter scholars interpret ‘ayit tsavu‘a to mean “prey for hyenas” or “carrion for hyenas.” It is recommended that this exegesis be followed. Another possible rendering of the phrase could even be a place of scavenging hyenas.

There is considerable doubt about the meaning of the Hebrew word tsiyim and different translations have marmots, wild animals, wild cats, desert animals and even sharks and dolphins. It is clear that the word refers to a specific dangerous wild animal (possibly which lives in the desert) often associated with destruction and with jackals. Although not mentioned at all in the English versions there are many scholars zoologists among them who interpret this word as referring to the hyena.

The uncertainty surrounding the word relates to the fact that nobody is sure what other Hebrew words tsiyim is related to. Some relate it to a word for “desert”, thus “desert creature”. This interpretation does not exclude the hyena and in fact since the references seem to be to a specific animal rather than to desert animals in general the contexts would all fit “hyena” well. The trend among scholars today is to associate it with a word that disappeared early from Hebrew meaning “to wail or yelp”. The fairly obvious conclusion from this would be that the word means “the wailer”, that is the hyena.

The Striped Hyena Hyaena hyaena has been a very well-known and common animal in the Middle East since time immemorial. One would expect to find references to it in the Bible.

Hyenas emerge at night from holes and hollows under logs. They are best known as scavengers. They eat carcasses and bones of all kinds and forage in refuse dumps around cities, towns, and villages. However, they also hunt and are opportunistic, killing young goats, sheep, and baby gazelles. They often occupy abandoned houses or tombs.

Their weird calls at night vary from loud whoops and howls when they mark territory and contact family members to moans when they chase away rival scavengers and to yelps and wails when they are frightened away by humans or other predators.

The striped hyena is also found in northeast Africa the Arabian Peninsula and India. Like all hyena species it looks like a big dog with a large head. Its front legs are longer than its back legs and it has a stiff upright mane that stretches from between its ears all the way down its back to the end of its tail. It is a brownish gray color with dark indistinct stripes that become spots and blotches on its neck.

Since we cannot be one hundred percent sure that tsiyim refers to hyenas neither can we be sure of the connotations of the word. However from what is known about hyenas and their significance to other Semitic peoples we can draw some conclusions. As scavengers that eat carcasses hyenas thrive in times of famine or war. They are thus associated with both types of catastrophe. Their weird noises at night are often associated with demons and stories abound of ghosts that return in the form of hyenas. And finally probably because they are known to eat human corpses that have not been properly buried most people view them with repugnance. Anywhere in the Middle East to call someone a hyena is a terrible insult.

A different, but very similar species of hyena, the Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta, is found throughout eastern, central, and southern Africa. Another species, the Brown Hyena Hyaena brunnea, is found in southwestern Africa. In these areas, therefore, a word for hyena will be easy to find.

In areas where some kind of wild scavenging dog or wolf is known, the name for this animal can be used. Elsewhere one may use a phrase like “wild dog” or a transliteration and give a fuller description in the glossary or word list.

Striped Hyena, Wikimedia Commons

Source: All Creatures Great and Small: Living things in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

complete verse (Psalm 72:9)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Psalm 72:9:

  • Chichewa Contempary Chichewa translation, 2002/2016:
    “The nations from the wilderness will bow before him
    and his enemies will lick the dust.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
  • Newari:
    “The desert nations will bow down before him.
    His enemies will fall flat on the ground.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon:
    “May-it-be that his enemies (who) dwell/live in the desolate-place will-cause-(themselves)-to-be-subject to/(under) him.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • Laarim:
    “People who stay in desert will bow down to him,
    and his enemies will crawl in the dust.” (Source: Laarim Back Translation)
  • Nyakyusa-Ngonde (back-translation into Swahili):
    “Ambao wanakaa jangwani,
    wapige magoti mbele yake,
    maadui zake wabwie vumbi.” (Source: Nyakyusa Back Translation)
  • English:
    “I hope/desire that those who live in the desert will bow down before them,
    and that their enemies will throw themselves on the ground in submission to them.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Psalm 72:8 - 72:9

Verses 8-11 may be understood as a statement (Good News Translation, Bible de Jérusalem, New Jerusalem Bible, New International Version, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or as a petition (Revised Standard Version, Bible en français courant, New Jerusalem Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Dahood); New English Bible, New American Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, and Weiser translate verse 8 as a petition and verses 9-11 as statements. The context seems to favor that all four verses be read as petitions.

The psalmist prays that the extent of the kingdom be from sea to sea; Exodus 23.31 suggests “from the Gulf of Aqaba to the Mediterranean” (Good News Translation); others think it means “from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean”; Briggs proposes “from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean.” Anderson suggests it may mean simply “the whole earth.” Many languages will find it awkward to speak of something extending from sea to sea, particularly where no seas are known. In such cases the translator must substitute a known extension that represents the greatest distance between two points, or shift to some expression such as “from one end of the land to the other” or “from where the sun rises to where the sun sets.”

In verse 8b the River is the Euphrates. Translators are advised to follow Good News Translation and other modern versions which specify the River as the Euphrates. In most cases it will be necessary to say “from the river called the Euphrates,” so that Euphrates is identified as a river, and it should be found on an accompanying map in the Bible.

For the ends of the earth, see comments on 2.8; 59.13. To the ends of the earth must often be recast in other forms; for example, “to the setting of the sun” or “to the place where the rivers disappear.”

Verse 8 is identical with Zechariah 9.10.

“The peoples of the desert” (Good News Translation) translates a word whose meaning is not clear. The Septuagint translates “the Ethiopians” (so New English Bible); Dahood and New International Version “the desert tribes”; New Jerusalem Bible “desert-dwellers”; Traduction œcuménique de la Bible “nomads.” But the word is used also of animals (see 74.14) and of demons (see Isa 13.21; 34.14) that inhabit the desert. So Bible de Jérusalem and New Jerusalem Bible have “the Beast,” which is interpreted as defeated pagan nations. Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, and Bible en français courant prefer to emend to his foes (so Briggs, Weiser, Anderson), parallel with his enemies in the next line; this is possible but not necessary.8-9 Hebrew Old Testament Text Project does not emend but refers to 79.14, where the same word appears, and says that in both passages it may mean “dwellers of the desert” or “navigators.”

If the translator follows Good News Translation‘s “peoples of the desert,” in some languages it will be difficult to express the idea of “people who live in deserts,” since “desert” may have been described in the New Testament as an uninhabited place. Sometimes it is possible to say “people who live out where the wild animals live.” This also may be unclear since in many areas such animals live in heavily forested areas. Since the parallel reference is to enemies in verse 9b, the best solution may be to employ “enemies” in verse 9a and “they” in verse 9b.

In verse 9b the expressive lick the dust is a figure of defeat and submission. Lick the dust should not be used literally, unless it is a genuine idiom for defeat. Some languages distinguish between dust that is on the ground, dust that is in the air, and dust that has settled on objects. In recasting this metaphor to a nonmetaphor, it may be necessary to introduce the agent; for example, “may the king put his enemies low” or “may the king defeat his enemies.”

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 .