Naomi

The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Naomi” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “changed identity” referring to the many life changes that Naomi goes through in the book of Ruth. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Naomi” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

neighbor - relative

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated as “neighbor” or “relative” in English is translated in the Contemporary Chichewa translation (2002/2016) and the Buku Lopatulika translation (1922/2018) with just one word: nansi. This word can also be translated as neighbors whom you share a blood relation with because in Chewa context a community is mostly comprised of people of blood relations. (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)

David

The name that is transliterated as “David” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign signifying king and a sling (referring to 1 Samuel 17:49 and 2 Samuel 5:4). (Source: John Elwode in The Bible Translator 2008, p. 78ff. )


“Elizabeth” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

In German Sign Language it is only the sling. (See here ).


“David” in German Sign Language (source )

The (Protestant) Mandarin Chinese transliteration of “David” is 大卫 (衛) / Dàwèi which carries an additional meaning of “Great Protector.”

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about David (source: Bible Lands 2012)

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: David .

complete verse (Ruth 4:16 - 4:17)

Following are a number of back-translations of Ruth 4:16-17:

  • Noongar: “And Naomi took the child and put him on her lap and Naomi looked after him. The women of Bethlehem said, ‘This baby has become the son of Naomi.’ They named him Obed. He became the father of Jesse, the father of David.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
  • Eastern Bru: “Then Naomi raised this child with all her heart. After that the women in the town called the child Obed. And they said: “This day Naomi has again a son.” Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of King David.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Noemi always took the child and laid-(him)-in-her-lap. She was the-one-taking-care of the child. The women who were Noemi’s neighbors said, ‘Noemi has now a male grandchild!’ They named the child Obed. And when Obed had-grown-up, he had a child Jesse. And Jesse was the father of David.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then Naomi took the baby and put him on her lap, and took care of him. The women who were living near her said, ‘It is as though Naomi now has a son!’ And they named him Obed. Later, Obed became the father of Jesse, and later Jesse became the father of King David.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Ruth 4:17

The Hebrew text of verse 17 is literally “and the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, A son has been born to Naomi. They named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, the father of David.” This Hebrew text is rather redundant in its literal form, and therefore some restructuring is necessary in most receptor languages if one is to make the rendering clear and natural. Rather than repeat “gave him a name” and “they named him Obed,” it is usually better to translate “the women of the neighborhood named the boy Obed,” “they called the boy by the name of Obed,” “they said, ‘Obed is his name,’ ” or “they declared, ‘Obed will be his name.’ ” It is also possible to retain somewhat more of the Hebrew order by translating “the women of the neighborhood said, ‘A son has been born to Naomi’; and they named him Obed.” This restructuring already exists in an early translation. So the Syriac version. It should, however, be noted that such a restructuring may destroy the traces of a more primitive text in which (according to the typical Hebrew style of name giving), instead of shem, another name figured, alluding to yullad ben lenaʿomi, something like Yibleam (Gunkel, op. cit., ad loc.) or Ben Noam (Eißfeldt, op. cit., page 649).

It is quite impossible in some languages to say “a son has been born to Naomi.” This would imply that Naomi herself was the mother. The relationship must be changed to read: “Naomi now has a grandson,” “a grandson has been born for Naomi,” or “Ruth has given birth to a grandson for Naomi.”

The name Obed in Hebrew sounds like the word meaning “servant.” S. Öttli (in Strack-Zöckler’s Kurzgefaßte Kommentar, 1889, ad loc.) and Bertholet (op. cit., ad loc.) explain the name as “ganz für sie da.” This is, however, questionable. It would be more probable to take it in the sense of “worshiper” as a hypocoristic, in which the following name of the divinity has been omitted (so Dhorme, op. cit., ad loc.).

In some languages it is impossible to introduce the final sentence of verse 17 without some alteration. A literal translation, “he was the father of Jesse, who was David’s father,” would be completely confusing, since Obed only later became the father of Jesse, who still later became the father of David. Therefore, one must translate this final sentence as “Obed later became the father of Jesse, and Jesse in turn became the father of David.” One may also translate it as “Obed later had a son who was named Jesse, and Jesse had a son who was named David.”

Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Ruth. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .