He had a son, that is, Kish had a son. A great many names have been mentioned since the mention of Kish in the previous verse. In some languages it may be wise to use the name Kish here (as New Century Version does) instead of the pronoun.

A handsome young man: literally “a young man and good.” While the Hebrew word “good” may be translated as handsome in this context (Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation), some interpreters take the word in a more general sense, such as “an impressive young man” (New International Version) or “an excellent young man” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The Hebrew word translated young suggests that Saul was not only young but was fully grown and vigorous. Good News Translation focuses on the latter aspect, that is, “in the prime of life” (so also Revised English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible).

Among the people of Israel is literally “among the sons of Israel.”

More handsome than he: literally “good than him.” Here again, it is possible to understand the Hebrew word “good” to mean handsome in this context. But the meaning may be more general, as in New International Version “without equal among the Israelites.”

A literal translation of the Hebrew “from his shoulder and above taller than any of the people” may suggest incorrectly to some readers than Saul had a very long neck. Rather, the meaning is that he was “a head taller” (New International Version and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “a foot taller” (Good News Translation). Some languages may have to say something like “he surpassed all others in height by his head” or “his head stuck out higher than everybody else.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Now translates the common Hebrew conjunction waw (see “Translating the Books of Samuel,” page 18). Here it is possible to leave it untranslated, since the beginning of a new paragraph fulfills the same function. But others may wish to supply a transition marker like “One day” (Revised English Bible).

The asses of Kish: the Hebrew noun refers specifically to female donkeys. Many translations say simply “donkeys” (New Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, New International Version, Contemporary English Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible) or “asses” (Revised Standard Version, New American Bible) without being as specific as the Hebrew. A number of translations do, however, say “she-asses” (Fox, Chouraqui, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur), and there seems to be no good reason not to do so.

The Hebrew has a definite article the with the noun asses (“donkeys” in New Revised Standard Version and most other versions), perhaps intending to suggest that all of Kish’s donkeys were lost (so Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible). More likely, however, the definite article is used here not to designate all of Kish’s asses, but rather to refer to the particular animals that are referred to in the story that follows. For this reason Good News Translation (also Revised English Bible and Anchor Bible) says that “some” were lost.

In American English the words the asses of Kish would perhaps strike some readers as humorous because of the possible double meaning of the word “ass.” While the translation of this word will not be a problem in most languages, translators do need to be sensitive, as Good News Translation has been here, to how words will sound when read aloud.

Hebrew repeats the information that Kish is Saul’s father. In contemporary English style it is redundant to repeat this information so soon, so Good News Translation omits these words. Likewise, although the Hebrew says Kish said to Saul his son, Good News Translation says simply “he said to Saul.”

In Hebrew the imperative take is accompanied by the particle of entreaty that is sometimes translated “please.” It may be appropriate to do so in this context in some languages, although few English versions do so. Fox attempts to express the softened request by saying “Pray take with you,” but use of the word “pray” in this context is rather archaic.

One of the servants: New Revised Standard Version translates “one of the boys,” which can be misleading in English. The Hebrew term used here is the usual word for servant and should probably be so translated throughout this passage.

Arise, go and look: frequently Hebrew uses the verb arise with a second verb in order to make an action vivid and to emphasize that it should be started (see the comments on the use of this verb in series with other verbs in “Translating the Books of Samuel,” page 20 and following). A literal translation may suggest incorrectly that Saul was seated. Many translations simply do not translate the verb arise (so Good News Translation and New International Version). All three of these Hebrew verbs are second person singular imperatives.

If it seems more natural to do so in the receptor language, the direct quotation of this verse may be rendered indirectly so that the verse will read as in Moffatt:

• Now some asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. So Kish told Saul his son to take one of the servants with him and go off in search of the asses.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Though the text does not say from where Saul and his servant set out, they probably left from Gibeah (see 11.4; 15.34).

In Revised Standard Version in this verse the first five verbs referring to Saul and the servant are plural. Good News Translation makes all six verbs plural. The Hebrew, however, is literally “he passed through … he passed through … they did not find … they passed through … he passed through … they did not find.” Receptor language considerations may determine how this problem is handled, but in many cases it will be most natural to use the plural form throughout.

The hill country of Ephraim was located in central Palestine (see 1.1). The precise locations of Shalishah, Shaalim, and Jamite (see below) are not known. Probably the reader is to understand that Saul traveled in a northwestern direction.

The land of Shalishah: probably a region in the northern part of Ephraim. It is likely that the place called “Baal-Shalishah,” mentioned in 2 Kgs 4.42, was situated in this region.

The land of Shaalim is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament. It appears to be a region within the territory of Ephraim.

The land of Benjamin: literally “the land of Jamite” (or, Yamite; see verse 1). Many versions render the Hebrew place name as Benjamin, but such a translation makes little sense. If Saul started his trip in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin and was moving northward in the hill country of Ephraim, why would he have returned south to the land of Benjamin, only to turn back north toward the land of Zuph (verse 5)? Various conjectures have been made, including “the land of Jabin” (Anchor Bible) and “the district of Jemini” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). If the name Benjamin is retained in translation, it will be more logical to say “went back through the territory of Benjamin.” It is conceivable that in looking for lost animals the search party may have followed a circular route.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The land of Zuph: the exact location is unknown, but it was probably in the territory of Ephraim (see 1.1). They had by now been traveling for about three days (see verse 20 below).

Who was with him: Good News Translation omits these words as redundant, and it may be wise to do the same in other languages. Some languages may have a term for “companion” that will be useful here.

Lest my father cease to care about the asses: literally “lest my father stop from the she-asses [or, donkeys].” Hebrew does not have a verb in this clause after the verb cease, and various words may be supplied according to the sense: “forget about” (New American Bible) or “stop worrying over” (New Jerusalem Bible).

In those languages that prefer indirect speech to a direct quotation like the one in the text here, the following model may be helpful:

• When they came to the region called Zuph, Saul told his servant that he wanted to go back home because he thought his father might be more worried about them than he was about the donkeys.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

But he said to him, that is, the servant said to Saul. Also, the verb said may be better rendered “responded” (Bible en français courant) or “replied” (New Jerusalem Bible) in the context of this conversation.

Behold translates two Hebrew words (see “Translating the Books of Samuel,” page 18 and following). The two words together serve to draw specific attention to the statement that follows and suggest that what the servant says is the logical consequence of the situation in which the two men find themselves. Many translations do not even attempt to translate this Hebrew idiom (so Revised English Bible, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, and Anchor Bible). New International Version says “Look, in this town there is a man of God.” New American Bible says “Listen!” In this context, the English words “Look” and “Listen” express both the sense of “Pay attention to what I am going to say” and “What I am going to say makes sense.” Many languages will have a word or expression that serves the same function and which may be used here.

A man of God: see the comment on this expression in 2.27. This man of God will be identified as Samuel in verse 14. This individual is held in honor. No agent is expressed in Hebrew, but the context suggests that the agent is human beings in general and not God. New Century Version says “People respect him.”

In this city: a walled city and probably Ramah, since this is where Samuel usually lived (7.17). But since there is no absolute certainty that this is the city referred to, it will be better not to make this explicit. It may, however, be included in a footnote.

All that he says comes true: the Hebrew idiom here is “all he says to come will come,” using the same verb as an infinitive and as a finite verb. This construction is used for emphasis or to express certainty. It is advisable to preserve this aspect of meaning in translation, as do Anchor Bible (“everything he says is sure to come to pass!”) and Klein (“Everything which he speaks is sure to happen”). Fox attempts to express this aspect of meaning by saying “all that he speaks comes, yes, comes-to-pass.” The sign of a true prophet was that what he spoke in God’s name came true (see Deut 18.21-22). This may be taken as a totally independent statement about Samuel or as an explanation as to why he is so respected. Probably the latter is what is intended (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, and New Century Version).

About the journey on which we have set out: literally “our way that we walk on it.” Revised Standard Version (also Traduction œcuménique de la Bible) will perhaps suggest incorrectly that the man of God will talk about the travel in general terms. More specific translations may be helpful: “Perhaps he will tell us what way to take” (New International Version, Revised English Bible, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy). Even more specific are Good News Translation and Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, which both say “where we can find the donkeys” and which may serve as useful models. See also Bible en français courant: “perhaps he will indicate to us where we should continue our search.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

Then: the common conjunction is here treated as a temporal transition word indicating what happened next in the story. But many modern versions omit it altogether.

Saul said to his servant is a literal translation. Good News Translation omits to his servant as redundant. Since the verb said is followed by a question, it may be better translated as “asked.”

But if we go: literally “Behold [if] we go.” Regarding the translation of the word “Behold,” see page 18 and following. In this context the word may even be translated “Wait a minute!” or “Hold on!” Fox attempts to express the sense of the Hebrew by saying “But here, (if) we go, what can we bring for the man?”

The bread in our sacks is gone should not be understood to mean that it had somehow disappeared or been stolen. Rather the idea is that it had been “used up” (Anchor Bible). It will also be recalled that the word bread is often used in Scripture to refer to food in general. It is taken in this way by New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Revised English Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible, as well as Good News Translation. So some may prefer to say “we have eaten all the food that was in our sacks.”

Present: the noun so translated is not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, but it is related to a verb related to travel and so refers perhaps to any gift offered by a traveler. 1 Kgs 14.3 and 2 Kgs 4.42 seem to suggest that it was common to take a gift to a prophet. Perhaps it was expected that people would pay the prophet a fee for an interview. At least one scholar has suggested that this Hebrew word means “interview fee,” but nearly all translations say simply “a gift” or “a present.” In most languages a general term for “gift” will be adequate.

The man of God: see the comments on verse 6.

The final question of Saul, What have we? seems to mean “Do we have anything at all [to give the man of God]?” And the implication is that they had “nothing at all” (Revised English Bible). Some may translate “We don’t have anything else, do we?”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

The servant answered Saul again: literally “The servant added to answer Saul and he said.” The Hebrew idiom “to add” followed by an infinitive means to do something again. Here, as in the previous verse, Good News Translation does not follow the form of the Hebrew in saying that the servant answered Saul, saying only that “the servant answered.”

Here translates the Hebrew focusing particle often translated as “Behold.” Revised English Bible says “Wait!” and New Jerusalem Bible “Look, I happen to have.” Regarding the use and translation of this word, see page 18 and following.

The words with me may be considered quite redundant in many languages. The verb I have will be adequate to communicate the meaning without the addition of with me.

The fourth part of a shekel of silver: a shekel weighed almost twelve grams or fourth-tenths of an ounce. Translators are urged to use an equivalent that will be understood in the receptor language. New Century Version says “one-tenth of an ounce of silver.” Another solution will be to say simply “a small silver coin” (Bible en français courant and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). The precise weight of the coin is not important, but it is essential to indicate that it was a relatively insignificant amount.

Instead of repeating the words the man of God (verse 7), Good News Translation substitutes the pronoun. Naturalness in the receptor language will determine whether Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation is the better model at this point.

To tell us our way is very different in form compared with “about the journey on which we have set out” (verse 6), but the meaning seems to be the same.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .