Joab the son of Zeruiah

The Hebrew that is translated as “Joab (also: Abishai) the son of Zeruiah” in English presented a problem in Maan. “In a patriarchal society like Mano, Zeruiah is assumed to be the father of Joab. Since we know that she was his mother (see 2Sam 17:25), we expressed this phrase as ‘Joab whose mother was Zeruiah.'” (Source: Don Slager)

In Batak Karo Zeruiah also has to be identified as a woman. M.K. Sembiring (in The Bible Translator 1991, p. 217ff. ) explains: “Unlike the Hebrew language, nouns in Batak Karo have no gender. The literal translation of the biblical names therefore does not indicate whether they are female or male names. Names are generally understood as male names when they occur in expressions like ‘the son of…’ or ‘the daughter of…,’ because in the Karo culture, if ever the names of the parents are mentioned, it is usually the name of the father that is used in identifying the children. For example, 1 Sam 26:6 says, ‘Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai the son of Zeruiah,’Who will go down with me into the camp to Saul?” In Hebrew, Zeruiah will be recognized as a female name because of its ending, but in Karo the name will be considered as a male name for the reason given above. It is necessary then to identify Zeruiah as a female name by saying that Zeruiah was the mother of Joab and Abishai. The translation of the first part of that verse into Batak Karo is as follows,’Then David said to Ahimelech the Hittite, and to Joab’s brother Abishai (the mother of these two is Zeruiah)…'”

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)

Translation commentary on 1 Chronicles 11:6

David said …: Verse 6 precedes the last part of verse 5 in time. Some versions use a verb form here to indicate that the writer is now providing greater detail about the events described briefly in the previous verse; for example, New Revised Standard Version, New Century Version, and Revised English Bible begin this verse with a past perfect verb, saying “David had said…” (similarly New American Standard Bible, Bible en français courant). In some languages it will be necessary to specify to whom David is speaking. Contemporary English Version translates “David had told his troops…” (similarly New Living Translation).

Whoever shall smite the Jebusites first shall be chief and commander: The Hebrew word rendered chief is literally “head” but is often used of a military leader. This word is used again at the end of the verse. The terms chief and commander are synonymous in this context and constitute a hendiadys. They may be translated by a single word in those languages where the use of both might be confusing or where synonyms are not available. In languages where direct speech is a problem, the first half of this verse may be rendered “David had told his men that whoever killed the first Jebusite would become the leader of his army.”

And Joab the son of Zeruiah went up first, so he became chief: Zeruiah was the mother of Joab and the sister of King David (1 Chr 2.16), so some translations state here that she was Joab’s mother (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant). In languages where it would be automatically assumed that the name referred to the father of Joab, it may be a good idea to follow the Good News Translation model. The notion of upward movement in the verb phrase went up first is not essential to the meaning. The main idea is that of leading the attack and being on the front line of the battle in order to be the first to take the life of an enemy soldier.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .