18The Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed seven thousand Aramean charioteers and forty thousand foot soldiers and also Shophach the commander of their army.
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
In Eastern Highland Otomi it’s translated as “cart pulled by horses” (source: Larson 1998, p. 98) and in Chichicapan Zapotec as “ox cart” (in Acts 8). Ox carts are common vehicles for travel. (Source: Loren Bliese)
In Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.) and in the HausaCommon Language Ajami Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
It is illustrated for use in Bible translations in East Africa by Pioneer Bible Translators like this:
Image owned by PBT and Jonathan McDaniel and licensed with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
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.)
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
And the Syrians fled before Israel: Depending on how the end of the previous verse is translated, a conjunction such as “but” (Bible en français courant) may be more appropriate here than And. The Syrians first attacked but then retreated. This reversal of fortune may be highlighted by the transition word chosen here.
And David slew of the Syrians … and killed also …: The writer maintains the focus on David, but it is not likely that David alone killed all of these Syrian soldiers. For this reason some translations say “David and his men” (Good News Translation) or “David and his troops” (Bible en français courant). The verbs slew and killed translate two different verbs in the Hebrew and the second is more literally “caused to die,” but the meaning is virtually identical and they may be translated the same in the receptor language as most modern English versions do.
The men of seven thousand chariots is literally “seven thousand chariot.” Revised Standard Version supplies the men of as the context requires. The word “chariot” is singular, but is used collectively to refer to a group of chariots. The parallel passage in 2 Sam 10.18 has “the men of seven hundred chariots.” While New Jerusalem Bible speaks of “seven thousand of their chariot teams,” most versions take this to mean seven thousand individual chariot drivers. Both interpretations are possible, and translators may follow either. For forty thousand foot soldiers, Revised English Bible has “forty thousand infantry.” Other possible renderings are “… walking soldiers” and “… soldiers who had no horses.” As noted in 1 Chr 19.7, translators will need to decide whether it is better to write out these numbers as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation or to write the numbers 7,000 and 40,000.
Shophach the commander of their army is rendered simply “General Shobach” by Bible en français courant since verse 16 has already identified him.
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 .
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