23Then Ornan said to David, “Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him; see, I present the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering. I give it all.”
The Hebrew olah (עֹלָה) originally means “that which goes up (in smoke).” English Bibles often translates it as “burnt-offering” or “whole burnt-offering,” focusing on the aspect of the complete burning of the offering.
The GreekSeptuagint and the LatinVulgate Bibles translate it as holokautōma / holocautōsis (ὁλοκαύτωμα / ὁλοκαύτωσις) and holocaustum, respectively, meaning “wholly burnt.” While a form of this term is widely used in many Romance languages (Spanish: holocaustos, French: holocaustes, Italian: olocausti, Portuguese: holocaustos) and originally also in the Catholic tradition of English Bible translations, it is largely not used in English anymore today (the preface of the revised edition of the Catholic New American Bible of 2011: “There have been changes in vocabulary; for example, the term ‘holocaust’ is now normally reserved for the sacrilegious attempt to destroy the Jewish people by the Third Reich.”)
Since translation into Georgian was traditionally done on the basis of the Greek Septuagint, a transliteration of holokautōma was used as well, which was changed to a translation with the meaning of “burnt offering” when the Old Testament was retranslated in the 1980’s on the basis of the Hebrew text.
In the Koongo (Ki-manianga) translation by the Alliance Biblique de la R.D. Congo (publ. in 2015) olah is translated as “kill and offer sacrifice.” (Source: Anicet Bassilua)
The English translation of Everett Fox uses offering-up (similarly, the German translation by Buber-Rosenzweig has Darhöhung and the French translation by Chouraqui montée).
The Hebrew that is translated as “offering” in English is translated in Venda as nduvho. J. A. van Rooy (in The Bible Translator 1974, p. 439ff. ) explains: “It is derived from the verb u luvha (‘to pay homage to; to acknowledge the superiority of; at the same time usually asking for a favour’). It is sometimes used as a synonym for ‘asking something from a chief. The noun nduvho means ‘a gift of allegiance,’ which corresponds closely with minchah (מִנְחָה) as ‘offering of allegiance.’ This term nduvho has in it the elements of subjugation, of reciprocity (asking for a favor), of being taken up into the same community as the chief in allegiance to him. Only the element of expiation is missing.”
In Northern Emberá, it is translated as “given to God freely.” (Source: Loewen 1980, p. 108)
The Hebrew that is translated as “threshing sledge” in English is translated in Bura-Pabir as sur dəga or “threshing thing.” “It is good to use this quite general term here, since it is a hyperonym (more general term) for both the Hebrew and Bura cultural variants (a sledge and a stick respectively).” (Source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
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.)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
Then Ornan said to David: Here the verb said may be translated “replied” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Versión Internacional).
Take it is literally “Take for yourself.” Ornan offers David the threshing floor as a gift, for no payment.
And let my lord the king do what seems good to him is literally “and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes.” Ornan addresses David in the third person to show respect. Good News Translation restates this sentence by referring to David in the second person while maintaining the sense of respect by saying “Your Majesty … and do whatever you wish” (similarly Nueva Versión Internacional).
See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings: Ornan used the oxen to thresh the wheat. He offers them to David, so that David can sacrifice them to God as burnt offerings (see the comments on 1 Chr 16.1). Other renderings of burnt offerings include “whole-offerings” (Revised English Bible) and “holocausts” (New American Bible).
And the threshing sledges for the wood: Threshing sledges were heavy boards with bits of rock or metal on the bottom that were used in the process of separating the husks from grain. They were normally dragged by oxen across the stone floor on which the grain had been spread out. For a fuller description of threshing sledges, see WTH, pages 15-16|fig:WTH.Threshing board.15-16.html. Other renderings include “threshing boards” (Good News Translation), “threshing-sleds” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “threshing-instruments” (American Bible). The Hebrew does not state specifically why Ornan offered to give the threshing boards, saying only for the wood. Good News Translation makes this more explicit by saying “to use as fuel [for the sacrifices].” Compare also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, which adds “To make a fire.”
And the wheat for a cereal offering: A cereal offering was an offering of grain mixed with incense and olive oil. This offering could be raw grain, finely ground grain, or grain made into cakes and then baked or fried. Instructions for the cereal offering are found in Lev 2.1-16 and 6.14-23. According to Exo 29.38-41 and Num 15.1-10, a cereal offering was to be offered with every burnt offering. Other translations of this offering include “grain offering” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible) and “meal offering” (American Bible). For burnt offerings and cereal offering, Good News Translation uses the general word “offering” without specifying either kind of offering.
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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