garden

The Hebrew and Greek that is translated into English as “garden” is translated into Naskapi with a word that means “a place for things to grow.”

Doug Lockhart (in Word Alive 2013 ) explains: “‘Garden’ was another term that had no Naskapi equivalent. ‘There are no gardens here,’ Bill [Jancewicz, a translation consultant] explains. ‘So what word do you use for ‘Garden of Eden,’ and have it communicate something logical in Naskapi? We finally came up with a word that means ‘a place for things to grow,’ like a park.'”

See also gardener.

vineyard

The Hebrew, Latin, and Greek that is translated as “vineyard” in English is translated in Noongar as boodjer-djildjiyang, lit. “land for fruit.” (Source: Portions of the Holy Bible in the Nyunga language of Australia, 2018).

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 21:2

And after this: See the comments on verse 1. After setting the stage in the previous verse, Good News Translation begins the story with the words “One day.”

Said is literally “said … saying.” In some languages the verb said may be translated “ordered” or “commanded” in this context. The verb that follows is an imperative.

Give me your vineyard: As the following words make clear, Ahab was not asking Naboth to give his vineyard to him without any payment in return. Since the Hebrew verb rendered Give can mean “to sell” in some contexts (for example, Gen 23.13), Anchor Bible translates it here and in verses 3, 4, and 6 as “sell.”

That I may have it for a vegetable garden: Ahab’s proposal is to grow a different kind of plant in the same area where Naboth had been growing grapes. The general notion of vegetable is difficult to express in some languages that have only specific terms for different kinds of vegetables. Some languages may have to speak of “leafy plants” or something similar. The Hebrew word for vegetable is sometimes rendered “herbs” (Pro 15.17). The same term is also found in Deut 11.10.

Or, if it seems good to you is literally “if good in your eyes.” The meaning of the Hebrew is clearly expressed as “or, if you prefer” (Good News Translation, Nouvelle Bible Segond). Revised Standard Version has supplied the word or, which is implicit in the Hebrew text.

Its value in money is literally “silver of the value of this.” Revised English Bible says “its value in silver.” Similarly, Nouvelle Bible Segond has expressed the meaning here as “the value in silver.”

The proposal of King Ahab here seems reasonable until the family ties mentioned in the following verse come to light. Ahab’s error was not in making this suggestion but in his reaction to Naboth’s refusal to accept it.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .