hole / cave

The Hebrew that is translated in English as “He came to a cave (…) and went in to relieve himself. It happened to be the very cave in which David and his men were hiding far back in the cave.” or similar was problematic to translate in Kaqchikel “because the words for ‘cave’ and ‘hole’ are the same in Kaqchikel. So if you are not careful you can wind up with Saul relieving himself in a hole with David at the bottom. In Kaqchikel this was resolved by means of the directional apo (‘onward’) as opposed to ka (‘downward’) (Y rija’ xok k’a apo chiri’ richin . . .) which implies he kept walking more or less on a level plain.”

David cuts Saul's robe (image)

Click here to see the image in higher resolution.

Image taken from the Wiedmann Bible. For more information about the images and ways to adopt them, see here .

For other images of Willy Wiedmann paintings in TIPs, see here.

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)

large numbers in Angguruk Yali

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.

Source: Lourens de Vries in The Bible Translator 1998, p. 409ff.

See also numbers in Ngalum and numbers in Kombai.

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 24:3

The word sheepfolds (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, and New American Bible) is not contemporary American English. The Hebrew term refers to a fence-like enclosure made of stones. Some sheepfolds were permanent, consisting of stone walls and a roof; others were temporary constructions.

The words by the way mean that the sheep pens were near the route along which people walked, or “along the side of the road” (Contemporary English Version).

To relieve himself: Hebrew expresses this action by means of a euphemism, “to cover his feet” (so King James Version and also New Jerusalem Bible, which surprisingly translates this idiom literally). Fox keeps the Hebrew idiom, but places “cover his feet” in quotation marks to indicate that the words have a meaning different from the surface meaning. When a man squatted to relieve himself, his robe covered his feet. Various euphemisms are used to translate this in English, such as “to relieve himself” (Good News Translation, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “to ease nature” (New American Bible). The English euphemism “to go to the bathroom” is unacceptable because it implies the existence of a room that certainly did not exist in the cave where Saul was. The same Hebrew idiom occurs in Judges 3.24. While Living Bible uses the unacceptable modern euphemism, New Living Translation wisely reverts to the more appropriate expression, “to relieve himself.”

Innermost parts refers, not to the center of the cave, but to the area farthest away from the entrance, in the rear of the cave.

In some languages it may be advisable to restructure this verse as Revised English Bible has done, so that it speaks of David and his men hiding in the back of the cave before mentioning that Saul entered in order to answer the call of nature.

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 .