king

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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:

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  • Piro: “a great one”
  • Highland Totonac: “the big boss”
  • Huichol: “the one who commanded” (source for this and above: Bratcher / Nida)
  • Ekari: “the one who holds the country” (source: Reiling / Swellengrebel)
  • Una: weik sienyi: “big headman” (source: Kroneman 2004, p. 407)
  • Pass Valley Yali: “Big Man” (source: Daud Soesilo)
  • 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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”

(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )

Translation commentary on 2 Chronicles 9:12

Verse 12 returns to the story of the queen of Sheba, which was interrupted by the digression in verses 10-11.

And King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all that she desired, whatever she asked: All that she desired is understood in the Ethiopian tradition to mean that she wanted to give birth to a son of Solomon. That tradition claims that she gave birth to a son named Menelik, whose father was King Solomon. Apart from the historical questions this raises, translators should not make this phrase more precise than it is in Hebrew. God’s Word translates “anything she wanted.” Good News Translation combines the verbs desired and asked, saying “asked for,” since people usually ask for what they desire.

Besides what she had brought to the king: As the footnote in Good News Translation indicates, the Hebrew text is not clear here. The parallel text in 1 Kgs 10.13 says “besides what was given her by the bounty of King Solomon.” But here in 2 Chronicles, the Masoretic Text reads “besides what she had brought the king.” This part of the verse makes no sense, since it is not likely that Solomon simply gave back to the queen of Sheba what she had brought to him. The Targum has the additional words “what he gave her freely in return for,” which may have been original and may have been accidentally omitted. So some translations correct the text to read as in Good News Translation (so Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Revised English Bible, for example, corrects the first sentence of this verse to read as follows: “King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba whatever she desired and asked for, in addition to his gifts in return for what she had brought him.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text here. If the Masoretic Text is followed, the following renderings are possible for this sentence:

• (1) “King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything that pleased her and that she desired except that which she herself had brought to the king.”

• (2) “… everything that pleased her and she desired except [that which he had given in exchange for] that which she herself had brought to the king.” This translation basically agrees with the understanding that was made explicit in the Targum rendering.

• (3) “… all she asked for plus other gifts that had greater value than what she had brought to him.” This translation seems to be the basis for the New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh rendering “… everything she expressed a desire for, exceeding a return for what she had brought to the king.”

So she turned and went back to her own land, with her servants: The two Hebrew verbs translated turned and went back may be rendered by a single verb, such as “returned” (New Revised Standard Version). But it is also possible to see the first verb as focusing on the initial departure and the second one on the journey. Revised English Bible says “Then she departed with her retinue and went back to her own land.” Good News Translation makes it explicit that her own land was “the land of Sheba.” With her servants is literally “she and her servants.” This phrase comes at the very end of the verse. The Hebrew keeps the focus on the queen of Sheba, but for all practical purposes the servants are a part of the subject of the sentence. In many languages it will be more natural to say “Accompanied by her servants, she went back to her own country.”

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 .