וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ חִלְקִיָּ֣הוּ הַ֠כֹּהֵן וַאֲחִיקָ֨ם וְעַכְבּ֜וֹר וְשָׁפָ֣ן וַעֲשָׂיָ֗ה אֶל־חֻלְדָּ֨ה הַנְּבִיאָ֜ה אֵ֣שֶׁת ׀ שַׁלֻּ֣ם בֶּן־תִּקְוָ֗ה בֶּן־חַרְחַס֙ שֹׁמֵ֣ר הַבְּגָדִ֔ים וְהִ֛יא יֹשֶׁ֥בֶת בִּירוּשָׁלִַ֖ם בַּמִּשְׁנֶ֑ה וַֽיְדַבְּר֖וּ אֵלֶֽיהָ׃
14So the priest Hilkiah, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went to the prophet Huldah the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; she resided in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter, where they consulted her.
“Son of x, son of y” must be rendered as “son of x and grandson of y” in Tibetan or else it will sound like two different people.
Note: The same translation solution is chosen in many contemporary English Bibles that emphasize easy readability, such as the Contemporary English Version, Common English Bible, Good News Translation, God’s Word, or New Living Translation.
See also father / grandfather.
The Hebrew and Greek that is translated with “clothes” or similar in English is translated in Enlhet as “crawling-in-stuff” (source: Jacob Loewen in The Bible Translator 1971, p. 169ff. ) and in Noongar as bwoka or “Kangaroo skin” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
Bratcher / Nida (1961) say this:
“However, rather than borrow local names for priests, some of which have unwanted connotations, a number of translations have employed descriptive phrases based on certain functions: (1) those describing a ceremonial activity: Pamona uses tadu, the priestess who recites the litanies in which she describes her journey to the upper or under-world to fetch life-spirit for sick people, animals or plants; Batak Toba uses the Arabic malim, ‘Muslim religious teacher;’ ‘one who presents man’s sacrifice to God’ (Bambara, Eastern Maninkakan), ‘one who presents sacrifices’ (Baoulé, Navajo), ‘one who takes the name of the sacrifice’ (Kpelle, and ‘to make a sacrifice go out’ (Hausa); (2) those describing an intermediary function: ‘one who speaks to God’ (Shipibo-Conibo) and ‘spokesman of the people before God’ (Tabasco Chontal).”
In Obolo it is translated as ogwu ngwugwa or “the one who offers sacrifice” (source: Enene Enene), in Mairasi as agam aevar nevwerai: “religious leader” (source: Enggavoter 2004), in Ignaciano as “blesser, one who does ritual as a practice” (using a generic term rather than the otherwise common Spanish loan word sacerdote) (source: Willis Ott in Notes on Translation 88/1982, p. 18ff.), and in Noongar as yakin-kooranyi or “holy worker” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang).
For Guhu-Samane, Ernest Richert (in The Bible Translator, 1965, p. 81ff. ) reports this:
“The [local] cult of Poro used to be an all-encompassing religious system that essentially governed all areas of life. (…) For ‘priest’ the term ‘poro father’ would at first seem to be a natural choice. However, several priests of the old cult are still living. Although they no longer function primarily as priests of the old system they still have a substantial influence on the community, and there would be more than a chance that the unqualified term would (in some contexts particularly) be equated with the priest of the poro cult. We learned, then, that the poro fathers would sometimes be called ‘knife men’ in relation to their sacrificial work. The panel was pleased to apply this term to the Jewish priest, and the Christian community has adopted it fully. [Mark 1:44, for instance, now] reads: ‘You must definitely not tell any man of this. But you go show your body to the knife man and do what Moses said about a sacrifice concerning your being healed, and the cause (base of this) will be apparent.'”
For a revision of the 1968 version of the Bible in Khmer Joseph Hong (in: The Bible Translator 1996, 233ff. ) talks about a change in wording for this term:
Bau cha r (បូជាចារ្យ) — The use of this new construction meaning “priest” is maintained to translate the Greek word hiereus. The term “mean sang (មាន សង្ឃ)” used in the old version actually means a “Buddhist monk,” and is felt to be theologically misleading. The Khmer considers the Buddhist monk as a “paddy field of merits,” a reserve of merits to be shared with other people. So a Khmer reader would find unthinkable that the mean sang in the Bible killed animals, the gravest sin for a Buddhist; and what a scandal it would be to say that a mean sang was married, had children, and drank wine.
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
“Jerusalem” in French Sign Language (source: La Bible en langue des signes française )
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Eugene Nida wrote the following about the translation of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek terms that are typically translated with “prophet” in English:
“The tendency in many translations is to use ‘to foretell the future’ for ‘prophesy,’ and ‘one who foretells the future’ for ‘prophet.’ This is not always a recommended usage, particularly if such expressions denote certain special native practices of spirit contact and control. It is true, of course, that prophets of the Bible did foretell the future, but this was not always their principal function. One essential significance of the Greek word prophētēs is ‘one who speaks forth,’ principally, of course, as a forth-teller of the Divine will. A translation such as ‘spokesman for God’ may often be employed profitably.” (1947, p. 234f.)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
About the translation into Northern Grebo:
“In some instances these spiritual terms result from adaptations reflecting the native life and culture. Among the Northern Grebo people of Liberia, a missionary wanted some adequate term for ‘prophet,’ and she was fully aware that the native word for ‘soothsayer’ or ‘diviner’ was no equivalent for the Biblical prophet who spoke forth for God. Of course, much of what the prophets said referred to the future, and though this was an essential part of much of their ministry, it was by no means all. The right word for the Gbeapo people would have to include something which would not only mean the foretelling of important events but the proclamation of truth as God’s representative among the people. At last the right word came; it was ‘God’s town-crier.’ Every morning and evening the official representative of the chief goes through the village crying out the news, delivering the orders of the chief, and announcing important coming events. ‘God’s town-crier’ would be the official representative of God, announcing to the people God’s doings, His commands, and His pronouncements for their salvation and well-being. For the Northern Grebo people the prophet is no weird person from forgotten times; he is as real as the human, moving message of the plowman Amos, who became God’s town-crier to a calloused people.” (source: Nida 1952, p. 20)
In American Sign Language it is a person who sees into the future:
“Prophet” in American Sign Language (source )
In British Sign Language it is is translated with a sign that depicts a message coming from God to a person (the upright finger) and then being passed on to others. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Prophet” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
See also prophesy and prophesy / prophetic frenzy.
Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah: Instead of repeating the names of the five men who went to consult the LORD on behalf of the king, some translators may find it more natural to say simply “Those five men” (so Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), referring back to verse 12.
Huldah the prophetess …: The only other place where this woman is mentioned is in the parallel passage of 2 Chr 34.22. She performed the same functions as a male prophet (see the comments at 1 Kgs 1.8 and 2 Kgs 3.11). The text provides a detailed explanation of who this woman was in terms of her husband, with details about his lineage (the son of Tikvah, [who was the] son of Harhas) and his occupation (keeper of the wardrobe).
Keeper of the wardrobe: There is no explicit indication of whose clothing Shallum was responsible for. Some interpreters think that he was in charge of the priests’ clothes that they wore while on duty in the Temple. This is the basis for the translation “was in charge of the Temple robes” (Good News Translation, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch; similarly Bible en français courant, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). But other commentators suggest that he was in charge of the king’s wardrobe. Therefore Knox says that he “kept the royal wardrobe.” The Hebrew wording here is not the same as in 2 Kgs 10.22, where it says “him who was in charge of the wardrobe,” but the meaning seems similar although in that passage, the robes were worn by the worshipers of Baal. Perhaps the best way to handle the phrase here is to leave the ambiguity as in Revised Standard Version. If some languages require that it be stated whose wardrobe is in view, then one interpretation may be placed in the text while the other interpretation is put in a footnote.
Now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter: Here the text further describes Huldah in terms of the place where she and her husband lived. Their residence was in a part of Jerusalem called the Second Quarter (Mishneh in Hebrew). In addition to the parallel passage in 2 Chr 34.22, this section of Jerusalem is mentioned also in Zeph 1.10. The term is often said to refer to a district on the northern side of the city which had been built more recently than many other parts. Some scholars, however, believe it was located on the western hill of Jerusalem. In any case, it refers to a newer part of the city (so Good News Translation). Similarly, New Jerusalem Bible says “in Jerusalem in the new town” and New Century Version has “in Jerusalem, in the new area of the city.” Nouvelle Bible Segond says “in Jerusalem, in New City.” The Nouvelle Bible Segond rendering capitalizes “New City” to indicate that this is the actual name of this part of Jerusalem. Both American Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh transliterate the Hebrew word for the Second Quarter, saying “the Mishneh [quarter],” but this is not recommended since it will have no meaning for the average reader.
The order in which the various elements describing Huldah are given in translation will depend on what is natural in the receptor language.
After a rather lengthy description of who Huldah was, the text finally says that the delegation from Josiah talked with her. In some languages a different verb may be required. Certain English versions translate “consulted her” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible). New Jerusalem Bible says “put the matter to her” while Knox has “told her their business.” In those languages in which the pronouns “him” and “her” are identical, it may be wise to substitute the proper name “Huldah” here if the antecedent is not be clear.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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