male (pisseth against the wall)

The Hebrew phrase that literally means “urinating against the wall” and likely refers to a pejorative, dog-like meaning of “male” or “man” (see translations with a Hebraic voice [1 Samuel 25:22]) is translated verbatim in the Latin Vulgate, the Greek Septuagint and early English translations (Tyndale, King James / Authorised Version, Douay-Rheims) but in most other languages and versions with a term that simply refers to “man” or “male.”

calamities

The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone phu (“poof”) to emphasize calamities like death or exposure in these verses. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)

Philip Noss (in The Bible Translator 1976, p. 100ff. ) explains the function of an ideophone: “The ideophone may be identified with onomatopoeia and other sound words frequently seen in French and English comic strips, but in [many] African languages it comprises a class of words with a very wide range of meaning and usage. They may function verbally, substantively, or in a modifying role similar to adverbs and adjectives. They describe anything that may be experienced: action, sound, color, quality, smell, or emotion. In oral literature they are used not only with great frequency but also with great creativity.”

Translation commentary on 2 Kings 9:8

For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: In the Hebrew text this verse begins with the verb shall perish. In place of this verb, however, the Septuagint (followed by New American Bible and New Jerusalem Bible) reads “and by the hand,” and this is connected to the end of verse 7. The Septuagint is the basis for the New American Bible rendering, which reads as follows for verses 7b-8a: “and the blood of all the other servants of the LORD shed by Jezebel, 8 and by all the rest of the family of Ahab.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text, which should be followed.

The whole house of Ahab refers, of course, to Ahab’s complete family and all his potential descendants (so Good News Translation). If the previous verse has already been translated in such a way as to indicate that the leader must die (as Good News Translation has done), some may find it more natural to translate here “all the rest of Ahab’s family.”

Once again the future tense in Revised Standard Version here (shall perish) is a way of stating something that must happen. New Century Version translates “All of Ahab’s family must die.”

I will cut off from Ahab every male, bond or free, in Israel: This same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 21.21. See the comments there. In this context the meaning of the Hebrew verb rendered cut off is “kill,” “destroy” (Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible), or “get rid of” (Good News Translation). See the comments on 1 Kgs 11.15-16. For the phrases every male and bond or free, see the comments on 1 Kgs 14.10.

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 .