Took a stone and set it up: the verb translated set … up is literally “placed” (New American Bible). The wording of Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation makes it sound as if this may have been some sort of elongated stone rather than a rounded one. If this is the case a different word may be required in some languages. But there is nothing in the noun or the verb that indicates that this is necessarily the case. The stone involved would certainly have been a relatively large one, so translators should avoid a meaning like “pebble” here.
Jeshanah: as the footnote in Revised Standard Version indicates, the Masoretic Text reads “Shen” rather than Jeshanah. If “Shen” is the correct reading, this is the only mention of a town by this name in the Old Testament.
The Hebrew word shen means “tooth” and may also refer to a “tooth” of rock (see 14.4-5). Klein renders this “between Mizpah and the crag.” Nueva Biblia Española translates this place name as “Muela,” that is, “Molar [tooth]”; New Jerusalem Bible, Bible en français courant, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible similarly translate the name as “The Tooth.” Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente transliterates the Hebrew name and then places the words “The Tooth” in parentheses in the text following the Hebrew name. As in the case of Mizpa earlier (verse 5), Fox transliterates the Hebrew name Shen and gives the meaning immediately following: “put it between Mizpa and Shen/The Rock-Tooth.” According to this interpretation the name refers to a geographical feature of that area that would have been known to the original readers.
However, rather than following the Hebrew, many translations follow the Septuagint in reading Jeshanah (Revised Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, La Bible Pléiade; see 2 Chr 13.19, where this name occurs in the Masoretic Text). In support of the Septuagint reading is the fact that the city Jeshanah was located near Mizpah. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project does not discuss this textual problem, which suggests that the committee supports the reading of the Masoretic Text.
Ebenezer: the Hebrew name means “stone of help.” This meaning should somehow be made clear to readers and hearers of this passage. This may be done as in Good News Translation, Moffatt, Knox, and Bible en français courant, by translating the meaning directly in the text or, as in Revised Standard Version and several other modern versions, by explaining the meaning in a footnote. Another way of handling this problem is to put both the form and the meaning in the text. For example, translators may say “named it Ebenezer, which means Stone of Help” or “called it Stone of Help (that is, Ebenezer).” Fox again transliterates the Hebrew name, followed by the translation: “and he called its name Even ha-Ezer/The Stone of Help.” Since this place name is used in 4.1 and 5.1 without reference to its meaning, this last solution may be the best.
The precise meaning of the words translated hitherto is not clear. (1) The writer may have intended a temporal reference, that is, “up to this point in time” (so Revised Standard Version, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible in an alternate translation to that in the text itself). See also New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, “up to now.” Or (2) he may have intended a reference to the place, that is, “up to this location [or, place]” (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Fox, which has “Near here”). Numerous translations simply do not translate these words. Other translations reflect the ambiguity of the Hebrew (so Good News Translation). In light of the fact that the people will demand a king in chapter 8 and will reject God as their king (see 8.6-7, and especially 8.18), it seems likely that the writer intends a temporal reference. Translators should choose one interpretation for the translation, and the alternative translation may be placed in a footnote, as in Traduction œcuménique de la Bible.
Some interpreters believe the Hebrew text is incorrect here, and change the words “unto here” to read “a witness this that.” Revised English Bible is based on this proposed change of the Hebrew text: “This is a witness … that the LORD has helped us.” Hebrew Old Testament Text Project does not discuss the text here, which suggests that the committee supports the Masoretic Text.
Good News Translation reverses the order of the place name and the explanatory statement so that the explanation comes first. In this way the name becomes more significant. Such restructuring may be appropriate in other languages as well. If the order of the Hebrew text is maintained, then the connecting word for becomes even more important. Readers must understand that the reason for the name was the fact that Yahweh had helped the people of Israel.
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 .