7They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah with his army, who came and camped before Medeba. And the Ammonites were mustered from their cities and came to battle.
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin that is translated as “army” in English is translated in Chichewa as “group of warriors.” (Source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Chronicles 19:7:
Kupsabiny: “They assisted those people with thirty-two thousand chariots. Then, the king of Maakah and the soldiers of Medeba went to aid those Ammonites. After that, all the Ammonites called one another to leave their cities to come for war.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “They hired 32,000 chariots and charioteers together with king Maacaah and his army. They came and set up camp near Medeba. All the Ammonites also came out of their town, ready for battle.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “The numbers of chariots and charioteers were 32,000. The king of Maaca and his soldiers also joined them. These groups camped near Medeba. The Ammonhon also went-out of their towns and prepared to fight.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “They hired 32,000 chariots and chariot-drivers, as well as the king of the Maacah region and his army. They came and set up their tents near Medeba town in Moab region. The soldiers from the Ammon people-group also marched out and stood in their positions/arranged themselves for battle at the entrance to their capital city, Rabbah.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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:
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 (Dinė) 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.”
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.
They hired thirty-two thousand chariots and the king of Maacah with his army: The pronoun They refers to the Ammonites, which may be made explicit if necessary. If this is done, then it will probably be more natural to translate the Ammonites in the middle of the verse with a pronoun. As in the previous verse, the Masoretic Text has the words “for themselves” after They hired. Most English translations leave this implicit since the context clearly indicates that the Ammonites hired the chariots and soldiers to fight for them and not for someone else. Both Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation write out the number thirty-two thousand. Other versions say “32,000” ( NET Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Translators will have to decide which form is better in their own language. The text says only that they hired 32,000 chariots, but it is probably implied that they also hired drivers for the chariots. His army is literally “his people.” But the noun “people” clearly refers to a military force here.
Who came and encamped before Medeba: Medeba was a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the north end of the Dead Sea in the territory of Reuben in Moab. It seems strange that the Syrian army would have come to Moab, which is significantly south of Rabbah, their capital city. A number of scholars have proposed that the Masoretic Text reading meydebaʾ (Medeba) originally said mey rabah (“[the] waters of Rabbah”). This reconstructed reading makes more sense geographically than does Medeba. Moreover, in 2 Sam 12.27 Rabbah is called “the city of waters,” and the Hebrew letters for “d” and “r” were often confused by scribes. Knoppers accepts this correction of the Masoretic Text and translates “And they came and encamped before the waters of Rabbah.” Even though this reconstructed reading may well be correct, there is no textual evidence to support this reading, so translators should follow the Masoretic Text here.
And the Ammonites were mustered from their cities and came to battle: The verb mustered implies a group being gathered together for the purpose of preparing to fight a battle. The Hebrew verb here is often translated “gathered.” In this context some languages may use a technical military expression such as mustered or “mobilized” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). The verb may also be translated “assembled” (New American Bible).
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 .
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