The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Saul” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that depicts “sword in chest” (referring to 1 Samuel 31:4 and 1 Chronicles 10:4) and also “self-centered.” (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
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.)
Following is a list of (back-) translations from other languages (click or tap for details):
Ayutla Mixtec: “one who talks as God’s representative”
Isthmus Mixe: “speaker for God” (source for this and two above: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
Mezquital Otomi / Paasaal: “God’s messenger” (source: Waterhouse / Parrott in Notes on Translation October 1967, p. 1ff. and Fabian N. Dapila in The Bible Translator 2024, p. 415ff.)
Noongar: Warda Marridjiny or “News Traveling” (source: Warda-Kwabba Luke-Ang)
Kutu: mtula ndagu or “one who gives the prediction of the past and the future” (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ebira: ọnịsẹ, a neologism that combines the prefix ọn for “a person” with ịsẹ for “prediction” (source: Scholz /Scholz 2015, p. 49)
French 1985 translation by Chouraqui: inspiré or “inspired one” (“someone in whom God has breathed [Latin: in + spiro]) (source: Watson 2023, p. 45)
In Ixcatlán Mazatec a term is used that specifically includes women. (Source: Robert Bascom)
“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 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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 10:12:
Kupsabiny: “Someone who was living there said that, ‘But hey, where did some of this prophets get these things?’ This is how that issue started, it was said that, ‘Has Saul also become a prophet of God?’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “One of those who was there asked, "Who is their father?" So they spoke a proverb like this.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “A man (who was) from-there answered, ‘(It is) not important who (is) his father; anyone can become a prophet.’ And that was the beginning of a saying that says, ‘Has- Saul -became a prophet also?’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “One of the men who lived there replied, ‘Saul cannot be a prophet, because all prophets receive their power to speak messages from God, not from their parents.’ And that is why, when people hear about a report of someone prophesying, they think about what happened to Saul and say, ‘We are surprised about that person becoming a prophet, like we were surprised to hear that Saul had really become one of the prophets.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
A man of the place: literally “a man from there,” that is, “a man who lived there” (New International Version). This may mean either “from that district” (New American Bible) or “one of the local people” (New Jerusalem Bible). Others understand it to mean simply “a bystander” (An American Translation; La Bible du Semeur is similar).
And who is their father? The meaning of this question is not clear. But the pronoun their almost certainly refers to the group of prophets. Perhaps the question implies that these prophets were not well known because their biological fathers are unknown, and that Saul was therefore associating with unimportant people. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “And who are their fathers?”
Or, alternatively, father may be used with the meaning “chief” or “leader” and may refer to the single leader of the group of prophets. That is, the question may imply that they have no leader. Compare Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, “And who is the leader of these prophets?”
The translation of the word Therefore may present special difficulties, since the relationship of the proverbial saying is not just to the immediately preceding question but to the whole scene. That is, the saying came into being because of the entire situation of Saul meeting and joining with the group of prophets after having received the spirit of Yahweh.
The word proverb may have to be replaced by something like “a famous saying” (New Century Version) in some languages, since “proverb” may have a more restricted meaning.
Is Saul also among the prophets? A different explanation for the origin of this saying is given in 19.18-24.
Translators may wish to include a footnote on this verse, and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible provides a very good model:
• The sense of this question is not clear. Perhaps father is here the equivalent of teacher, and the man is astonished at not having seen a leader at the head of this band, or the man means to say that these prophets are people who are not known by the name of their fathers, that is, they are people of low status.
Compare also this shorter footnote in Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente:
• The expression in the text could indicate people abandoned or of low status (without a father); or an unruly group and without leadership (without a leader).
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 .
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