Philistines

The term that is transliterated as “Philistines” in English is translated in American Sign Language with a sign that signifies the helmet the Philistine warriors wore was decorated with feather-like objects. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Philistines” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

Click or tap here to see a short video clip about Philistines (source: Bible Lands 2012)

complete verse (1 Samuel 23:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Samuel 23:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “David again asked God. God replied him that, ‘Go down to Keilah because I will make you to get victory over the Philistines.’” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Once again David took counsel of the LORD. And the LORD responded like this, "Go to Keliah city. I will give the Philistines into your hand."” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “David again asked the LORD, and the LORD said to him, ‘[You (sing.)] go to Keila, for I will-have- you (sing.) -win against the Filistinhon.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “So David asked Yahweh again if they should go to Keilah. Yahweh answered, ‘Yes, go down to Keilah. I will help you to defeat the men of the Philistia people-group.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)

1st person pronoun referring to God (Japanese)

Click or tap here to see the rest of this insight.

Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a first person singular and plural pronoun (“I” and “we” and its various forms) as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. The most commonly used watashi/watakushi (私) is typically used when the speaker is humble and asking for help. In these verses, where God / Jesus is referring to himself, watashi is also used but instead of the kanji writing system (私) the syllabary hiragana (わたし) is used to distinguish God from others.

(Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

See also pronoun for “God”.

Translation commentary on 1 Samuel 23:4

The text does not say how David inquired of the LORD, but he probably consulted the priest Abiathar, who will have used the ephod. The same words as in verse 2 are used here, so the adverb again is important.

Answered him: literally “answered him and said.”

Arise: see the comment on this verb at 9.3. Translators will recall that it is not necessary to give the idea of getting up from a sitting position as in a literal translation.

Go down: the use of this verb seems to imply that traveling from Adullam to Keilah involved a decrease in altitude. Many modern English versions do not translate literally here—either because it is not natural or perhaps because of the actual geography involved.

I will give the Philistines into your hand: on the metaphorical use of hand as “power” or “control,” see 4.8. Some languages may prefer to translate “I will cause you to defeat the Philistines.”

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 .