elder (of the community)

The Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek that is typically translated as “elders” in English is translated in the Danish Bibelen 2020 as folkets ledere or “leaders of the people.”

Martin Ehrensvärd, one of the translators, explains: “The term ‘elder’ turned out to pose a particularly thorny problem. In traditional bibles, you can find elders all of over the place and they never pose a problem for a translator, they are just always elders. But how to find a contemporary term for this semi-official, complex position? This may have been our longest-standing problem. A couple of times we thought we had the solution, and then implemented it throughout the texts, only to find out that it didn’t work. Like when we used city council or village council, depending on the context. In the end we felt that the texts didn’t work with such official terms, and throughout the years in the desert, these terms didn’t make much sense. Other suggestions were ‘the eldest and wisest’, ‘the respected citizens’, ‘the Israelites with a certain position in society’, ‘the elder council’ –- and let me point out that these terms sound better in Danish than in English (‘de fremtrædende borgere,’ ‘de mest fremtrædende israelitter,’ ‘alle israelitter med en vis position,’ ‘de ældste og de klogeste,’ ‘ældsterådet’). In the end we just said ‘leaders of the people.’ After a lot of hand-wringing, it turned out that we actually found a term that worked well. So, we had to give up conveying the fact that they were old, but the most important point is that they were community leaders.” (Source: Ehrensvärd in HIPHIL Novum 8/2023, p. 81ff. )

The German das Buch translation by Roland Werner (publ. 2009-2022) translates likewise as “leader of the people” (Anführer des Volkes).

Absalom (image)

Hand colored stencil print on momigami by Sadao Watanabe (1972).

Image taken with permission from the SadaoHanga Catalogue where you can find many more images and information about Sadao Watanabe.

For other images of Sadao Watanabe art works in TIPs, see here.

See also Absalom.

Absalom

The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Absalom” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the signs depicting “hair + caught” referring to 2 Samuel 18:9. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)


“Absalom” in Spanish Sign Language, source: Sociedad Bíblica de España

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

See also Absalom (image).

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Absalom .

complete verse (2 Samuel 17:4)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 17:4:

  • Kupsabiny: “Absalom and all the elders of Israel saw that the words of Ahithophel were good.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “This advice seemed good to Absalom and to the elders of Israel.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “This plan seemed good to Absalom and to all the ones-who-rule-over Israel.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Absalom and all the Israeli leaders who were with him thought that what Ahithophel said would be good to do.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 17:4

Few translations of this verse are literal, but compare Fox, who says “And the word was right in Avshalom’s eyes and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.”

The advice pleased Absalom: making a word like advice the subject of a sentence that contains the verb pleased may not be possible in some languages. It is more likely that Absalom should be the subject of an expression like “Absalom saw that the plan he [Ahithophel] suggested was good” or “Absalom agreed that Ahithophel’s words were wise.” Or it may be possible to change the verb and say something like “the counsel was good in the eyes of Absalom.”

The elders of Israel: on this expression see 3.17; 5.3; 1 Sam 4.3; 8.4. Absalom undoubtedly double-checked the soundness of advice given to him, even when it was given by one who was well known for his wise counsel. In this case the other leaders confirmed the wisdom of what Ahithophel had said.

As was noted in previous chapters, some interpreters understand the term Israel here to be limited to the northern tribes. For this reason Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente says “and all the leaders of the northern tribes.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .