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)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Benjamin” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wolf,” referring to Genesis 49:27. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 2:15:
Kupsabiny: “Then twelve soldiers of Ishbosheth of the way/clan of Benjamin were chosen and twelve others of the soldiers of David were chosen so that they fight the others.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So twelve of Ishbosheth’s men from the tribe of Benjamin rose to fight with twelve of David’s men.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “then the 12 men of Ishboshet from the tribe of Benjamin stood-up to fight-against the 12 men of David.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Then: the transition word here indicates that, as a result of the agreement between the two leaders, the men representing the two groups prepared themselves for the coming conflict. The word “So” is found at this point in New International Version and New American Bible as well as Good News Translation.
They arose: the pronoun they seems to refer, in anticipation, to the two groups of twelve men who were to engage in the contest. Since it can be understood as referring to Abner and Joab, this meaning should be avoided by making the subject explicit. Translators may say “the fighting men arose” or, as in Good News Translation, “So twelve men….”
Passed over by number: the idea here is that the men from each side were counted to ensure that neither group had a numerical advantage. La Biblia Latinoamerica says “moving forward in equal number.” The text gives no clear indication of where they went to engage in the fighting, but presumably it was near the pool where the members of the two groups had been seated.
For Benjamin and Ish-bosheth: the fighters opposing David’s men represented Ishbosheth as king over the northern confederation as a whole, but they apparently came only from the tribe of Benjamin. It will be important in translation to make it clear that Benjamin does not refer to an individual but to the tribal group of that name. The Septuagint and a manuscript from Qumran read “for the sons of Benjamin.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text, arguing that a scribe changed “Benjamin” to “the sons of Benjamin” under the influence of the same expression in verses 25 and 4.2. But since “sons of [Benjamin]” is an idiom meaning “belonging to the tribe of [Benjamin],” the meaning is the same, whichever text is followed.
The name Ish-bosheth (or Ishbaal) should be rendered consistently, as in verse 8.
Servants: here the reference is undoubtedly to the fighting men who were in the service of David. It is therefore possible to translate “soldiers.”
Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente provides a different model for translating this verse:
• Twenty-four soldiers stepped forward: twelve from the tribe of Benjamin for Ish-Baal, son of Saul, and twelve from David’s troops.
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 .
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