complete verse (2 Samuel 23:18)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Samuel 23:18:

  • Kupsabiny: “The leader of the thirty courageous/fierce soldiers was Abishai who was the brother of Joab. Abishai’s mother was called Zeruiah. One day, Abishai fought with three hundred men until he killed all of them with his spear. Then, Abishai, too, became well-known/famous but his fame did not surpass that of those other three men.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Abishai younger brother of Joab son of Zeruiah was the chief of those thirty. Once he killed three hundred [men] with a spear, so he became a famous man, like the three.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Abishai the sibling of Joab, the child of Zeruiah was the leader/[lit. head] of the thirty mighty men of David. He was-able-to-kill three hundred Filistinhon by his spear. So he became famous like those three mighty men.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Abishai, Joab’s younger brother, was the leader of the 30 greatest warriors. One day he fought against 300 men and killed them all with his spear. As a result, he also became famous.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on 2 Samuel 23:18

Now: the common Hebrew conjunction here marks the beginning of a new story, which is indicated in Good News Translation and most other versions by a new paragraph.

Zeruiah was the mother of Joab and Abishai (see the comments on 1 Sam 26.6). It is possible to misunderstand the text to mean that only Abishai was the son of Zeruiah. But since Joab and Abishai did not have different mothers, Good News Translation says “their mother….”

Chief of the thirty: though modern translations say either “three” or “thirty” here, it is most likely that neither is correct. The Hebrew word rendered thirty in Revised Standard Version is probably a technical term referring to a special group of soldiers. See the comments on this phrase, page 1159. Textual evidence is divided with regard to the Hebrew word translated thirty in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation. Instead of of the thirty, some interpreters follow the Septuagint and the correction in the margin of the Masoretic Text, which read “of the three.” Compare “of the Three” (New International Version, New Century Version, and Goldman), “of another three” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), or “of the cavalrymen” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The Syriac version is the source of the reading of Revised Standard Version and the majority of modern versions, of the thirty. But the traditional Hebrew text has rosh ha-sheloshi. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends that the vowels be corrected to read rosh ha-shalishi as in verse 8. This is the recommendation of this Handbook also. The verse states that Abishai belonged to the special group of warriors who served directly under the king’s command, just as Josheb-basshebeth did.

And he wielded his spear … and slew them: literally “and he [was] the one brandishing [or, waving proudly around in the air] his spear against three hundred pierced [or, killed].” The sense is that Abishai himself killed these three hundred enemy soldiers and then proudly waved his spear around in the air. Revised English Bible, New American Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible all say that he “brandished” his spear over the slain soldiers, and this captures the sense in English better than either Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation.

And won a name: literally “and to him [there was] a name….” Other languages may have very different ways of expressing the idea of becoming famous. Some may say something like “many people knew his name” or “other people praised him greatly.”

Beside the three: once again there is confusion as to whether the original text said “three” or “thirty.” Some evidence suggests “among the thirty” (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Revised English Bible as well as Good News Translation), but Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends the reading “three.” There is also a question as to the meaning of the Hebrew preposition translated beside in Revised Standard Version. New International Version, New Century Version, and Contemporary English Version take the whole expression to mean “He was as famous as the Three.” The more natural reading of the Hebrew is “among the Three” (so Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), in the sense of “in the eyes of the Three.”

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 .