Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Esther 1:9:
Kupsabiny: “The wife of that king was called Vashti. That woman also celebrated her own ceremony with the other women at the home of that king.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “At that very same time, Vashti also invited women to the royal palace of the great king Ahasuerus and gave them a feast.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “While the men visitors were-feasting, Queen Basti also caused/held-a-feast for the women there in the palace of King Ahasuerus.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
Eastern Bru: “At the same time, Vashti, the wife of the king, made a feast also for the women who were in the king’s house.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
English: “At the same time, the king’s wife, Queen Vashti, invited the wives of the men who worked in the palace to a banquet in another room in the palace.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
In the story line this verse introduces Queen Vashti in preparation for the conflict that will make Esther queen in her place. The Hebrew version begins with an adverb also that serves a linking function in two ways. First, with respect to syntax it links this sentence to the preceding sentence. Second, with respect to the story it shows that the queen’s banquet is parallel to the king’s banquet. For these reasons Good News Translation sets the verse aside as a separate transitional paragraph and introduces it with a temporal adverb “Meanwhile.”
The Hebrew word for Queen is the feminine form malkah from the masculine melek “king.” It should be translated by a term that makes clear Vashti’s official position as royal wife. It does not mean that she was the queen mother or a queen ruling in her own right. In the Hebrew of this verse, “the queen” occurs in apposition to the name Vashti, or as an epithet: “Vashti, the Queen.” The same pattern occurs in verse 11, while in verse 12 she is referred to by her title, Queen Vashti. This contrast is retained in some versions as “Vashti the queen” and “Queen Vashti” (for instance, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), while Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation simply translate “Queen Vashti” throughout the book.
The women: the Hebrew word translated women is sometimes used to mean “wife.” Biblia Dios Habla Hoy translates this word as “the wives of those invited”; but since the context does not clearly specify that the women were “wives,” it is better to use a more general term as in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation.
The palace which belonged to King Ahasuerus: this is literally “the house of the royalty [or, kingdom] which [was] of the king Ahasuerus.” This is a more precise and detailed expression than the one that is often used for “palace,” namely, “the house of the king” (see 2.8, 13). The Good News Translation translation “inside the royal palace” may diminish the intended force of the words which belonged to King Ahasuerus. By stating the simple fact that the palace belonged to the king, the writer may be preparing the reader for the queen’s act of defiance that will follow.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Noss, Philip A. A Handbook on Esther (The Hebrew Text). (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.