The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Judges 4:13:
Kupsabiny: “he mustered all his soldiers together with his nine hundred metal carts of war. After that, he left Harosheth-haggoyim and went to the valley of Kishon.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “called his 900 iron chariots and all [his] soldiers from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So Sisera gathered his 900 iron chariots, and all his soldiers. And they went from Haroshet Hagoyim towards Kishon which was the channel of water.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon River.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Following are two English oral translations of Judges 4. The first is by Janet Stahl and the second by Bronven Cleaver. Both were produced as part of Cleaver’s PhD dissertation .
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
This verse begins with a Hebrew waw conjunction, which Revised Standard Version does not translate here. However, if 4.12 is rendered as an independent clause (as in the last example above), a connector such as “So” (New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “Then” would be appropriate.
Sisera called out all his chariots: The repetition of the name Sisera may indicate, as it does in some languages, that Sisera will be the loser in the conflict. However, in many languages this may prove too repetitive, in which case translators may use the pronoun “he” (Good News Translation). Called out renders the same Hebrew verb as the one translated “summoned” in verse 4.10. Just as Barak called out his troops, Sisera calls out his well-equipped army. New American Bible says “assembled,” and New International Version has “gathered together.” Here the emphasis is on the words all and chariots, both of which occur twice in this verse. Sisera is putting all his effort into this battle. We might say “Sisera ordered all his chariots into battle.”
Nine hundred chariots of iron: These chariots have already been mentioned in verse 4.3. In Hebrew this phrase reinforces the preceding clause. Some languages will prefer to combine them as Good News Translation does by saying “he called out his nine hundred chariots of iron.” However, this rendering loses some of the flavor of the original text, which may be expressed by saying “He called together his chariots of iron, all nine hundred of them!”
And all the men who were with him refers to Sisera’s own troops. Again the word all is significant. The Hebrew word rendered men (ʿam) is literally “people,” which seems yet another ironic use of this term (see verse 2.4). Though there are nine hundred chariots, there could have been many more soldiers. Some chariots could hold two or even three men, and that would not be counting the foot soldiers.
From Harosheth-ha-goiim indicates that Sisera’s men are marching from Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles. By repeating this name, the storyteller is emphasizing that these people are not Israelites. They do not know or follow Yahweh. For the meaning of this town name, see verse 4.2.
To the river Kishon: See the comments on verse 4.7. The area around the river Kishon is the scene of the coming battle. Revised Standard Version‘s rendering for this phrase and the previous one seems ambiguous, as if the army were assembled between the town and the river. In many languages it will be better to introduce another verb, as Good News Translation has done: “and sent them from Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles to the Kishon River.”
Translation models for this verse are:
• Sisera called out his iron-wheeled chariots—all nine hundred of them—and all his soldiers from Harosheth-of-the-Gentiles to go into battle at the river of Kishon.
• Sisera ordered his nine hundred iron-wheeled chariots and all his troops to prepare for battle. They set out from Harosheth-ha-goiim and came to the wadi at Kishon.
Quoted with permission from Zogbo, Lynell and Ogden, Graham S. A Handbook on Judges. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2019. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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