Bible translators have a fascinating, but thankless job. They receive little to no reward for their many years of labor, but there is always more than enough blame to go around when they get a word or two wrong. They inevitably get some wrong. Take a look at Judges 5:11 and the many different ways in which the first clause has been rendered:
(ASV) Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water...
(BBE) Give ear to the women laughing by the water-springs...
(Brenton) ye that are delivered from the noise of disturbers among the drawers of water...
(CEV) Even those who carry water to the animals will tell you...
(DRB) Where the chariots were dashed together, and the army of the enemies was choked...
(ESV) To the sound of musicians at the watering places...
(HCSB) with the voices of the singers at the watering places...
(HNV) Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water...
(JPS) Louder than the voice of archers, by the watering-troughs...
(KJVA) They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water...
(LITV) Louder than the voice of the dividers between the watering places there...
(MKJV) Louder than the voice of the dividers between the watering places...
(WEB) Far from the noise of archers, in the places of drawing water...
(Webster) They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water...
(YLT) By the voice of shouters Between the places of drawing water...
Since the KJV, Webster, and JPS all translate Khatsats as "archer," I susect they are correct. But what in the world does that mean!? What noise do archers make besides "twang" and "woosh"? And how does that relate to watering holes?
The noise of archers could just refer to general rambunctious behaviour by soldiers. And watering holes are social gathering spots, so perhaps that's where the obnoxious soldiers tended to congregate.
ReplyDeleteFrom the context of the surrounding verses, that's my best guess.
The battle took place at a river, so I think that Deborah was refering to an aspect of the actual event, and that her audience probably would have known exactly what she meant.
ReplyDeleteIt's also interesting that this battle wasn't fought at just any old river. They fought at Megiddo, which appears to be a magnet for bloodshed and the liberation of Israel. If I were an enemy of Israel, I would do everything in my power to avoid a confrontation on that ground.
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