A Case Example in Translation: 2 Kings 8:26

One of my friends posted about this subject in another venue, but I want to take the topic in a different direction than he did.

NWT 2013: A·ha·ziʹah was 22 years old when he became king, and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Ath·a·liʹah the granddaughter* of King Omʹri of Israel.

Note: Lit., “daughter.”

ESV: Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athaliah; she was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

NET Bible: Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king and he reigned for one year in Jerusalem. His mother was Athaliah, the granddaughter^[a] of King Omri of Israel.

Note [a]: tn Hebrew בַּת (bat), “daughter,” can refer, as here to a granddaughter. See HALOT 166 s.v. בַּת.

KJV: Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

This brings up an issue of how one should translate the Bible: should it be according to dynamic equivalence or formal equivalence principles? What is the difference?

Bible translators explain that dynamic equivalence is also known as functional equivalence: Bibles that chiefly use this translation principle might render certain passages "literally," but for the most part, they seek to render the source language in an idiomatic way for the target audience. For example the NLT (a dynamic equivalence translation) renders Ezekiel 40:5, "I could see a wall completely surrounding the Temple area. The man took a measuring rod that was 10 1⁄2 feet^[b] long and measured the wall, and the wall was 10 1⁄2 feet^[c] thick and 10 1⁄2 feet high." Conversely, the RSV translates this same passage: "And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length; so he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed."

The differences in these renderings illustrate how dynamic equivalence Bibles differ from functional equivalence translations: the NLT gives the measurements in feet whereas the RSV provides the units in cubits. Contra dynamic equivalence translations, formal equivalence Bibles attempt to stick to the form of the source language: they are called "literal" translations as we see with the RSV. The formal/functional translating of Hebrew and Greek applies not just to individual words but to the way sentences are constructed too (i.e., syntax).

Going back to 2 Kings 8:26, which way should translators handle the verse? Should they render the Hebrew word, bat, as "daughter" (KJV) or "granddaughter" (NWT, et al.). One way seems more "literal" than the other but could be misleading since the Hebrew word in this context refers to a granddaughter. Another option is to do like NWT/NET and translate "granddaughter," but then add notes explaining the choice. Conversely, if one chooses "daughter," a note could also be supplied. I'm glad to know that Athaliah was the granddaughter of King Omri, not his daughter. It is interesting how Hebrew used this term as a reference to a daughter or granddaughter.

The NABRE translates bat in this case as "daughter," but includes the following note:

Note for 2 Kings 8:26: It is unclear whether Athaliah was Omri’s daughter (v. 26) or his granddaughter (v. 18). Perhaps “daughter” here is being used loosely for “female descendant.”