In preparation for our language project's workshop on 2 Kings 18-22 in the coming weeks, I have been carefully working through that section of Scripture. Here's a thought from 2 Kings 18:1-3.
Tale of Two Fathers
In 2 Kings 18:1, we read of Hezekiah's father, or rather (more literally), that he was the son of a certain man named King Ahaz:
Of course, one reading the whole of 1-2 Kings would have no problems understanding how both of these statements could be true, having read about King David in earlier chapters and how he stood as the head of a line of kings. However, at least in English, the word "father" is rarely if ever used in this expanded sense, and for that reason, versions like the NET have instead opted for "ancestor" to avoid confusion. In the case of a translation like a translation like "ancestor" (which is obviously the sense of the word here), I would prefer a footnote indicating that the typical term "father" was used, in order to preserve the close genealogical link made with David.
One's goal in translating should be to test, discern, and decide whether the translation "father" or something like "ancestor" should be preferred and whether that preference would cause too much conflict (read: complete misunderstanding) with verse 1. In many of the Cameroonian cultures in which I have had contact, the immediate family involves more generations than what we include in ours, for example, the blood relatives grand-father, great-uncle, and uncle may all equally be referred to as "father." This would make "father" a natural choice, and easily understood by the readers.
To discover what terms are used for family relationships, we have used the anthropological tool called kingship charting which collects information on not only the terms used for relationships, but how and who constitutes those relationships.
Tale of Two Fathers
In 2 Kings 18:1, we read of Hezekiah's father, or rather (more literally), that he was the son of a certain man named King Ahaz:
In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.Then, in 2 Kings 18:3, we read of Hezekiah's second father David:
And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.Translation Considerations
Of course, one reading the whole of 1-2 Kings would have no problems understanding how both of these statements could be true, having read about King David in earlier chapters and how he stood as the head of a line of kings. However, at least in English, the word "father" is rarely if ever used in this expanded sense, and for that reason, versions like the NET have instead opted for "ancestor" to avoid confusion. In the case of a translation like a translation like "ancestor" (which is obviously the sense of the word here), I would prefer a footnote indicating that the typical term "father" was used, in order to preserve the close genealogical link made with David.
One's goal in translating should be to test, discern, and decide whether the translation "father" or something like "ancestor" should be preferred and whether that preference would cause too much conflict (read: complete misunderstanding) with verse 1. In many of the Cameroonian cultures in which I have had contact, the immediate family involves more generations than what we include in ours, for example, the blood relatives grand-father, great-uncle, and uncle may all equally be referred to as "father." This would make "father" a natural choice, and easily understood by the readers.
To discover what terms are used for family relationships, we have used the anthropological tool called kingship charting which collects information on not only the terms used for relationships, but how and who constitutes those relationships.
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