DEBORAH'S SONG: SHEVET

Once more, we return to the Book of Judges and to a passage which has been variously translated across languages... does it refer to the pen of a writer or to an officer's bâton/staff of command?

Judges 5:14 KJB 

out of Zebulon they THAT HANDLE THE PEN OF THE WRITER."

Agreeing with the King James Bible's "they that handle the PEN OF THE WRITER" is Coverdale 1535, The Great Bible 1540, Matthew's Bible 1549, the Bishops' Bible 1568, the Geneva Bible - "of Zebulun they yt handle THE PEN OF THE WRITER.", the Lesser Bible 1853, Young's 1898, The Word of Yah 1993, The Third Millennium Bible 1998, God's First Truth 1999, the 2011 Orthodox Jewish Bible - "of Zevulun they that hold the shevet of the sofer (scribe).", the 2004 Judaica Press Tanach - "and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the scribe.", the Amplified Bible 1987 - "and out of Zebulun those who handle the pen or stylus of the writer.", the Bond Slave Version 2009,  the Hebraic Transliteration Scripture 2010, Jubilee Bible 2010, The Interlinear Hebrew-Greek Scriptures 2010 (Mebust), the Biblos Interlinear Bible 2011, and the BRG Bible 2012.

The Complete Apostle’s Bible 2005 - “and from Zebulun came those that draw with THE SCRIBE’S PEN OF RECORD.” 

Foreign Language Bibles that read "THE PEN OF THE WRITER" are the Spanish Reina Valera of 1909 - de Zebulón los que solían manejar punzón de escribiente.", the French Martin Bible of 1744 and the Ostervald of 1996 - "et de Zebulon ceux qui manient la plume du Scribe.", the Portuguese A Biblia Sagrada em Portugues and the Portuguese Almeida Corrigida E Fiel - "os que levaram a cana do escriba." and the Italian Diodati of 1649 - "con bacchette da scriba." 

“Zebulun, formerly known only for its experts with the ciphering-pencil, had now become a people courageous unto death” (J.P. Lange, A Commentary).

John Gill comments - "and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer; - which being a maritime tribe, and employed in trade and navigation, had many clerks famous for their readiness in handling the pen; but these through a zeal for the common cause dropped their pens, and took to the sword, in vindication of the rights and liberties of themselves and their brethren; for which they are justly commended."

But the NIV says: "from Zebulun those who bear A COMMANDER'S STAFF."

The ESV has: "those who bear THE LIEUTENANT'S STAFF."

The NASB reads: "from Zebulun those who WIELD THE STAFF OF OFFICE."

And the NKJV says: "And from Zebulun those who BEAR THE RECRUITER'S STAFF."

The International Standard Version 2014 - “…from Zebulun who carry A BADGE OF OFFICE.”

So what? Writer's pen or officer's bâton???

New International Version:

from Zebulun those who bear a commander's staff.

New Living Translation:

from Zebulun came those who carry a commander's staff.

English Standard Version:

from Zebulun those who bear the lieutenant’s staff;

New American Standard:

from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.

King James:

out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

Holman Christian Standard:

those who carry a marshal's staff came from Zebulun. 

International Standard Version:

some from Zebulun who carry a badge of office. 

NET Bible:

from Zebulun came the ones who march carrying an officer's staff. 

GOD'S WORD:

The officers from Zebulun also went.

JPS Tanakh:

out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal's staff.

New American Standard:

from Zebulun those who wield the staff of office.

Bible 2000:

from Zebulun, those that handle the pen of the writer.

King James 2000:

out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

American Standard Version:

out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal's staff.

Douay-Rheims:

out of Zabulon they that led the army to fight.

Darby:

out of Zebulun they that handled the staff of the ruler.

English Revised Version

out of Zebulun they that handle the marshal's staff.

Webster

out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.

World English:

Those who handle the marshal's staff came out of Zebulun.

Young's Literal Translation:

out of Zebulun those drawing with the reed of a writer.

Pulpit Commentary:

out of Zebulun they that handle the baton of the commander, i.e. the military chiefs. 

Gill's Exposition:

and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer; which being a maritime tribe, and employed in trade and navigation, had many clerks famous for their readiness in handling the pen; but these through a zeal for the common cause dropped their pens, and took to the sword, in vindication of the rights and liberties of themselves and their brethren; for which they are justly commended. 

So, is this a military or literary reference???

Let us see what other languages' Bibles say about this verse:

Español:

Biblia de las Américas/Nueva Biblia de los Hispanos:

de Zabulón los que manejan vara de mando.

Reina Valera Gómez:

de Zabulón los que solían manejar punzón de escribiente.

Esperanto:

de Zebulun kondukantoj per princa bastono.

Suomen kieli:

Sebulonista kirjoittajat.

("Kirja": "book", so this surely means "writer" as well. Yes, "kirjoittaa" is "writer" in Finnish.)

Français:

Darby:

de Zabulon sont venus ceux qui tiennent le baton du commandant.

Louis Segond:

de Zabulon des commandants.

Martin:

de Zabulon ceux qui manient la plume du scribe.

Português:

King James:

de Zebulom, os que conduzem o bastão de comando.

La Bíblia:

de Zebulom os que levam o báculo do inspetor de tropas.  

Deutsch:

Luther:

von Sebulon, die den Führerstab hielten.

Textbibel:

von Sebulon, die mit dem Stabe des Ordners einherziehen,

Boarisch (Bayerischer Dialekt):

von Zebylon Gwäpplte gfeelnd nit.

Românâ:

din Zabulon cîrmuitorii.

(writers)

Italiano:

Riveduta:

da Zabulon quelli che portano il bastone del comando.

Giovanni Diodati:

da Zabulon, son discesi i rettori, Conducendo le loro schiere con bacchette da scriba.

Bahasa Indonesia:

dari Zebulon segala orang yang memegang tongkat orang pembilang.

Russky:

Synodal translation:

от Завулона владеющие тростью писца.

(again, writers)

Svenska:

från Sebulon män som buro anförarstav.

Tagalog:

sa Zabulon yaong nangaghahawak ng tungkod ng pagpupuno.

Latin (Vulgate):

de Zabulon qui exercitum ducerent ad bellandum

Lietuviu:

Zabulono raštininkai

(scribes, writers)

Maori:

i a Hepurona nga kaihapai i te tokotoko a te kaiwhakahaere.

Vietnamese:

Và những kẻ cầm cây phủ việt đến từ Sa-bu-lôn.

Turkish:

Başbuğ asasını taşıyanlar Zevulundan geldi.

Norsk:

av Sebulon de som drar frem med hærførerstav,

Dansk:

fra Zebulon de, der bar Herskerstav;

Nederlands:

uit Zebulon, trekkende door den staf des schrijvers.

Afrikaans:

vanaf Z’vulun dié wat skryf met die pen van ’n skrywer

Shqip:

nga Zabuloni ata që mbajnë shkopin e komandimit.

Bulgarian:

от Завулона ония, които държат жезъл на повелител.

Hrvatska:

Zebuluna oni što nose štap zapovjednički.

čeština:

z Zabulona písaři.

The Hebrew original says: מֹשְׁכִ֖ים בְּשֵׁ֥בֶט סֹפֵֽר׃ "moshekim beshevet soper." The keyword here is בְּשֵׁ֥בֶט "beshevet:" the rod, the staff, the club, the scepter. בְּ "Be" in English is "the," which we low out and proceed to the noun itself:

shebet  (shay'-bet) / shevet שֵׁ֥בֶט
a scion, i.e. (literally) a stick (for punishing, writing, fighting, ruling, walking, etc.) or (figuratively) a clan -- correction, dart, rod, sceptre, staff, tribe.

What is this elusive שֵׁ֥בֶט / shevet? A pen or a bâton? A stick can be anything thin and hard, used for practically anything... Therefore, translators must have a hard time deciding whether to picture it as a writer's implement or that of a military officer...

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