The translation of the verb “to be” in this verse is important, since it sets the stage for what follows. Good News Translation and New International Version make the content of this verse into a temporal clause, introducing verse 2, and both use the pluperfect English verb form “had been.” Compare also An American Translation, which indicates the beginning of new events with the word “now”: “Now the ark of the LORD had been in the territory of the Philistines seven months, when the Philistines called for….” New Century Version restructures this verse to make the Philistines, rather than the Covenant Box, the grammatical subject of the sentence: “the Philistines kept the Ark of God in their land seven months.”

The ark of the LORD: see the comments on 5.1.

The country of the Philistines: the translation of this expression will be closely tied to the following verse, where the name Philistines is repeated in Hebrew. Such repetition, however, may be unnatural in the receptor language. Revised English Bible translates “their territory” here and “the Philistines” in verse 2. Others may prefer to say “the region of the Philistines” here, and then use the pronoun “they” or a more general noun like “the people” (Good News Translation) in verse 2.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .