The king also made a great ivory throne: As in the two previous verses, the verb made is to be understood in the sense of having something made or commissioning the making of an object.

The Hebrew here is most naturally understood to mean that the throne was made of ivory, but archaeological discoveries make it more likely that the throne was covered in part with ivory (so Good News Translation), “decorated with ivory” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie), or “inlaid with ivory” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible footnote). Similarly, the reference to an ivory house in 1 Kgs 22.39 must be understood to mean “decorated with ivory” and not made entirely from ivory. It is not likely that the expensive ivory would have been covered with gold, so Good News Translation makes this clear by saying “and the rest of it was covered with … gold.”

The Hebrew word for ivory is the same as “tooth”; in this context ivory is the “tooth” of an elephant. If a word for ivory does not exist in the receptor language, this may perhaps be rendered “elephants’ teeth.”

Overlaid it with the finest gold: The Hebrew participle rendered finest occurs only here in the Old Testament. Its meaning is uncertain, but it is traditionally understood to mean “pure” or “refined” in this context. The adjective translated “pure” in reference to gold in verse 21 is a different Hebrew word from the one used here in verse 18.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .