And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they beseiged it: The common Hebrew conjunction at the beginning of this verse is clearly intended to show that what follows happened as a direct consequence of the siege described in the previous verse. Some languages may require a connecting word like “Therefore” or “Consequently.” Parole de Vie says “The attack lasted so long that there was nothing more to eat in the city.” Contemporary English Version shows the relationship between the siege and the famine by beginning this verse with “They kept up the attack until there was nothing to eat in the city.” Another possible translation of as they besieged it is “because they were surrounding it.” Neither Revised Standard Version nor Good News Translation translates the Hebrew focusing particle that occurs after the noun Samaria. The Hebrew is literally “And there was a great famine in Samaria, and look, they were besieging it.” This particle draws attention to the critical situation that is about to be described in the city. For famine see the comments on 1 Kgs 8.37.
An ass’s head was sold for eighty shekels …: The purpose of the price list given in this verse is unquestionably to show how critical the situation was for the people of Samaria. Translators should strive to give the same impression in their rendering of these prices.
The passive form, was sold, actually translates only a form of the Hebrew verb “to be.” But in order to render this actively, it may be necessary to say “people sold a donkey’s head for…,” “the price of a donkey’s head was…,” or “when people bought a donkey’s head, they had to pay….”
An ass’s head would normally be worthless, but in a city where all supplies had been cut off, it is said to be worth eighty shekels of silver. A “shekel” is thought to have weighed about 11.4 grams or 0.4 ounces (see the comments on 1 Kgs 10.16). For this reason Contemporary English Version translates “about two pounds of silver” for an American audience. For readers familiar with the metric system, this would be a little less than a kilogram. The word shekels does not, in fact, appear in the Hebrew text, although it is the most likely term to be understood. However, the transliteration of a term that is not even in the Hebrew text is not advised. It is quite acceptable to use the more general word “pieces” as in Good News Translation, New American Bible, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, and Knox. Donkey meat was regarded as unclean and was not to be eaten since donkeys do not have parted hooves nor chew the cud (Lev 11.1-8; Deut 14.3-8; see also the comments on 1 Kgs 2.40). Since people were not only eating donkeys’ heads, which had little meat on them, but were also paying extremely high prices for them, this shows how severe the food shortage was.
The fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung is parallel to an ass’s head and refers to something that would have been very cheap or even despised in normal circumstances. Dove’s dung may not have been the actual dung of doves, but whatever it was, in the severe crisis caused by the siege it was valued at five shekels of silver for a small amount, in other words, an exorbitant price. The fourth part of kab is thought to be about “half a pint” (New Century Version) or “0.3 liter” (New International Version note). Other translations include “a pint” (An American Translation, Moffatt) and “a small bowl” (Contemporary English Version). Some scholars change one letter of the Hebrew text and get “wild onions” (New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text and refers to evidence that “pigeon dung” may have been a local expression for some kind of plant product, as Good News Translation indicates in its footnote. This understanding also seems to be the basis for the New International Version rendering “seed pods” (possibly from locust beans or carob trees). Other translations include “locust-beans” (Revised English Bible) and “chickpeas” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie).
The most important thing about this verse is not the presentation of precise details on materials and their cost, but the overall impression of the extremely catastrophic situation that resulted from the siege.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .