And Abishai, the son of Zeruiah …: Abishai is literally “Abshai” here and throughout 1 Chronicles (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Knoppers), but nearly all translations harmonize with the spelling in 1–2 Samuel, which is “Abishai.” A literal translation of the son of Zeruiah will incorrectly suggest to most readers that Zeruiah was the father of Abishai. According to 1 Chr 2.16, Zeruiah was a woman, and 2 Sam 17.25 indicates that she was the mother of Joab, the brother of Abishai, so Good News Translation renders this phrase as “whose mother was Zeruiah.” This translation avoids the possible misunderstanding that Zeruiah might have been the father which would be commonly assumed in many languages on the basis of a literal translation.

Slew eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt: Compare 2 Kgs 14.7 and the Hebrew title of Psa 60. New Revised Standard Version renders slew as “killed.” The Hebrew verb here may also be taken in the sense of “defeated” (New American Standard Bible), but probably it is best to understand it as referring to widespread killing. Good News Translation and Bible en français courant use both verbs to convey the meaning. The location of the Valley of Salt is unknown, but there are several possibilities to the south or southwest of the Dead Sea. The problem for the translator is to determine the relationship between Valley and Salt. The idea hidden by the preposition of is probably that the valley was a place where salt deposits and brackish water were found. Such places were unfavorable to agricultural pursuits and were usually considered to be unfit for human beings to live in (see Deut 29.23; Job 39.6; Jer 17.6). So the translation may read “the valley where salt is found.”

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .