And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the army: As in verse 12, most readers would have no way of knowing that Zeruiah was a woman even though the original readers or hearers of this passage very likely knew this. So it may be a good idea to follow the Good News Translation model (also Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje), which renders Joab the son of Zeruiah as “Abishai’s brother Joab.” This rendering at least points the reader back to the identification of Zeruiah in verse 12 (see the comments there). Bible en français courant solves the problem by saying “Joab, whose mother was called Zeruiah.” Was over the army is literally “over the army.” Revised Standard Version adds the verb was. In some languages it will be more natural to render was over as “commanded,” “controlled,” or “supervised.” Still others may say “looked over the affairs of” or “was the leader of.” Compare also “was commanding general of” ( NET Bible).

And Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder: The precise meaning of the Hebrew terms translated recorder here and “secretary” in the following verse is not clear. And the difference between the two is also uncertain. But the rendering of the two terms should be decided together. McCarter translates the term for recorder as “remembrancer” in the parallel passage of 2 Sam 8.16, and indeed the root verb on which the Hebrew noun is based is “to remember” or “to be mindful.” According to the American Bible commentary, the task of the person holding this office has been compared to that of the Egyptian “speaker,” who was responsible to report to the king and to communicate his proclamations to his subjects. Therefore American Bible and Bible en français courant say “spokesman [for the king]” here. New Jerusalem Bible seems to follow this interpretation by translating “herald.” Revised English Bible has the modern sounding expression “secretary of state.” Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, like Moffatt, translates “chancellor,” but adds a note giving details about the duties of this office. The majority of English versions still use the noun “recorder” or a verb phrase having a similar meaning, such as “kept the records” (Knox). The person’s duties probably included oversight of public records. In some languages the term that is applied to the keeper of oral history and traditions of the society may be the best one to use here. But translators may accept the alternative interpretation that Ahilud was a “royal herald.” Some may say “king’s spokesman,” “person in charge of direct communication with the king,” or “person who reported to the king and made known his decisions to the people.”

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 .