For the king had a fleet of ships of Tarshish …: Verse 22 begins in Hebrew with the conjunction rendered For since it states the reason why all of the gold was so available for King Solomon. If there is any danger of not knowing which king is intended, translators may say specifically “King Solomon” (New Century Version) or simply “Solomon” (Contemporary English Version).

References to Tarshish occur more than thirty times in the Old Testament. Sometimes the Hebrew noun here rendered Tarshish refers to a precious stone. In other texts, such as here in verse 22, it appears to refer to a geographical location, but the exact location is uncertain. On the basis of ancient writings, Tarshish has been identified with a colony in southwestern Spain, and also with Carthage in North Africa. Even if ships of Tarshish originally referred to ships that made the long trip to the city of Tarshish, the expression here has lost its original meaning and refers simply to ships able to sail long distances on the open sea. Some scholars suggest that the word Tarshish comes from an Akkadian root (rashashu), meaning “to heat,” “to melt,” or “to smelt.” If this suggestion is correct, the expression ships of Tarshish may not refer to a specific place but rather to ocean-going ships that transported raw materials to places where the ore was refined. Either of these interpretations may be the basis for the renderings “fleet of ocean-going ships” (Good News Translation; similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “fleet of trading ships” (New International Version, New Living Translation), and “merchant fleet” (em>Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Peregrino). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh (also Anchor Bible) says “Tarshish fleet,” but then explains in a footnote that this probably means “fleet of large ships.” The same expression is used with this meaning in 1 Kgs 22.48; 2 Chr 9.21; and Psa 48.7, as well as several times in the prophet Isaiah.

The Hebrew noun rendered ivory is not the same as the one in verse 18, but it comes from the same root. Gray adds “ebony” to the text here as another product brought by the ships. On the basis of a reading in the Septuagint, he suggests that “ebony” was probably in the Masoretic Text but was accidentally omitted. Also in support of this correction of the Masoretic Text is the fact that the final consonants of the Hebrew word translated ivory here are the same as the initial consonants for the Hebrew word for “ebony.” Nevertheless, translators are encouraged to follow the Masoretic Text instead of hypothetical reconstructions of the Hebrew original.

Apes renders a Hebrew noun that occurs only here and in the parallel text in 2 Chr 9.21. This word probably refers to monkeys or baboons, which were known in Egypt, and not to apes, which are larger and do not have tails.

The Hebrew noun rendered peacocks occurs in the Old Testament only here and in the parallel passage in 2 Chr 9.21. According to Holladay and many modern interpreters, this noun more likely refers to “baboons” (Osty-Trinquet, New International Version, New Century Version, De Vries, Gray) or “monkeys” (Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New American Bible). Others have suggested that it means “poultry,” or more specifically, peacocks (so Revised Standard Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Contemporary English Version, New Living Translation, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Bible en français courant and Parole de Vie translate it less specifically as “exotic birds” and “magnificent birds” respectively. The precise identification of the referent for this word is so uncertain that translators may feel free to translate either meaning.

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 .