A chariot could be imported: The passive verb could be imported actually translates two verbs in Hebrew which are literally “and it came up and it came out.” De Vries translates “And a chariot, would come up for export,” but a simple translation such as that in Revised Standard Version expresses the meaning correctly.
Egypt: Some interpreters correct the Hebrew text here, as in verse 28, to read “Musri” (soParola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, La Bible Pléiade, Osty-Trinquet, Gray).
Six hundred shekels of silver … a hundred and fifty: The word shekels is not written in the Hebrew, but most translations correctly make the word explicit in translation. Regarding shekels as a measure of weight, see verse 16. But here the expression six hundred shekels of silver is seen as referring to an amount of money. So shekels of silver is translated “pieces of silver” by Good News Translation and Bible en français courant. Contemporary English Version, on the other hand, sees this in terms of weight by saying “about fifteen pounds of silver.” This would be a little less than seven kilograms in the metric system. Contemporary English Version translates a hundred and fifty shekels as “almost four pounds,” which would be nearly two kilograms. Although most interpreters understand the Hebrew to mean that Solomon’s agents paid six hundred shekels for each chariot and a hundred and fifty shekels for each horse, the Hebrew is ambiguous. As Good News Translation indicates, these prices may be the selling prices of the king rather than the amounts he paid.
And so: These connecting words translate the common Hebrew conjunction followed by the adverb meaning “so” or “then.” Some versions take the two words together to mean simply “also” (New International Version) and others leave them untranslated but start a new sentence here (Good News Translation). Here a connector such as “then” (New Living Translation) or “afterwards” fits the context well.
Through the king’s traders they were exported is literally “by their hands they were caused to go up.” This expression, which includes a passive verb in Revised Standard Version, may be translated actively as “they [the king’s traders] were exporting them [horses and chariots].”
The Hittites: At least four separate ethnic groups were called Hittites in the ancient Near East. The group referred to here lived in northern Syria.
Syria: In Hebrew the name is “Aram” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, La Bible Pléiade). Some translations say “Aramaean” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but it will probably be best to use the modern name Syria (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, Peregrino).
The meaning of the last half of this verse is clear in New Jerusalem Bible, which reads “They [King Solomon’s dealers] also supplied the Hittite and Aramaean kings, who all used them as middlemen.” New Living Translation says “Many of these were then resold to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.”
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 .