And renders the Hebrew verbal transition that is sometimes translated “And it happened” or “And it came to pass” (Jewish Publication Version). Like Good News Translation, most modern versions do not render it explicitly in this case.
As if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took … is literally “was it a light thing his walking in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat? And he took….” The Hebrew interrogative particle here sometimes has the sense of “if” or “whether.” In this context it should probably be translated as if. This complex structure must be simplified in many languages. The words as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam seem to be an indication that Ahab considered it insignificant that he imitated the wrongdoing of Jeroboam. In some languages this may be translated as a separate sentence like “Ahab did not give a second thought to imitating the sins of Jeroboam” or “Following the evildoing of Jeroboam was not at all important in the eyes of Ahab.”
To walk in the sins of Jeroboam is a common judgment on the kings of Israel (see verses 2, 19, 26).
Regarding the words the son of Nebat, see the comments on verse 3.
Ethbaal king of the Sidonians: Ethbaal is usually considered to be the king of Tyre who is called Ithobalos by the first-century Jewish historian Josephus. He ruled for thirty-two years (887–856 B.C.) over the kingdom of Tyre, which included the city of Sidon. If this identification is accepted, then the word Sidonians is being used in the extended sense of “Phoenicians” (see the comments on “the Sidonians” at 1 Kgs 5.6). Some translations say “King Ethbaal of the Phoenicians” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), and such a rendering is acceptable. There is, however, some evidence that king of the Sidonians was an official title of the kings of Sidon, so the identification of Ethbaal with Ithobalos of Tyre is not certain.
Went and served Baal and worshiped him: Hebrew uses three verbs here for what is essentially one action. Good News Translation combines the three verbs into the one verb “worshiped.”
Baal was a Canaanite storm god and fertility god, whose female counterpart was sometimes Astarte and sometimes Asherah (additional comments on these goddesses may be found in 1 Kgs 11.5). This god was worshiped in various countries of the ancient Near Eastern world. Sometimes the Old Testament refers to Baals, that is, the plural form is used. It is not certain whether the plural refers to various different Canaanite gods in general or whether it refers to the various local manifestations of the same god.
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 .