In most languages it will be advisable to begin a new sentence at the beginning of this verse rather than following the model of Revised Standard Version. Some versions, in fact, begin a new paragraph at this point (An American Translation, for example).
With the stones he built an altar: The stones in this verse refers back to the twelve stones mentioned in verse 31. For this reason Good News Translation uses the demonstrative pronoun by saying “these stones.”
For in the name of the LORD, see the comments on 1 Kgs 3.2.
He made a trench about the altar: The word trench used here and in verses 35 and 38 refers to a channel or conduit dug out to contain water. It is translated “ditch” by Contemporary English Version. International Children’s Bible speaks of a “small ditch.” The same term is used in 2 Kgs 18.17 and 20.20 (where Revised Standard Version has “conduit” each time).
As great as would contain two measures of seed: It is not clear from the Hebrew text whether (a) seeds were actually placed into the trench or (b) this is simply a way of describing the size of the trench into which the water was to be poured. Following the first interpretation, some interpreters suggest that Elijah placed this amount of grain into the trench and poured water on it, but whatever symbolic meaning this may have had is unknown today.
Some translations, following the second interpretation, do not even mention seeds. Compare “large enough to hold about thirteen quarts” (Contemporary English Version). Most translations that mention seeds could be understood according to either of these two interpretations (for example, God’s Word “a trench that could hold 12 quarts of grain”).
Two measures is literally “two seahs.” The Septuagint translates seah as “measure,” which is the basis for the Revised Standard Version rendering. Some modern versions transliterate the Hebrew term seah (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New American Bible, Anchor Bible, La Bible Pléiade), but translators should use a modern equivalent that will be understood in the receptor language. The exact size of a seah is uncertain; and estimations vary considerably, ranging from about 6 to 30 liters (6.5 to 32 quarts). Translations of “two seahs” in terms of modern equivalents include “about twenty liters” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy), “about thirty liters” (Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur), “ten kilos” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch), and “four gallons” (Good News Translation). Nouvelle Bible Segond indicates in a footnote that it is about fourteen liters.
Some scholars who follow the second interpretation mentioned above have suggested that the intended meaning is that a trench was dug within a surface area that would require two seahs of seed for planting or sowing. This is the interpretation in the New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh footnote on this verse. According to one ancient Jewish writing, one seah of seed was sufficient for about 1,568 square meters (1,875 square yards) of land. This is the basis for the rendering “about the space of eighteen hundred square yards” (Moffatt), but such a large trench seems far too large for the amount of water poured into it. On the other hand, it may be noted that a trench that would hold only about four gallons seems far too small to surround a large altar.
The second interpretation is most likely, that is, seeds were not actually put into the trench, but they are referred to here as a way of describing the size of the trench into which the water was to be poured. However, the interpretations in Good News Translation and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh are both possible, so translators must simply choose one.
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 .