Each killed his man is literally “they struck down a man his man.” This does not mean that every Israelite soldier had a particular enemy soldier that he had to find and kill. Rather, it indicates that “each of them attacked and killed an enemy soldier” (Contemporary English Version).

The Syrians fled and Israel pursued them: Syrians is literally “Aram” (see the comments on 1 Kgs 10.29). This noun is singular but it is used in a collective sense and is therefore translated as plural in English. The reference is not to a single soldier but to the Syrian soldiers, as the following plural pronoun them makes clear. The word Israel is also singular, but refers to the army of Israel.

Ben-hadad … escaped on a horse with horsemen: This describes both the means of Benhadad’s escape and the fact that he was not alone. There were several other Syrian soldiers, also on horseback, who escaped with him. The Hebrew may also be translated “Ben-Hadad … escaped on a horse, with chariots” (Nouvelle Bible Segond). The Hebrew term translated horsemen sometimes refers to the team of horses used to pull a chariot, and sometimes it refers to the horseman or rider (see the comments on 1 Kgs 4.26). In this context either meaning makes sense, so translators must simply chose 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 .