The rest refers to those Syrian soldiers who had not already been killed by the army of Israel. This may be expressed in a number of different ways depending on the receptor language, for example, “the ones remaining,” “The rest of the Syrian army” (Contemporary English Version), and “The survivors” (Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).
Aphek: See verse 26.
The wall fell upon twenty-seven thousand men that were left: The Hebrew does not state what caused the wall around the city to fall upon the surviving Syrian soldiers. It is possible that the Israelite army dug under the walls and caused them to collapse, but more likely the reader is to understand that God caused the walls to fall, just as the walls of Jericho had fallen long ago (Josh 6).
The twenty-seven thousand men refers to the soldiers who were not killed in battle and who had fled into the city for safety. Good News Translation seems to suggest that there were more than 27,000 men who fled into the city, and that 27,000 of the survivors were killed. A more natural reading of the Hebrew is that 27,000 survived the battle, and all 27,000 were killed when the city wall fell on them. Compare New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh for the first half of the verse: “The survivors fled to Aphek, inside the town, and the wall fell on the 27,000 survivors.”
Ben-hadad also fled is literally “Benhadad fled.” Revised Standard Version adds the word also as the sense requires. Since this clause introduces a slightly different subject, focusing on the king instead of his army, many versions begin a new paragraph at this point.
Entered an inner chamber in the city: An inner chamber is literally “a chamber in a chamber.” The same expression occurs in 1 Kgs 22.25. The exact sense is not clear. The inner chamber may refer to a particular part of the citadel (that is, the city’s fortress) or simply to a well-hidden inside room of a house in the city. It may be that Benhadad hid in an inner room of the citadel (so Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible). Other possible renderings include “entered the city to hide” (New Revised Standard Version) and “took refuge within the city, in an inside room” (New American Bible; similarly Good News Translation, Bible en français courant). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “took refuge inside the town, in an inner chamber.”
Another interpretation of the Hebrew phrase “a chamber in a chamber” is that once Benhadad was inside the city walls, he went from room to room in order to hide himself (so Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible du Semeur, Osty-Trinquet, Maredsous, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy) or “from house to house” (Peregrino). Osty-Trinquet, for example, says that he “entered the city, going from room to room,” and Traduction œcuménique de la Bible similarly says “entered the city where he hid from room to room.”Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente follows this same interpretation but is less specific about where Benhadad hid, stating that he was “fleeing from one place to another.”
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 .