And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon: Good News Translation replaces the words all the men of Israel with the pronoun “they.” This implies that all the men of Israel, who are mentioned here in verse 2, refer to the same persons whom Solomon called to Jerusalem in verse 1. Bible en français courant, on the other hand, very clearly indicates that verse 2 speaks of additional people (“Then all the Israelites assembled also”), and this seems to express correctly the meaning of the Hebrew. The word men is not intended to exclude the women of Israel, so New Revised Standard Version translates “All the people of Israel….” Some interpreters, however, think that here, as in 2 Sam 15–20, the men of Israel refers specifically to the military. To king Solomon is left implied in Good News Translation, but this may be included in translation unless it is considered unnatural in the receptor language.

At the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month: The feast is the Festival of Shelters. Regulations regarding this festival are found in Lev 23.34-43. The name Ethanim occurs here only in the Old Testament. Since this Canaanite month name was no longer known and used by the Israelite people when this account was written, the author explains to his readers that this corresponds to the seventh month (not the month of July, as a literal rendering might be understood in some languages). This month was later called “Tishri” and corresponds to modern mid-September to mid-October. New Living Translation says “in early autumn,” and Peregrino has “in the month of October (the seventh month).” These renderings have the advantage of showing that the seventh month does not mean the modern seventh month of July. But it will probably be better to keep the name found in the Hebrew text and then indicate in a footnote that this corresponds to September/October. See Appendix A, “The Hebrew Calendar.” See also the comments on 6.1.

Since the reference to the feast is not merely to any feast, but to a specific feast of great importance, it may be identified by name for readers today (so Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, Parole de Vie, Peregrino). Revised English Bible calls this “the pilgrim-feast in the month Ethanim.” The Hebrew noun translated feast is nearly always used in reference to a pilgrim feast. Since the Festival of Shelters was one of three annual feasts in which Israelite males were required to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem, translators may wish to follow the model of Revised English Bible and call this a “pilgrim feast.” The other two pilgrim festivals were the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread in the first month (March/April) and the Feast of Weeks, which occurred seven weeks after Passover. Note that the original readers would have understood this reference to the feast as a reference to this particular feast. For this reason the International Children’s Bible translation, which reads “This was during a festival in the month of Ethanim,” is misleading since it suggests, in English, that the reference is not to a particular festival, but simply to “a festival.” New Living Translation may provide a helpful model with “at the annual Festival of Shelters.”

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 .