And Saul built an altar: the Hebrew conjunction is better rendered “Thus” (so Revised English Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), since the altar that Saul built is made of the stone mentioned in verse 33. To translate And as in Revised Standard Version may incorrectly suggest that the building of the altar was something different and later in time from the events of verses 33-34. Revised English Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh attempt to show that this is a summary statement rather than an additional event, by using the word “thus.” Compare Revised English Bible, “Thus Saul came to erect an altar to the LORD, and this was the first altar to the LORD that he erected.” An even better model may be Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, “This was the first time that Saul erected an altar to the LORD.” Some languages may even say “Saul set that stone up as an altar to the LORD.”

It was the first altar that he built to the LORD: the translation in New International Version (“it was the first time he had done this”) may perhaps suggest a negative evaluation of Saul’s actions, but there is no basis in the text to suggest that the writer intended to criticize Saul. While the wording of the text suggests the building of other altars, the Old Testament does not elsewhere record that Saul built others.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .