The five names listed in this verse are linked in Hebrew with the word “son of.” The exact number of persons referred to is not clear, however. The Hebrew text contains the words “son of” (Hebrew, ben) five times, not just four times as in Revised Standard Version. According to Revised Standard Version there are five persons, but the Hebrew refers to six persons. The Hebrew text does not say son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite but “son of Aphiah, son of a man a Yiminite.” Aphiah is the fifth person in the list, and the Yiminite man is the sixth person.

Many interpreters assume that the word “Yiminite” is a shortened form of “Benjaminite” (so Revised Standard Version). If that is the case, the Hebrew still refers to an ancestor of Aphiah, that is, Aphiah is the son of a Benjaminite. Nouvelle version Segond révisée, Almeida, and Reina-Valera revisada say “son of Aphiah, son of a man of Benjamin.” Good News Translation avoids the problem by omitting the clan name for Aphiah, and this solution may be a good model for other languages.

In some languages it will be more natural to connect all of these names in their relationship to Kish by using terms such as “son,” “grandson,” “great-grandson,” rather than linking each person to the previous person by the words “son of.”

A man of Benjamin: it may be helpful to indicate that Benjamin is not a place name but is rather the name of a “tribe” (Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).

Son of Becorath: the relationship of Kish to Becorath may be expressed in various ways. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy says “his [Kish’s] great-grandfather was Becorath.” Another model may be “great-grandson of Becorath.” Good News Translation provides still another model, taking Becorath as representative of a larger family unit.

Becorath, son of Aphiah: the name Becorath is feminine in form, but here it is clearly a man’s name. The Septuagint has a masculine form of this name, and translations are unanimous in calling Becorath the son of Aphiah.

A literal translation, following the Hebrew structure of this verse as in Revised Standard Version, could incorrectly suggest that Aphiah was a man of wealth. By restructuring this verse Good News Translation correctly indicates that these words at the end of the verse refer to Kish (see also New International Version: “There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish”).

A Benjaminite is literally “son of a Yiminite man” (see the comments above).

A man of wealth is literally “strong of power [or, wealth].” The noun translated as of wealth has various meanings depending on the context: “power,” “ability,” “wealth,” “property.” Some understand the sense here to be “a brave man” or “a stalwart man” (New American Bible). Others take it to mean “a wealthy man” (Revised Standard Version). Still others agree with Good News Translation in taking the general sense to be that Kish was “a man of standing” (New International Version) or “a person of rank” (New Jerusalem Bible).

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 .