And Abijah pursued Jeroboam, and took cities from him: New Living Translation provides a helpful model here with “Abijah and his army pursued Jeroboam’s troops and captured some of his towns.”

Bethel with its villages and Jeshanah with its villages and Ephron with its villages: These cities and villages were located in the territory of Benjamin (see Josh 18.21-24). These cities may have been lost to the northern kingdom and then recaptured. Bethel was located about 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of Jerusalem. Jeshanah was located about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Jerusalem. Ephron is the spelling in the Hebrew text, but the corrected spelling in the margin of the Masoretic Text is “Ephrain” (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh). Ephron, which is often identified with Ophrah in the territory of Benjamin (Josh 18.23), was located about 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) northeast of Bethel and 21 kilometers (13 miles) north-northeast of Jerusalem.

For the Hebrew word rendered villages (literally “daughters”), see the comments on 1 Chr 2.23. Instead of repeating with its villages three times in this verse, many languages will find it more natural to follow the model of Good News Translation, New International Version, and others that give the names of the three cities and then mention their surrounding villages all together.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .