Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber from Lebanon: For cedar see the comments on 1 Chr 14.1. It was a hard wood that lasted a long time. It was used for building beams and structural supports.
The Hebrew noun for cypress is a generic term that covers cypress, fir and juniper, that is, any tall cone-bearing evergreen tree. For this reason a variety of translations may be found for the Hebrew word here, including “pine” (Contemporary English Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), “evergreens” ( NET Bible), “juniper” (New Jerusalem Bible) and “fir” (King James Version, Peregrino, in addition to cypress. In Lebanon it is more likely to refer to a fir or mountain juniper.
The Hebrew noun for algum is ʾalgummim. In 1 Kgs 10.11-12 the Hebrew noun is ʾalmugim. Either these Hebrew names are variants of the same kind of tree, or a scribe has mistakenly reversed the consonants represented in English as g and m. Many versions simply transliterate the Hebrew noun here as “algum” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “algummim” (Bible de Jérusalem, Osty-Trinquet). The name of this wood is known from a list from the ancient city of Ugarit, but the identity of the wood is uncertain. Some suggest that it was “juniper” (Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version), a kind of fir tree, while others say “sandalwood” (An American Translation, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, El libro del Pueblo de Dios, Reina-Valera revisada, La Sainte Bible: La version Etablie par les moines de Maredsous, Peregrino, which came from India. Sandalwood was a reddish-brown wood, so Berkeley says “red sandalwood.” Sandalwood was very heavy, hard, and fine-grained. The tannin from this wood was mixed with other substances to make a rich red dye. The wood was also used to perfume houses and was used to make beautiful furniture when polished. Rather than attempt to name a specific tree, it is acceptable to say simply “other valuable timber” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).
The kinds of trees here may be very difficult to translate in languages where one or more of these kinds of trees are unknown. In fact, some languages are forced to borrow these terms in order to translate the text. If this is done, a glossary entry for each borrowed term will be required in order to give more details to the reader. As in verse 3, Good News Translation clarifies the sense here by adding the word “logs.”
Lebanon refers to a mountain range on the eastern Mediterranean coast north of Palestine. It was famous for its cedar forests (Psa 92.12; 104.16). Lebanon was the homeland of the Phoenicians; and Tyre was the principal city of Phoenicia during Hiram’s rule.
For I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon: The connector for introduces the reason that Solomon asks the king of Tyre to send timber to him. He knows that King Hiram’s lumbermen will be able to provide the needed timber. Good News Translation and Bible en français courant render your servants as “your lumbermen,” because in this context it is clear that Hiram’s men were working with wood. However, many languages will say simply “your men” (New International Version, Revised English Bible) or “your workers.” Good News Translation has reversed this clause with the previous one. Such a restructured text may be more natural in certain other languages.
And my servants will be with your servants: The men whom Solomon planned to send were alien residents. They did not volunteer for this work. Rather, the work was forced labor. Peregrino renders my servants as “My slaves,” which is an acceptable translation.
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 .