And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew …: And renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Contemporary English Version begins with “During that battle” to clarify that the events in this verse took place at the same time as those in the previous two verses. Zichri is identified as a mighty man of Ephraim. The Hebrew word translated mighty man may be rendered “warrior” (New International Version, Bible en français courant), “champion” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), “hero” (Bible de Jérusalem), or “fighting man” (God’s Word). The name Ephraim is used in many prophetic passages to refer to the entire northern kingdom of Israel (see, for example, Isa 7.2-17; Jer 31.9-20; Ezek 37.16-19). Since nothing more is known of this Zichri, there is no way to know whether Ephraim here refers to the tribe of Ephraim or whether it refers to the northern kingdom. The renderings “Israelite” (Good News Translation) and “from the kingdom of Israel” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) are based on the latter interpretation. Verse 12 refers to “Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim,” where it is reasonable to suppose that the reference is to chiefs from the entire northern kingdom. The archaic verb slew is translated by the more modern equivalent “killed” in New Revised Standard Version and most other versions. Contemporary English Version provides a helpful model for the beginning of this verse, saying “During that battle, an Israelite soldier named Zichri killed three men from Judah….”
Ma-aseiah the king’s son: The name Ma-aseiah in Hebrew is “Maaseyahu” (so Bible de Jérusalem, La Bible Pléiade). There are more than twenty people with the name Maaseiah in the Old Testament. This is not the same person mentioned in 2 Chr 26.11, who was a military officer under King Uzziah. Since the preceding verses have mentioned several different kings, for clarity Good News Translation renders the king’s son as “King Ahaz’ son,” and Parole de Vie has “a son of the king of Judah.” Some interpreters understand the word son in this context to mean “deputy,” and Revised English Bible gives this translation as an alternative in a footnote.
Azrikam the commander of the palace: The exact function of Azrikam is uncertain. The Hebrew may mean that he was either the administrator of the palace or its treasurer. Other renderings of the commander of the palace include “the royal treasurer” (Moffatt), “the comptroller of the household” (Revised English Bible), and the “controller of the household” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “the official in charge of the palace” (Contemporary English Version).
Elkanah the next in authority to the king is literally “Elkanah second to the king.” The meaning of the Hebrew may be expressed as “Elkanah the king’s chief minister” (Revised English Bible) or “Elkanah, who was second in command to the king” (Good News Translation; similarly New Jerusalem Bible).
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 .