At that time may be rendered “It was then that.” Some versions consider this temporal transition unimportant and omit it in translation (Good News Translation, New American Bible, New Century Version). But unless it is unnatural, it should be retained. Compare 2 Kgs 16.6.
Stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the LORD, and from the doorposts: The Hebrew verb rendered stripped is elsewhere translated “cut off” (for example, 2 Kgs 16.17). New American Bible reads “He broke up the door panels and the uprights of the temple.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translates “Hezekiah cut down the doors and the doorposts of the Temple of the LORD,” and observes in a footnote that the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. But most modern versions understand the text to mean that gold overlay was somehow pulled away or torn off the doors and the doorframes. The Hebrew text does not have the word gold, which Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation have correctly made explicit.
The Hebrew word rendered doorposts occurs only here in the Old Testament, and its precise meaning is not certain. Because of the context it is usually understood to refer to the vertical part of the frames that held the doors in place. Revised English Bible uses the more modern expression “door-frames,” while New Jerusalem Bible has the more technical term “jambs.” Some interpreters have taken it as meaning “columns” (An American Translation) or “uprights” (New American Bible). Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensiasuggests that perhaps the Hebrew word should be corrected to read “shields,” but the best solution seems to be to follow the interpretation in Revised English Bible and read “doorframes.”
Hezekiah king of Judah: The repetition of this name and title toward the end of this verse is redundant and may be quite unnatural in many languages since Hezekiah is the subject of the main clause in this verse. It is certainly legitimate to replace this phrase with a pronoun if it is more natural to do so. Some interpreters think that the Masoretic Text contains an error here and that instead of Hezekiah king of Judah, the text originally read “an earlier king of Judah” (so New Jerusalem Bible), but there is no solid evidence for this suggestion.
Gave it to the king of Assyria: As in the previous verse, the verb gave may be better translated “sent.” The Hebrew says “he gave them to the king of Assyria.” The pronoun “them” refers to the pieces of gold that were stripped off the doors and doorframes.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
2Kings 18.:17
Jerusalem was on a hill over a valley which made it difficult for enemy armies to attack. Hezekiah had built a tunnel under the city to supply water from a spring below (see 2 Kgs 20.20), and some interpreters consider that this is the conduit mentioned here. Sennacherib’s account of the siege of Jerusalem is preserved in the Akkadian language on an eight-sided clay pillar discovered by archaeologists at Nineveh.
This verse begins with the common Hebrew conjunction, which Revised Standard Version renders And. In the context of the previous verse, however, it appears to express contrast, so New Living Translation begins with the connector “Nevertheless.”
The Revised Standard Version rendering of this verse contains three unusual words, each of which begins with a capital letter and is preceded by the definite article: the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh. The presence of the definite article perhaps shows the English reader that these must have been titles, but details of their meaning remain obscure. These words all refer to persons of rather high position in the court of the Assyrian king. But they are probably not all, strictly speaking, military men. Historians now know that these are Assyrian titles, but translations of an earlier time considered them to be proper names (for example, King James Version, which transliterates these words without definite articles).
It should be noted that some interpreters consider the words the Tartan and the Rabsaris to be later additions to the text since the parallel passages in 2 Chr 32 and Isa 36 do not have them and since only the Rabshakeh is mentioned in the following verses (see, for example, verses 19 and 26). New Jerusalem Bible omits these two nouns and changes the plural pronouns in verses 17-18 to third person singular.
The term Tartan, which is an Assyrian word, is found elsewhere only in Isa 20.1. It refers to a high-ranking Assyrian official who was the field marshal, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the English term “tartan,” which refers to a kind of plaid textile design of Scottish origin. The Tartan has been translated as “the commander-in-chief” (Revised English Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond, Gray) and “the general” (New American Bible). In many languages the most appropriate translation may be something like “the chief of all soldiers.”
The term Rabsaris, which refers to a high-ranking official in the Assyrian court, appears also in Jer 39.3 and 13. Rabsaris is a transliteration of a word in the Akkadian language (spoken by the Assyrians), and the word literally means “great eunuch” or “chief eunuch” and is so translated by Revised English Bible and La Bible Pléiade. But the word “eunuch” is not necessarily to be taken literally in every context. These men were trusted and respected members of the leadership, and the present context shows quite clearly that this person was a high government official. So it may be best to translate the Rabsaris as “another high-ranking officer” or something similar. Nouvelle Bible Segond says “the commander of the senior civil servants,” and Gray uses the technical expression “the High Chamberlain.”
The term Rabshakeh occurs frequently in this chapter and the following one, as well as in Isa 36–37. This Akkadian noun, like the two preceding nouns, also refers to a high-ranking royal official. The literal meaning is “chief cupbearer,” and while this official was responsible for personal affairs of the king, he was a trusted official who apparently served the king in other ways also. Certain versions translate the Rabshakeh as “his field commander” (New International Version, New Century Version). But since the Tartan was the field commander, it may be better to use an expression such as “the chief officer” (Revised English Bible), “the commander” (New American Bible), “the aide-de-camp” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible; Gray “the chief aide-de-camp”), or “the lieutenant” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Nouvelle Bible Segond more specifically says “the commander of the supply corps.” If translators choose to maintain a literal translation of the Akkadian term, such as “the cupbearer-in-chief” (New Jerusalem Bible, Peregrino), they may wish to use a footnote to explain that this was an important office in the royal court.
Translators are advised to avoid a transliteration of these three terms if at all possible. If adequate terms are not found, the Good News Translation model may have to be followed: “his three highest officials.” As noted above, Nouvelle Bible Segond translates these three terms with specific technical military terms in French, but Nouvelle Bible Segond also states in a footnote that these translations are uncertain.
And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they arrived, they came and stood: Many textual experts are convinced that the Hebrew text contains intentionally redundant information here perhaps to make the arrival of these three high officers all the more threatening. It literally reads “and they went up and came to Jerusalem, and they went up and came and stood.” But few modern versions reflect this redundancy. Others think that a scribe accidentally repeated the words “they went up and they came.” Several ancient translations, in fact, omit the second occurrence of these words, but Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the omissions reflect translation decisions and do not provide evidence of a different Hebrew text. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, therefore, gives a {B} rating to the Masoretic Text. La Bible Pléiade does not translate these repeated words but shows that the Hebrew text has additional words by using square brackets as follows: “They went up and arrived in Jerusalem [ ]. They stood near.” New Jerusalem Bible and Osty-Trinquet omit the repeated words, but they give the longer text in a footnote.
The conduit of the upper pool: The Hebrew word rendered conduit is elsewhere translated “trench” (1 Kgs 18.32) and “channel” (Job 38.25). Here it has also been rendered “aqueduct” (New International Version, Hobbs), “waterway” (New Century Version), and “canal” (Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Contemporary English Version). As noted above, some interpreters think the reference here is to the tunnel built by Hezekiah, but this is doubtful. The conduit in this verse is also mentioned in Isa 7.3 and 36.2.
The upper pool in question is somehow located on a higher elevation and seems to be located outside the city, so it does not seem to refer to the Pool of Siloam, as some have argued. Scholars have been unable to determine the location of the pool or the source from which its water came.
The Hebrew word translated highway is elsewhere rendered “road” (1 Chr 26.16). But it is not the ordinary word for road. It implies a raised roadway for public use. But in many languages a technically correct translation (“causeway” in Revised English Bible) would be unnatural and possibly change the focus of the passage. Such a translation therefore is not advised. Many modern versions simply translate “road” (Good News Translation, New International Version, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, New Jerusalem Bible).
The Fuller’s Field: In English a “fuller” is a person who treats cloth made of wool by wetting it and then heating it in order to make it shrink. Once again a translation that is technically correct in every detail may lead the reader away from the main point of the story. The Hebrew word rendered Fuller’s may in some cases refer simply to one who washes clothes (compare Mal 3.2). So New International Version translates “the Washerman’s Field.” New Century Version speaks of “where people do their laundry.” Others may say “where people wash their clothes.” But Contemporary English Version has “the cloth makers’ shops.” The same place is mentioned in Isa 7.3 and 36.2.
A possible model for this verse is:
• The king of Assyria gave orders to his three highest military officers: the supreme commander, the chief officer, and the field commander. He instructed them to leave Lachish and take a large army to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. When they arrived, the officers stood on the road beside the canal from the upper pool at a place near the cloth makers’ shops.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .