This verse begins yet another episode in the series of miracle stories about Elisha. For this reason some languages will require some kind of marker indicating that the previous episode is finished and that a new one begins here. Note that Good News Translation starts with “Another time,” La Bible du Semeur says “In that period of time,” and Knox attempts to show the transition with “Once, too.” Some translations may even wish to add a section heading here as Contemporary English Version has done with “Elisha Feeds One Hundred People.”
Baalshalishah: The exact location of this town is uncertain, but it is very probable that it was situated in the mountainous region of the territory of Ephraim, about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) to the southwest of the city of Shechem. Compare “the region of Shalishah” (Good News Translation) in 1 Sam 9.4.
Bread of the first fruits, twenty loaves of barley: This refers to bread made from the first barley harvested. Any first crops harvested were very important. The initial harvest was a time of celebration (Exo 23.16) and the crops brought in were normally given to the LORD (Exo 23.19; 34.26). Lev 23.10 speaks of bringing a sheaf of the first grain harvested to the priest. It is not surprising, then, that bread baked from the first harvest of the year should be given to a prophet. The idea of first fruits should not be omitted in translation. Parole de Vie says that the man brought “twenty loaves of barley,” but it does not make clear that this was from the first harvest.
Barley indicates precisely which kind of grain was used to make the bread. Compare 1 Kgs 4.28 as well as Lev 27.16; Ruth 1.22; 2 Sam 14.30.
The Hebrew word translated fresh ears of grain is sometimes used for a kind of food made from mashed kernels of grain (Lev 2.14; 23.14), but in other cases it may refer to an orchard of fruit-bearing trees (Isa 10.18; Jer 2.7; 48.33) or to a cedar forest (2 Kgs 19.23). Moffatt speaks here of “fresh vegetables” and Hobbs has “produce from his harvest,” but most modern versions seem to agree that what is intended is some sort of “fresh grain,” that is, grain that has just ripened. The idea of freshness may have to be expressed in some languages as “just harvested” or “which people had just cut.”
In his sack: The Hebrew word translated sack occurs only here in the Old Testament and its meaning is uncertain. This word is taken by New Jerusalem Bible to mean “still in the husk,” and Moffatt translates “in a basket.” But most versions adopt the same meaning as Revised Standard Version. This information is left implicit in Good News Translation, but unless it sounds awkward in the receptor language, it should be included.
And Elisha said: The Hebrew does not say to whom Elisha is speaking here, but the next verse clearly indicates that he was speaking to his servant and not to the man from Baal Shalishah. For this reason Good News Translation adds the words “his servant” near the end of this verse.
Give to the men, that they may eat: This direct quotation may be made indirect if it is more natural to do so. Good News Translation provides a good model.
The men refers to the group of prophets. If there is any doubt in the minds of readers about this, a more specific expression may be used.
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 .