And Machir took a wife for Huppim and for Shuppim …: The meaning of this verse is no clearer than the previous one. Some translations propose major changes in the Hebrew text. Among the various interpretations and translations are the following:

• (1) Some interpreters think that the Hebrew text as it now exists has lost some words of the original. La Bible Pléiade, for example, uses ellipses where words seem to be missing, saying “Machir took a wife for Huppim and Shuppim … The name of his sister was Maacah … [the name of the first was] … and the name of the second was Zelophehad. And Zelophehad had only daughters.”

• (2) Other interpreters have suggested that the names Huppim and Shuppim should be omitted, claiming that they have been incorrectly copied here from verse 12. As noted below, Moffatt follows this solution. Braun likewise corrects the text to read “(he took a wife whose name was Maacah), and whose second (son) was named Zelophehad. (He had only daughters.)” According to this translation, Zelophehad was the second son of Manasseh, and Machir married Maacah. Compare the following two similar translations: “Machir married a woman whose name was Maacah. The second son was named Zelophehad, and Zelophehad had daughters” (Revised English Bible; similarly Peregrino and “Machir took a wife whose name was Maacah; his sister’s name was Molecheth. Manasseh’s second son was named Zelophehad, but to Zelophehad only daughters were born” (New American Bible).

• An American Translation also omits the names Huppim and Shuppim, reading “and Gilead took a wife whose name was Maacah, and the name of his sister was Hammolecheth and the name of his brother Zelophad, and Zelophad had daughters.” According to An American Translation, Maacah was the wife of Gilead, and Hammolecheth was the sister of Gilead (see verse 18) and Zelophehad was Gilead’s brother. But since there is no basis in the manuscripts for such a correction, it is not recommended.

• (3) As noted in the comments on the previous verse, King James Version takes the first half of this verse as the continuation of a parenthetical statement and reads “and Machir took to wife the sister of Huppim and Shuppim, whose sister’s name was Maachah;) and the name of the second was Zelophehad: and Zelophehad had daughters.”

• (4) Since verse 16 says Maacah was the wife of Machir, Moffatt corrects the text of verses 14 and 15 to read as follows: “14 The children of Manasseh, borne to him by an Aramite concubine, were Machir the father of Gilead 15 (who married a wife named Maakah), his sister named Hammoleketh, and his brother Zelophehad; Zelophehad had daughters.” According to Moffatt, Manasseh’s children included Machir, Hammoleketh (see verse 18), and Zelophehad. And Maakah was the wife of Machir (see verse 16). Moffatt omits the first part of verse 15.

• (5) Revised Standard Version keeps the names Huppim and Shuppim, and says that Machir found a wife for each of them (so also Good News Translation, New Living Translation, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

• (6) The Hebrew may also be read to mean that Machir took a wife for himself from the families of Huppim and Shuppim, who were from the tribe of Benjamin (verse 12). Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, for example, has “Machir married Maacah, a woman from the family of Huppim and Shuppim.”

• (7) Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch is perhaps a better translation of the Masoretic Text: “Machir took as wife a sister of Huppim and Shuppim, her name was Maacah.” In keeping with their translation of the names in verse 12, New International Version and International Children’s Bible are similar with “Makir took a wife from the Huppites and Shuppites.”

The name of his sister was Maacah: The pronoun his may refer to Machir, as in Revised Standard Version and most other versions (Good News Translation, New Living Translation, New Century Version, Bible en français courant), or it may refer to Shuppim. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy does not translate this part of the verse, apparently because Maacah is considered to be the sister of both Huppim and Shuppim.

And the name of the second was Zelophehad: The meaning of the words the name of the second is not clear. Since Zelophehad is a man’s name, these words do not refer to a second sister or second wife. But whose son was Zelophehad? He was probably Machir’s son (Good News Translation, New Century Version, Bible en français courant, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), but others take Zelophehad to be the second son of Manasseh, the first being Asriel in verse 14 (so King James Version) or Machir (so Revised English Bible, New American Bible). According to Num 26.33 and Josh 17.3, however, Zelophehad was a son of Hepher and a grandson of Gilead and a great-grandson of Machir. A literal translation such as Revised Standard Version represents the form of the Hebrew, but such a translation will have little meaning. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch says simply “His second son was Zelophehad” in the text and adds in a footnote that it is not clear whose son he is. The paragraphing in New International Version seems to indicate that Asriel was the first son of Manasseh and that Zelophehad is intended as the second son of Manasseh. But since verse 14 lists two sons for Manasseh, Zelophehad would be the third son. Perhaps for this reason, instead of saying the name of the second was Zelophehad, New International Version says “Another descendant was named Zelophehad.”

And Zelophehad had daughters means that he had no sons, as Num 26.33 clearly states.

Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the Masoretic Text here. Furthermore, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament claims that the Hebrew preposition translated for should be understood as indicating origin. Since Huppim and Shuppim are regularly found named together in the Old Testament, Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the reference is to one person, named “Huppim-and-Shuppim,” and that the singular pronoun in the words his sister refers to the sister of Huppim-and-Shuppim. A translation of the first half of this verse based on the recommendation of Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament will read “And Machir took as wife a sister of a man named Huppim-and-Shuppim, whose name was Maacah.”

As in verse 12, translators must ask how verses 14 and 15 should be translated. The many different ways that these verses have been translated show how difficult it is to make sense of the Hebrew text. Almost certainly the Hebrew text contains errors, and it is impossible to know what the original text said. This information should be stated in a footnote. Translators may choose to follow an interpretation found in existing translations used in the receptor language area.

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 .