17He made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three minas of gold went into each shield; and the king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 10:17:
Kupsabiny: “He again prepared three hundred small shields. He made each of those shields using one and a half kilograms of gold. After that, he kept those shields in the house which was called the House of Trees of Lebanon.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Solomon also made three hundred small shields of sheet metal gold. There was about 1.7 kilograms of gold in each shield. The King put them in the palace called "The Forest of Lebanon".” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “He also made 300 small shields that each shield was-covered with about two kilos of gold. He had- them all -placed there in the part of the palace which-is called Forest of Lebanon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “His workers made 300 smaller shields. They covered each of them with almost 4 pounds/1.5 kg. of gold. Then the king put those shields in the Hall of the Forest of Lebanon.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
He made three hundred shields of beaten gold: See the comments on the use of the verb made in the previous verse.
For shields see the comments on verse 16. The word used here is not the same as the one translated “large shields” in the previous verse. New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh calls these shields “bucklers” (so also Revised English Bible, Anchor Bible, and New American Bible). A buckler is a small round shield held by one hand at arm’s length to protect the upper body and head. New Jerusalem Bible is similar to Good News Translation with “small shields.” Regarding the meaning of the Hebrew word rendered beaten in Revised Standard Version, see the comments on verse 16.
Three minas: A mina was the equivalent of fifty shekels. So three minas is equal to one hundred and fifty shekels, or one-fourth the amount of gold that was used for the large shields. In pounds the equivalent is “nearly four pounds” (Good News Translation), and in kilos the equivalent is “one and a half kilos” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie) or “a little more than one and a half kilos” (Biblia Dios Habla Hoy).
The king put them in the House of the Forest of Lebanon: See 1 Kgs 7.2-3. These shields were made for display, to show the wealth of the king, and were not made to be used in battle. They were probably taken out and carried in royal processions. It is not likely that the king himself put all of these shields in this building. The intended meaning is probably that he had others place them there (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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