26Solomon gathered together chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem.
The Hebrew, Latin, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated into English as “chariot” is translated into Anuak as “canoe pulled by horse.” “Canoe” is the general term for “vehicle” (source: Loren Bliese). Similarly it is translated in Lokạạ as ukwaa wạ nyanyang ntuuli or “canoe that is driven by horses.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
Other translations include:
Chichicapan Zapotec: “ox cart” (in Acts 8) (ox carts are common vehicles for travel) (source: Loren Bliese)
Chichimeca-Jonaz, it is translated as “little house with two feet pulled by two horses” (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.)
HausaCommon Language Bible as keken-doki or “cart of donkey” (source: Andy Warren-Rothlin)
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Solomon” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wise” referring to 1 Kings 3:12. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 10:26:
Kupsabiny: “Solomon amassed horses and chariots/carts which horses pull. He had one thousand and four hundred (1,400) chariots and twelve thousand (12,000) horses. He placed some of those carts and horses in Jerusalem but/and others he placed in guarded cities.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Solomon gathered horses and chariots. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He put them in cities for keeping chariots and in his place in Jerusalem.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Solomon was-able-to-gather 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He put some of them in the towns which is the place-to-put of his chariots, and the others (were) there with him in Jerusalem.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Solomon acquired 1,400 chariots and 12,000 men who rode on the horses (OR, in the chariots). Solomon put some of them in Jerusalem and some of them in other cities where he kept his chariots.” (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.”
Many languages use a “body part tally system” where body parts function as numerals (see body part tally systems with a description). One such language is Angguruk Yali which uses a system that ends at the number 27. To circumvent this limitation, the Angguruk Yali translators adopted a strategy where a large number is first indicated with an approximation via the traditional system, followed by the exact number according to Arabic numerals. For example, where in 2 Samuel 6:1 it says “thirty thousand” in the English translation, the Angguruk Yali says teng-teng angge 30.000 or “so many rounds [following the body part tally system] 30,000,” likewise, in Acts 27:37 where the number “two hundred seventy-six” is used, the Angguruk Yali translation says teng-teng angge 276 or “so many rounds 276,” or in John 6:10 teng-teng angge 5.000 for “five thousand.”
This strategy is used in all the verses referenced here.
Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: In this context the verb gathered together does not refer to the assembling of these forces at a specific time. Rather, it was over a period of time that he “amassed” (Revised English Bible) or “collected” (New American Bible) this impressive military might. Like Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible has “built up a force of.”
For the great number of chariots and horses that Solomon had, see 1 Kgs 4.26. Regarding the various possible meanings of the Hebrew noun rendered horsemen here, see the comments on 1 Kgs 4.26.
Whom he stationed in the chariot cities and with the king in Jerusalem: This clause is awkward in English since the pronoun he refers to Solomon, who was the king in Jerusalem. International Children’s Bible has two separate sentences here, saying “He kept some in special cities for the chariots. And he kept some with him in Jerusalem.” In some languages it may be more natural to reverse the order of the chariot cities and Jerusalem, as Good News Translation has done.
Instead of stationed, the Masoretic Text reads “led” (so Nouvelle Bible Segond), but the two Hebrew verbs that mean “stationed” and “led” are similar in spelling. Both the Septuagint reading here in 1 Kings and the Masoretic Text in 2 Chr 1.14 and 9.25 read “stationed.” Most translations also read “stationed” here in 1 Kings (so New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh and New International Version [“kept”], even though they usually follow the Masoretic Text). Even if the Masoretic Text is followed here, the sense is surely that Solomon placed the chariots and horsemen in these cities.
Regarding the chariot cities, see 1 Kgs 9.19.
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 .
10:26a Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses,
Solomon gathered great quantities of chariots and horses, ⌊eventually/finally⌋ owning fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses. -or-
Solomon bought for himself many war carts and horses ⌊to pull them⌋. He came to possess fourteen hundred war carts and twelve thousand horses.
10:26b which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
Some of these he kept in the chariot cities and others with him in Jerusalem. -or-
He housed/stored some in special/designated cities and others ⌊he housed/stored⌋ in his city of Jerusalem.
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