29A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver and a horse for one hundred fifty, so through the king’s traders they were exported to all the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.
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)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 10:29:
Kupsabiny: “One chariot in Egypt would be bought with six hundred silver pieces. One horse would be bought with one hundred and fifty silver pieces. Solomon sold part of those horses and part of those chariots to the rulers of the Hittites and those (rulers) of the people of Syria.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “They imported one chariot from the land of Egypt for about 6.9 kg of silver and one horse for 1.7 kg of silver. They also exported them to the kings of the Hittites and Arameans.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “At that time the price of a chariot from Egipto was 600 pieces of silver, and the horse was 150 pieces of silver. These were- also -sold by the men Solomon to all the kings of the Hithanon and the Arameanhon.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “In Musri they bought chariots and horses; they paid 600 pieces of silver for each chariot and 150 pieces of silver for each horse. They brought them to Israel. Then they sold many of them to the kings of the Heth people-group and the kings of Syria.” (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.”
A chariot could be imported: The passive verb could be imported actually translates two verbs in Hebrew which are literally “and it came up and it came out.” De Vries translates “And a chariot, would come up for export,” but a simple translation such as that in Revised Standard Version expresses the meaning correctly.
Egypt: Some interpreters correct the Hebrew text here, as in verse 28, to read “Musri” (soParola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, La Bible Pléiade, Osty-Trinquet, Gray).
Six hundred shekels of silver … a hundred and fifty: The word shekels is not written in the Hebrew, but most translations correctly make the word explicit in translation. Regarding shekels as a measure of weight, see verse 16. But here the expression six hundred shekels of silver is seen as referring to an amount of money. So shekels of silver is translated “pieces of silver” by Good News Translation and Bible en français courant. Contemporary English Version, on the other hand, sees this in terms of weight by saying “about fifteen pounds of silver.” This would be a little less than seven kilograms in the metric system. Contemporary English Version translates a hundred and fifty shekels as “almost four pounds,” which would be nearly two kilograms. Although most interpreters understand the Hebrew to mean that Solomon’s agents paid six hundred shekels for each chariot and a hundred and fifty shekels for each horse, the Hebrew is ambiguous. As Good News Translation indicates, these prices may be the selling prices of the king rather than the amounts he paid.
And so: These connecting words translate the common Hebrew conjunction followed by the adverb meaning “so” or “then.” Some versions take the two words together to mean simply “also” (New International Version) and others leave them untranslated but start a new sentence here (Good News Translation). Here a connector such as “then” (New Living Translation) or “afterwards” fits the context well.
Through the king’s traders they were exported is literally “by their hands they were caused to go up.” This expression, which includes a passive verb in Revised Standard Version, may be translated actively as “they [the king’s traders] were exporting them [horses and chariots].”
The Hittites: At least four separate ethnic groups were called Hittites in the ancient Near East. The group referred to here lived in northern Syria.
Syria: In Hebrew the name is “Aram” (New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, La Bible Pléiade). Some translations say “Aramaean” (New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), but it will probably be best to use the modern name Syria (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie, Peregrino).
The meaning of the last half of this verse is clear in New Jerusalem Bible, which reads “They [King Solomon’s dealers] also supplied the Hittite and Aramaean kings, who all used them as middlemen.” New Living Translation says “Many of these were then resold to the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Aram.”
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 .
10:29a A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver,
They could buy/import a chariot from Egypt for six hundred silver shekels, -or-
The price of a chariot from Egypt was six hundred pieces of silver, -or-
Each Egyptian war cart cost about fifteen pounds of silver,
10:29b and a horse for a hundred and fifty.
and ⌊they could buy/import⌋ a horse for one hundred and fifty silver shekels. -or-
and ⌊the price of⌋ a horse was one hundred and fifty shekels. -or-
and each horse ⌊cost⌋ about four pounds of silver.
10:29c Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram.
They also sold these things to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans. -or-
The king’s traders also sold chariots and horses to all the kings of the Hittite peoples and the Aramean peoples.
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