Verses 15-20 are a flashback in time, referring to events recorded in 2 Sam 8.13-14. Good News Translation makes this clear by adding the words “Long before this” at the beginning of verses 15-16 (also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). Other ways of indicating this flashback are “Earlier” (New American Bible) and “Years before” (New Living Translation). The connector For does not correspond to anything in the Hebrew text. This connector is misleading since it suggests that Hadad’s motive was revenge, but that is not indicated in the Hebrew.

These two verses are difficult to understand. The meaning seems to be that David had gone to Edom along with Joab and his army, and David conquered Edom. Then Joab buried the dead Israelite soldiers and he and the army stayed for six months. Some interpreters suggest that the Hebrew words translated to bury the slain should be corrected slightly to read “to search out the caves” (so Gray), but there is no textual evidence for such a change, and this suggested rendering is not followed in any major translation. As Revised Standard Version translates these verses, it seems to mean that David killed all of the men in Edom (verse 15) and then Joab and his soldiers killed all the men in Edom (verse 16). The verb slew at the end of verse 15 does not have an explicit subject, but Revised Standard Version seems correct in making David the subject. Good News Translation, however, restructures the text and avoids the difficulty.

When David was in Edom is literally “while being David in Edom.” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh renders this “When David was in Edom,” but then indicates in a footnote that by changing the Hebrew text a little it reads “When David defeated Edom,” which corresponds with 2 Sam 8.13. The Septuagint says “when David destroyed Edom.” A change in one consonant only in the Hebrew word for “while being” (bhywt) results in the word for “while destroying” (bhkwt). It is not clear whether the Greek translator misread the Hebrew text, or whether the reading in the Masoretic Text is the result of a scribal mistake. Following the Septuagint, De Vries says “… was exterminating Edom,” and Anchor Bible reads “… was fighting Edom.” A number of other modern versions are similar, but are apparently free translations of the Masoretic Text since they have no footnote indicating that they are based on the Septuagint. Compare “… reduced Edom” (Revised English Bible), “… had conquered Edom” (Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente), and “… was fighting with Edom” (New International Version). Even if the Masoretic Text is followed here, the sense is clearly that David was there to fight or conquer the Edomites.

Joab the commander of the army went up to bury the slain: It is not clear who the slain were. But since it seems unlikely that Joab would have gone in order to bury enemy soldiers, it seems most likely that these were “Israelite soldiers killed in battle” (so Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Unfortunately, the book of 2 Samuel does not talk about this aspect of the battle. For Joab the commander of the army, see 1 Kgs 1.7, 19.

All Israel in this context refers to “the entire Israelite army” (NET Bible), so translators should not give the impression that all the people of Israel were involved in this military operation. Good News Translation renders it simply “his men.”

He had cut off every male in Edom: Cut off is used here to mean “to eliminate” or “to destroy,” as in 1 Kgs 14.10 and elsewhere in the Old Testament (see the comments on 1 Kgs 9.7).

Every male may have to be translated in certain languages as “every man and boy” or something similar.

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 .