וַיָּקֻ֨מוּ֙ מִמִּדְיָ֔ן וַיָּבֹ֖אוּ פָּארָ֑ן וַיִּקְחוּ֩ אֲנָשִׁ֨ים עִמָּ֜ם מִפָּארָ֗ן וַיָּבֹ֤אוּ מִצְרַ֨יִם֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֣ה מֶֽלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֔יִם וַיִּתֶּן־ל֣וֹ בַ֗יִת וְלֶ֨חֶם֙ אָ֣מַר ל֔וֹ וְאֶ֖רֶץ נָ֥תַן לֽוֹ׃
18They set out from Midian and came to Paran; they took people with them from Paran and came to Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, who gave him a house, assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land.
The term that is used for monarchs in ancient Egypt and is transliterated as “Pharaoh” in English is translated in Finnish Sign Language with the sign signifying the “fake metal beard (postiche)” that was word by Pharaohs during official functions. (Source: Tarja Sandholm)
“Pharaoh” in Finnish Sign Language (source )
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Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo 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 If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior.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.”
(Source: Faye Edgerton in The Bible Translator 1962, p. 25ff. )
See also king (Japanese honorifics).
They set out from Midian and came to Paran: Midian was a territory in northwestern Arabia on the east coast of the Gulf of Aqaba. It was located southeast of Palestine. Since many readers today will not know whether Midian was a city or a region, some translations add “the region of” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). The text implies but does not state that Hadad and those with him had come to Midian from Edom. The implicit meaning is “having arrived in Midian from Edom, they then set out from Midian and came to Paran.”
Paran, which was west of Midian, was a wilderness area west of Edom at the southern edge of Judah. Some translations make this information explicit by adding “the desert of” (Bible en français courant, Parole de Vie). Midian and Paran were also places of importance in the life of Moses (see Exo 2.11–4.17; Num 12.16–13.33).
Took men with them from Paran: The word men here is rendered “people” in New Revised Standard Version. But in view of the military context of this passage, it may be more natural to speak of “men” in many languages. International Children’s Bible rewords this by saying “In Paran other men joined them.”
Pharaoh king of Egypt: This is redundant since Pharaoh is a title for the king of Egypt. See the comments at 1 Kgs 3.1 and 7.8.
If we could be certain which king of Egypt this was, the name could be made explicit. But it is not certain whether the reference is to Psusennes II, the last ruler of the twenty-first dynasty who ruled approximately 965–931 B.C. or to Shishak (see the comments on verse 40).
Gave him a house, assigned him an allowance of food, and gave him land: The third person singular pronoun objects of the verbs gave and assigned refer to Hadad. Although he was still relatively young when he first arrived (verse 17), it was out of respect for his position as a member of the royal family of Edom that the king of Egypt provided him and his attendants with these things.
Assigned him an allowance of food is literally “bread he said to him.” Some scholars think something has fallen out of the Hebrew text after the words “he said to him.” But more likely the Hebrew verb for “said” is used here with the sense “commanded [to provide]” or “gave orders [to provide],” and the word “bread” is the object of this verb. “Bread” is used to mean more generally “food.” The king of Egypt gave Hadad food on a regular basis and not just one time only. Some translations say that the Pharaoh gave him “a food allowance” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh).
The Hebrew noun rendered land also occurs in verses 21-22, where Revised Standard Version translates it “country.” Even though the Egyptian king had given land to Hadad, later on Hadad wanted to return to his own “land.”
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 .