15Then he mustered the young men who served the district governors, two hundred thirty-two; after them he mustered all the people of Israel, seven thousand.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 20:15:
Kupsabiny: “Then, Ahab gathered the young warriors who reached two hundred and thirty two (232). Then, (he) gathered all the soldiers of Israel who reached to seven thousand (7,000).” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “So he summoned the 232 young captains under the commanding generals of the provinces. After that he summoned the whole Israelite army. There were 7,000 of them.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “So Ahab had-called the young soldiers, who were under the authority of the governors of the provinces — they were 232 in-all. And he also gathered the other Israelinhon — they were 7,000 in-all.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “So Ahab gathered the young soldiers who were commanded by the district governors. There were 232 of those men. Then he also summoned all the Israeli army. There were only 7,000 soldiers.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
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.
He mustered: It may be helpful to make the subject of the verb mustered explicit, either as “the king” (Good News Translation) or “Ahab” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible).
The English word mustered is a technical military term, meaning to enroll or to call up the military in order to go fight. The same Hebrew verb for mustered occurs with this same sense in verses 26 and 27, and a different Hebrew verb has this same meaning in verse 25. Revised Standard Version is consistent in translating the same Hebrew verb as mustered in both occurrences in this verse. New American Bible, however, renders the first occurrence “called up” and the second occurrence “mustered.” New Jerusalem Bible says that Ahab first “inspected” and then “reviewed.” It has also been translated “collected” (Moffatt) and “gathered” (New Century Version).
The servants of the governors of the districts: See the comments on verse 14.
The people of Israel: The reference here is to the “army” (New Jerusalem Bible), or more specifically, “the Israelite army” (Good News Translation). The Hebrew word translated people is frequently used in the historical books to refer specifically to the army. See also the comments on verse 8.
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 .
20:15a So Ahab assembled the young officers of the district governors, and there were 232 men.
Then Ahab assembled/called the young men/soldiers of the officials of the provinces, all 232 of them. -or-
So then King Ahab called together the two hundred and thirty-two young guards/soldiers who served the provincial/district governors.
20:15b And after them, he assembled the rest of the Israelite troops, 7,000 in all.
After that, he called together all the fighting men of Israel, who numbered seven thousand. -or-
Next Ahab gathered all the soldiers in Israel’s army, and there were seven thousand of them.
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