7Solomon had twelve officials over all Israel who provided food for the king and his household; each one had to make provision for one month in the year.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 4:7:
Kupsabiny: “Solomon also selected twelve people to govern/be in charge of the regions in Israel. He put these people to be collecting food for him and the people of his family. Each one of these people would bring food for one month in a year.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Solomon set up twelve District Officers over all Israel, and they were in charge of the food for the King and his household. Each of them was in charge for one specific month of the year to provide the food.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Solomon also had twelve district governors to the entire Israel. They were the ones-who-supplies/give food for the king and his household. Each one of them supplies/give food for one month every year.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Solomon appointed twelve men, one to govern each of the regions in Israel. They also were required to provide food for the king and all the others who lived and worked in the palace. Each man was required to provide from his own region the food for one month each year.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Ge’ez, 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.”
Verses 2-6 named various officials in Solomon’s kingdom. Since a list of other officials begins here in verse 7, some translations add the word “also” at the beginning of verse 7. Bible en français courant, for example, says “Solomon also had twelve governors…” (also Parole de Vie).
Twelve officers: As the following verses make clear, each officer was in charge of a region of the country. Good News Translation calls them “district governors,” New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh says “prefects,” and Contemporary English Version calls them “regional officers.” New Revised Standard Version calls them “officials,” but since the Hebrew word here is different from that translated “high officials” in verse 2, it may be better to use terms that are not similar in the receptor language if possible.
Unlike verse 1, where “all Israel” refers to both Judah and Israel, all Israel in this verse probably refers to the northern tribes only. In the list that follows in verses 8-19, it is noted that the twelve officers are in charge of twelve districts in the northern kingdom of Israel. The end of verse 19 notes that the southern tribe of Judah also had an officer.
Who provided food for the king and his household: If a literal rendering such as that in Revised Standard Version will give the impression that the officers provided food from their own supplies, it will be better to add something like “from their districts” (Good News Translation). New Living Translation says “They were responsible for providing food from the people for the king’s household.”
The king’s household (literally “house”) includes his immediate family, his servants, and his palace officials.
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 .
Solomon chose/appointed 12 governors/overseers over all ⌊the land/people of⌋ Israel. -or-
Solomon ⌊also⌋ placed twelve (12) men/officers in charge of the twelve (12) regions in Israel.
4:7b to provide food for the king and his household.
These governors/overseers had to provide food for the king and the members of his household. -or-
⌊Their job/duty was⌋ to support the king and all his dependents by giving them food.
4:7c Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,
Each governor/overseer was responsible for providing this food for one month each year. -or-
Each officer had/received this job/duty for one month per year.
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