cubit

The Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek that is translated as “cubit” or into a metric or imperial measurement in English is translated in Kutu, Kwere, and Nyamwezi as makono or “armlength.” Since a cubit is the measurement from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, one armlength (measured from the center of the chest to the fingertips) equals two cubits or roughly 1 meter. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Similarly, in Akoose, the translation is “arm distance.” (Source: Joseph Nkwelle Ngome and Marlie van Rooyen & Jacobus A. Naudé in Communicatio 2009, p. 251ff.)

In Klao it is converted into “hand spans” (app. 6 inches or 12 cm) and “finger spans” (app. 1 inch or 2 cm) (source: Don Slager) and in Bariai into leoa or “fathom,” which comprises the distance from a person’s fingertip to fingertip with arms outstretched, app. 6 feet (source: Bariai Back Translation).

complete verse (1 Kings 7:10)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 7:10:

  • Kupsabiny: “The stones that were put first at the bottom of that house were big. Some were twelve feet but/and others were fifteen feet.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The foundation was made of rocks that were very large and very good. Some rocks were 4.4 meters long, and some were even 3.5 meters long.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “The foundations were made from large and good kind of stones. The length of some stones are 15 feet, and some are 12 feet.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The foundations were also made from huge blocks of stone that were prepared at the quarry. Some of them were twelve feet long and some were fifteen feet long.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

distance (long / wide / high)

The concepts of distance that are translated in English with “long,” “wide,” and “high/tall” are translated in Kwere with one word: utali. (Source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)

Translation commentary on 1 Kings 7:10

Costly stones, huge stones: New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh calls them “huge blocks of choice stone.” Regarding the adjective costly in this context, see the comments on the previous verse.

Stones of eight and ten cubits: Regarding cubits, see the comments on 1 Kgs 6.2. Good News Translation again uses “feet” as the unit of measure. Biblia Dios Habla Hoy renders the size of the stones as “some four and a half meters long and others three meters and sixty centimeters long.” Bible en français courant rounds this off to “four and five meters long.” The Hebrew does not indicate in this verse whether these measurements refer to the height, width, or length of the stone blocks. Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, and Biblia Dios Habla Hoy all understand these figures to refer to stones cut to two different lengths. But it is also possible to understand the sense to be “ten cubits long and eight cubits high” (so De Vries in his commentary, but not his translation).

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 .

SIL Translator’s Notes on 1 Kings 7:10

7:10a The foundations were laid with large, costly stones,

He laid/made the foundations with large, high-quality stones.
-or-

⌊Solomon had his workmen⌋ construct the base of these buildings using the best large stone blocks ⌊that one could find/obtain⌋.

7:10b some ten cubits long and some eight cubits long.

Some ⌊of these foundation stones⌋ measured eight cubits and some measured ten cubits ⌊in length⌋.
-or-
These blocks measured from four to five meters across.

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