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 7:32)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 7:32:

  • Kupsabiny: “The legs/stands of that table were at the bottom of those flat metals. That table was connected with the metals which those wheels would rotate on. The width of each wheel would reach two feet and three inches.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “Those wheels were under the wood plank, and the axles of the wheels were connected to the cart. Each of the wheels had a diameter of 68 centimeters.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “Under the square walls there-are four wheels that were-attached to the axles which were- already -formed together with the cart when it was-being-made. The height of each wheel was two feet and three inches,” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The wheels were 27 inches high. They were below the panels. The wheels were connected to axles that had been cast in the same mold as the rest of the cart.” (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 7:32

The four wheels were under the panels mentioned in verse 28. More than likely this means that the wheels were toward the corners, where the panels met. See the illustration at verse 27.

Axles translates the Hebrew word that usually means “hands.” In this context it most likely means “axles.”

Were of one piece with the stands is literally “with the stand.” A better translation is “were in the stand” (New Revised Standard Version, Gray; similarly New Jerusalem Bible). Or possibly the sense is that the axles “had been cast as one unit with the cart” (New Living Translation; see the same idea in verse 34).

The height of the wheels is said to be a cubit and a half, which is rendered as “25 inches” in Good News Translation. But “about twenty-seven inches” (Contemporary English Version) may be more accurate. In terms of the metric system, this would be “seventy-five centimeters” (Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur).

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 7:32

7:32a There were four wheels under the panels,

The four wheels ⌊of each base⌋ were underneath the panels.
-or-

⌊They set⌋ these metal sheets over the wheels.

7:32b and the axles of the wheels were attached to the stand;

Their axles were attached ⌊at the bottom of the⌋ bronze portable bases.
-or-
The rods connecting the wheels were attached to the bottom/base of the water carts.

7:32c each wheel was a cubit and a half in diameter.

The height of each wheel was a cubit and a half.
-or-
The wheels measured three-quarters (3/4) of a meter across.

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