The common Hebrew conjunction is here translated Therefore or “So” (Good News Translation, New American Bible), because the context seems to require some sort of logical connector. It is because of Hiram’s discontent in the previous verse that he makes the statement recorded in this verse.

What kind of cities are these which you have given me…?: This question is not intended to draw information from Solomon. Rather, this is a way of stating Hiram’s dissatisfaction with what he had already seen when he inspected the cities. In some languages it will not be advisable to translate it as a question. Rather, it may be rendered “these are not the kinds of towns that I expected you to give me” or “these are not very nice towns.” Knox attempts to convey the same meaning by rephrasing the question as follows: “were these the only cities thou couldst spare me?”

In the ancient Near Eastern world, the word brother was used by kings who had entered into treaties with one another (see also 1 Kgs 20.32-33). My brother is used here in the sense of “my friend” (Contemporary English Version) and adds a note of gentleness to the critical question that goes before it. The direct address my brother may be placed early or late within the direct quotation. The Hebrew text places it at the end, as reflected by Revised Standard Version. But in other languages it may come at the beginning or near the beginning (so Good News Translation). Naturalness in the receptor language should determine its placement.

They are called the land of Cabul: They are called is literally “he called them.” This may be a third person impersonal construction, in which case they are called correctly expresses the meaning. But in the context, it should probably be “he called them” (Revised English Bible, New American Bible) or “he named them” (New Living Translation, Anchor Bible).

As the footnote in Good News Translation indicates, the name Cabul sounds like “ke-bal,” the Hebrew for “worthless.” Gray, however, argues that the Hebrew word is a passive participle from the Arabic word kabala and means “mortgaged.” The first-century Jewish historian Josephus wrote that the name was a Phoenician word meaning “not pleasing.” Whatever the exact meaning of the word, the writer was obviously intending a play on words.

Translators should find some way to help readers in the receptor language understand this pun. Moffatt says “he called them the ‘Cabul’ (good-for-nothing) district.” Compare also Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, which says in the text “… is called Cabul (‘as nothing’)” and then explains also in a footnote that “the Hebrew word cabul resembles the expression ‘as nothing.’ ”

To this day: See the comments on this expression in 1 Kgs 8.8.

New Living Translation tends to paraphrase this verse, but the meaning is clear:

• “What kind of towns are these, my brother?” he asked. “These towns are worthless!” So Hiram called that area Cabul—“worthless”—as it is still known today.

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 .

1Kings 9.:14

Hiram had sent to the king …: It is difficult to know how this verse fits with what is said previously about the worthless towns. It begins with the common Hebrew conjunction, which is connected to the Hebrew verb for “send.” Normally the form of the Hebrew verb here would express the next event in the story, but most interpreters think it refers to a prior event in this context, so it is rendered had sent (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible). According to this interpretation, Hiram had paid an unreasonably high amount of gold for the towns before he had seen them! New Revised Standard Version begins the verse with “But” and New American Bible has “however” to introduce this unexpected event.

Contemporary English Version takes this verse as the next event in the story by saying “He sent Solomon only five tons of gold in return.” According to this interpretation, Hiram paid very little, only six talents per town, after he had seen the towns. Compare “So Hiram sent…” (De Vries). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh takes this verse as the next event also, but it views it as something unexpected by saying “However, Hiram sent the king….” This seems to imply that in spite of the fact that the towns were considered to be without great value, Hiram nevertheless paid a substantial price for them after he had seen them. The sequence of verb forms in the Hebrew favors either of these last two interpretations.

One hundred and twenty talents: A “talent” was the approximate equivalent of 34 kilograms or 75 pounds. Good News Translation expresses this weight in the equivalent of the modern measurement “tons” and rounds the figure off to “almost five tons.” International Children’s Bible says “about 9,000 pounds.”

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 .