7And Zichri, a mighty warrior of Ephraim, killed the king’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam the commander of the palace, and Elkanah the next in authority to the king.
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Ephraim” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “palm tree” referring to the palm of Deborah in the land of Ephraim (see Judges 4:5. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 28:7:
Kupsabiny: “One of the soldiers of Israel who was called Zikri killed Maaseiah who was son of the king of Judah, Azrikam who was in charge of the kings home/palace and Elkanah who was following/second to the king in rulership.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Zicri, a brave Ephraimite soldier, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son, Azrikam, the main palace courtier, and Elkanah, the king’s main minister.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Zicri, a brave soldier of Israel, killed Maasea the child of King Ahaz, Azrikam the administrator of the palace, and Elkana second to the king.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Zicri, a warrior from the tribe of Ephraim, killed king Ahaz’s son Maaseiah, Azrikam the officer in charge of the palace, and Elkanah, the king’s assistant.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, 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.”
And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew …: And renders the common Hebrew conjunction. Contemporary English Version begins with “During that battle” to clarify that the events in this verse took place at the same time as those in the previous two verses. Zichri is identified as a mighty man of Ephraim. The Hebrew word translated mighty man may be rendered “warrior” (New International Version, Bible en français courant), “champion” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible), “hero” (Bible de Jérusalem), or “fighting man” (God’s Word). The name Ephraim is used in many prophetic passages to refer to the entire northern kingdom of Israel (see, for example, Isa 7.2-17; Jer 31.9-20; Ezek 37.16-19). Since nothing more is known of this Zichri, there is no way to know whether Ephraim here refers to the tribe of Ephraim or whether it refers to the northern kingdom. The renderings “Israelite” (Good News Translation) and “from the kingdom of Israel” (Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente) are based on the latter interpretation. Verse 12 refers to “Certain chiefs also of the men of Ephraim,” where it is reasonable to suppose that the reference is to chiefs from the entire northern kingdom. The archaic verb slew is translated by the more modern equivalent “killed” in New Revised Standard Version and most other versions. Contemporary English Version provides a helpful model for the beginning of this verse, saying “During that battle, an Israelite soldier named Zichri killed three men from Judah….”
Ma-aseiah the king’s son: The name Ma-aseiah in Hebrew is “Maaseyahu” (so Bible de Jérusalem, La Bible Pléiade). There are more than twenty people with the name Maaseiah in the Old Testament. This is not the same person mentioned in 2 Chr 26.11, who was a military officer under King Uzziah. Since the preceding verses have mentioned several different kings, for clarity Good News Translation renders the king’s son as “King Ahaz’ son,” and Parole de Vie has “a son of the king of Judah.” Some interpreters understand the word son in this context to mean “deputy,” and Revised English Bible gives this translation as an alternative in a footnote.
Azrikam the commander of the palace: The exact function of Azrikam is uncertain. The Hebrew may mean that he was either the administrator of the palace or its treasurer. Other renderings of the commander of the palace include “the royal treasurer” (Moffatt), “the comptroller of the household” (Revised English Bible), and the “controller of the household” (New Jerusalem Bible), and “the official in charge of the palace” (Contemporary English Version).
Elkanah the next in authority to the king is literally “Elkanah second to the king.” The meaning of the Hebrew may be expressed as “Elkanah the king’s chief minister” (Revised English Bible) or “Elkanah, who was second in command to the king” (Good News Translation; similarly New Jerusalem Bible).
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Chronicles, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). Miami: UBS, 2014. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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