The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Solomon” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wise” referring to 1 Kings 3:12. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 2 Chronicles 7:8:
Kupsabiny: “The people of Israel who had come to that feast from all sides from Lebo-hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. The feast extended for seven days.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Solomon and all the Israelites celebrated the Festival of Shelters for seven days. Along with Solomon there were crowds of people. They came from such distant places, as Lebo-hamath in the north [and] the Brook of Egypt in the south.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Solomon and all the Israelinhon still/(continued-to) celebrated the Feast of Building/[lit. Causing-to-Stand] Shelters/Huts for seven days. There were very many people gathered from Lebo Hamat in the north until the place-where- water -flows of Egipto in the south.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Solomon and the other people celebrated the Festival of Living in Temporary Shelters for seven days. There was a huge group of people who celebrated with him. Some of them came from as far away as Lebo-Hamath in the far north and the border of Egypt in the far south.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
At that time Solomon held the feast for seven days: The feast refers to the Festival of Shelters (see the comments on 2 Chr 5.3). The dedication of the Temple lasted from the eighth day to the fourteenth day of the seventh month. This was immediately followed by the Festival of Shelters, which lasted from the fifteenth day to the twenty-second day. At that time … for seven days refers to the week right after the dedication of the Temple. Good News Translation leaves At that time implied by only saying “for seven days.” New Living Translation is better with “For the next seven days.”
And all Israel with him, a very great congregation refers to all the Israelites who had come to Jerusalem for the Festival of Shelters. The phrase all Israel clearly refers to both Israel and Judah. For the Hebrew word rendered congregation, see the comments on 2 Chr 5.6, where it is translated “assembly.”
The entrance of Hamath (see the comments on 1 Chr 13.5) and the Brook of Egypt refer to the northern and southern borders of the country of Israel. For this reason Good News Translation, Contemporary English Version, and New Living Translation say “from as far away as…” and add the qualifiers “in the north” and “in the south” (see also Bible en français courant, which adds “in the north” and “in the south”). These two places are significant here because they indicate that Israelites assembled from one end of the country to the other.
The word Brook in the Brook of Egypt renders a Hebrew noun that may be translated more precisely as “wadi,” that is, a valley or deep gully which is usually dry in the dry season but carries rushing water in the rainy season. Compare the following translations: “the Wadi [or, wadi] of Egypt” (New Revised Standard Version, New International Version, Revised English Bible, New American Bible) and “the Torrent of Egypt” (New Jerusalem Bible, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible). The exact location of this wadi is uncertain. It is sometimes said to be a part of the Nile River, but more likely it refers to the Wadi-el-Arish, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea and is located in the northeastern part of the Sinai Peninsula about 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of Gaza. Since this wadi marked the southern boundary of the Promised Land (Num 34.5), this second location seems more likely to be the correct one. Moffatt says “the Wady-el-Arish.” In languages that have only one word for any kind of flowing water, translators must be careful to avoid giving the impression that this phrase refers to the Nile River, the best known river in Egypt. For example, King James Version says “the river of Egypt,” which would almost certainly be understood as a reference to the Nile River.
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 .
7:8a So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—
So Solomon and all the people of Israel, -or-
King Solomon, together with all the Israel people, {celebrated the Feast of Shelters.}
7:8b a very great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—
including the very large crowd of people who had come from ⌊everywhere between⌋ Lebo-hamath and the river of Egypt, -or-
A great number of people came together to celebrate it. They came from ⌊all over Israel⌋, from Lebo Hamath ⌊in the north⌋ to the river on the border of Egypt ⌊in the south⌋.
7:8c kept the feast for seven days.
held the festival for seven days. -or-
{Together, all these people} celebrated the festival for seven (7) days.
7:8a–c (reordered)
In this way, Solomon and all the people of Israel observed the feast {of Shelters}—a very large group of people from Lebo-hamath to the tiver on the border of Egypt.
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