As in the previous verse, the writer focuses on each individual from the tribes of the north and the south. A literal translation of the first part of this verse reads “And answered the man of Israel the man of Judah and said, ‘Ten hands [or, shares] to me in the king, and also in David I more than you [singular]. Why then do you [singular] despise me? And was not my word first for me to bring back my king?’ ”

We have ten shares in the king: literally “Ten hands to me … I have….” The Hebrew noun usually rendered “hand” has a less common usage here in the sense of “a part” or “a share.” The singular pronoun represents all Israel and is legitimately translated by the plural. Interpreters understand this statement in two rather different ways. It may be a very general kind of statement in which the Israelite soldiers are simply saying to their counterparts from Judah that they have ten times more reason to feel that David belongs to them than do the people of Judah. On the other hand it may be a more specific reference to the fact that Israel had ten tribes while Judah counted for only one. New Century Version attempts to make this meaning quite clear by translating “we have ten tribes in the kingdom, so we have more right to David than you do.” It is, however, probably best to translate in the more general sense and then add a footnote explaining that there were ten tribes in Israel as compared with one from Judah, as Traduction œcuménique de la Bible and Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente have done.

And in David also we have more than you: in place of these words the Septuagint has “and what is more, I am older than you.” The sense of these words may be that expressed in 1 Chr 5.2, “though Judah became strong…, yet the birthright belonged to Joseph” (from whom the northern tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim descended). This is the reason for the following translations: “and, what is more, we are your elder brothers” (New Jerusalem Bible, similarly Osty-Trinquet); “besides we are the first-born” (Nueva Biblia Española), “and, what is more, we are senior to you” (Revised English Bible). Or the sense may be that the Israelites, that is, the northern tribes, were the ones who took the initiative to restore David (see verses 11-12 and the rest of this verse), so they are “older” in the sense that they were trying to bring David back before the people of Judah joined with them.

Most versions, however, retain the reading of the traditional Hebrew text, which is recommended by Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament with a {C} rating. In this case there is a kind of parallel structure in which David corresponds to the king, and more than you is more or less parallel to the idea of having ten shares. These two lines have been collapsed into a single statement in Good News Translation, and this may be a helpful model for certain other languages to follow.

It will be important in many languages to ensure that readers do not understand the king and David as referring to two different people. This is merely a kind of parallelism where the two terms refer to one individual.

Despise: the verb here gives the idea “take lightly” or “consider of no value” rather than hatred. The Hebrew verb is a causative form of the verb meaning “to be small” or “to be of little account.” Both New Jerusalem Bible and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh translate “why have you slighted us?” And New Century Version says “you ignored us,” transforming the rhetorical question into an affirmative statement.

The question Were we not the first to speak of bringing back our king? is yet another rhetorical question that is really intended as a strong affirmation. The men of Israel were trying to emphasize the fact that they had indeed been the first to bring up the subject of returning King David to Jerusalem. It is therefore possible to translate “We were the ones who spoke first about bringing back our king” or “The first to speak about bringing David back were from our group.”

The words … were fiercer: the verb used here is also found in the story of the controversy between Rehoboam and the northern tribes at Shechem (1 Kgs 12.13). Its root meaning has to do with heaviness or density, but in the context of speaking, the idea is that of harshness. Some commentators observe that the side with the weaker argument is the one that speaks more harshly (Goldman). New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh however, takes this to mean that the people of Judah won the argument, “… prevailed over the men of Israel.” Most, however, understand the verb to mean “to be severe” here. Compare New Jerusalem Bible “The men of Judah’s words were even more intemperate….”

The dissension highlighted in this passage eventually leads to the division into the northern and southern kingdoms.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on the First and Second Books of Samuel, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2001. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .