And he built the city round about from the Millo in complete circuit: The pronoun he refers to David, which New Century Version makes explicit. The city had existed previously although much of it was likely damaged by the battle. For this reason some versions render built as “rebuilt” (Good News Translation, New Century Version, New American Bible). In order to show that David himself did not actually do all the work of rebuilding, Contemporary English Version begins this verse with “He had the city rebuilt….”
The Millo is referred to also in 1 Kgs 9.15, 24; 11.27; 2 Kgs 12.20; and 2 Chr 32.5, as well as in the parallel passage of 2 Sam 5.9. The meaning of the Hebrew word transliterated Millo is uncertain, though most scholars connect it to a verb meaning “to be full.” Several commentaries and translations suggest that the Millo refers to some kind of landfill (so Good News Translation). It may have been a rampart or platform created by filling a ravine. Or it may have been a system of man-made terraces that were supported by retaining walls with leveled filling (so New International Version with “the supporting terraces”). According to 1 Kgs 9.15, 23 and 11.27, Solomon “built” the Millo, but those references may be understood in the sense of “rebuilt” or perhaps “enlarged.”
Even if the Millo does refer to a landfill of some kind, archaeologists do not agree on the location of this fill. Some believe it refers to stepped-stone terraces built on the east side of the east ridge of Jerusalem, which is probably the basis for the Good News Translation translation “on the east side of the hill.” Others consider it to be a landfill south of the Temple mount on the southeast hill or to be a landfill connecting the City of David to the high fortified area to the north.
As the above discussion indicates, there is no firm agreement by specialists on the precise meaning of the Millo. Nevertheless, translators must make a decision. Recent archaeological studies point most strongly to understanding this as referring to the terraces on the steep east side of the southeast ridge of Jerusalem. At the time when David captured the city, the wall on the east side was about 48 meters (158 feet) down from the top of the ridge. Therefore the Good News Translation rendering has much to commend it.
So how should the Millo be translated? Versions that tend to be more literal simply transliterate the Hebrew term as “the Millo” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Nouvelle Bible Segond), but others attempt to explain what the Hebrew term refers to (so Good News Translation, New International Version). In many cases it will be preferable to translate the probable meaning rather than retaining the transliteration, which would be meaningless to most readers. However, an explanatory footnote is also advisable. Another possibility is to transliterate the term and then give the probable meaning in brackets as in Complete Jewish Bible, which says “the Millo [earth rampart].”
In complete circuit translates two Hebrew words that are literally “unto the surrounding.” Their exact meaning is not clear. Rather than attempt to translate the Hebrew here, Braun simply uses an ellipsis, indicating that something is missing. Many understand these two words to mean that the repair work on the City of David was carried out on all sides of the city. For the first half of this verse American Bible says “He built the city from around the Millo to the surrounding wall,” adding the word “wall” as the grammar and context seem to require.
And Joab repaired the rest of the city: The Hebrew verb translated repaired is literally “kept alive.” The same verb is used in Neh 4.2 (3.34 in the Masoretic Text) for rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. Some may prefer to translate this clause as “and Joab brought the rest of the city back to life.” Compare Nouvelle version Segond révisée, which reads “and Joab restored life to the rest of the city.” The sense is probably that he fixed up the rest of the buildings in the city, apart from the citadel. New Living Translation says “while Joab rebuilt the rest of Jerusalem,” and New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh is similar with “and Joab rebuilt the rest of the city.” Since it is not likely that Joab himself did the repair work, Contemporary English Version says “Meanwhile, Joab supervised the repairs to the rest of the city.”
Some interpreters think this last sentence makes little sense in the context since the first part of the verse seems to say that David had rebuilt the entire city. Therefore they understand the last sentence to mean that Joab kept the inhabitants alive rather than killing them, that is, he killed people in the fortress when he attacked the city (verse 6), but he left the people in the rest of the city alive. This interpretation is possible, but is not widely accepted. Klein keeps both interpretations in his rendering “while Joab repaired/kept alive the rest of the city.” But this solution is not recommended. It is better to put one interpretation in the text and the other in a footnote.
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 .