Verses 20 and 21 speak about Abishai. A comparison of ancient as well as modern translations will reveal a confusing variety of translations of these two verses. A literal rendering of the Masoretic Text of verses 20-21 reads as follows:

20 And Abishai the brother of Joab was chief of the Three. And he wielded his spear against three hundred men killed [by him], and [to him there was] not a name among the Three. 21 From [or, More than] the Three in the two [or, by twofold] he was honored, and he became their commander, and [or, but] unto the Three he did not come.

The difficulties with the Masoretic Text are the following:

• (1) According to the end of verse 21, Abishai was not one of the Three. But verse 20 seems to indicate that he was one of the Three since he was their leader.

• (2) The Masoretic Text of verse 20 says that Abishai did not (loʾ) have a name among the Three. However, the margin of the Masoretic Text has a note that corrects the Hebrew word loʾ to lo (“to him”). According to the marginal note, the sense of the last clause of verse 20 is “and there was a name to him among the Three.”

• (3) The words “in the two” in verse 21 are difficult to make sense of, and they are not translated in the ancient Syriac.

The following list shows the various ways that these two verses have been understood and translated:

• (1) Abishai was the leader of the Three but he had no prestige among the Three. Among the Three he was more honored than the other two, so he became their leader, but he did not become one of the Three (so Masoretic Text).

• (2) Abishai was the leader of the Three and he became as famous as the Three. He was more honored than the Three. He became their commander even though he was not one of them (so New Century Version).

• (3) Abishai was chief of the Thirty and won prestige among the Three. He was the most famous of the Thirty and became their leader, but he was not as famous as the Three (so Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version).

• (4) Abishai was chief of the Thirty and became famous among the Thirty. He was the most famous of the Thirty and became their leader, but he was not as famous as the Three (so Good News Translation, Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, Syriac).

• (5) Abishai was chief of the Thirty and won prestige among the Three. He was honored more than twice as much as the Thirty and became their leader, but he was not as famous as the Three (so Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente).

• (6) Abishai was chief of the Thirty and had a reputation like that of the Three. He was twice as famous as the Thirty and became their commander, but he did not become one of the Three (so New American Bible).

As the above translations clearly show, it is impossible to decide with certainty what the text originally said or meant. Translators may follow any of the above translations.

The common Hebrew conjunction rendered Now marks the beginning of a new story, which is indicated in Good News Translation and most other versions by a new paragraph.

Abishai, the brother of Joab, was chief of the thirty: Like Joab, Abishai was a son of Zeruiah (see verse 6). Instead of chief of the thirty, the Masoretic Text has “chief of the three” (see the comments above). In the parallel text of 2 Sam 23.18, the Masoretic Text has rosh ha-sheloshi (“chief of the three”). Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommends that the vowels be changed here in 1 Chronicles to read rosh ha-shalishi (“chief of the elite group of warriors”) as in 2 Sam 23.8. According to the corrected Masoretic Text in 2 Samuel, Abishai belonged to the special group of warriors who served directly under the king’s command, just as Josheb-basshebeth did. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament suggests that the original text here in 1 Chr 11.20 also said that Abishai, like Jashobeam (verse 11), was a member of the Rosh-ha-Shalish. But since the author of 1 Chronicles had already changed the Hebrew in verse 11 to say that Jashobeam was “chief of the elite guards,” he could not change the Hebrew text here to say that Abishai also was “chief of the elite guards.” So the author of 1 Chronicles changed shalishi (“elite group of warriors”) here to sheloshah (“three”), making Abishai “chief of the Three.” Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives a {C} rating to the Masoretic Text here.

And he wielded his spear against three hundred men and slew them: See the comments on verse 11. He wielded his spear may be rendered “He used his spear” or “He fought with his spear” (Good News Translation).

And won a name beside the three follows the marginal reading in the Masoretic Text, which is literally “and to him [there was] a name among the three.” The text itself says “and [to him there was] not a name among the three.” Both at the beginning and end of the verse, the Masoretic Text has “the three.” Revised Standard Version follows the Masoretic Text in reading the three at the end of the verse, and Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament gives an {A} rating to the reading “the three.” However, Good News Translation follows the Syriac in reading “The Thirty” both at the beginning and end of this verse. If the marginal reading in the Masoretic Text for this clause is followed, there are two possible interpretations. New Century Version gives one possible meaning with “He became as famous as the Three” (similarly Contemporary English Version, New International Version). Other models that follow this sense are “Many people knew his name just as they knew the names of the Three” and “Other people praised him just as greatly as they praised the Three.” The other possible meaning for this clause is “He became famous in the eyes of the Three” (similarly Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente). American Bible follows the reading of the Masoretic Text by saying “but he was not reckoned among the three.”

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 .