The third commander, for the third month, was Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada the priest, as chief (verse 5): The Masoretic Text reads “The third commander for the third month was Benaiah the son of Jehoiada the priest chief.” This is understood by Revised Standard Version and New Revised Standard Version to mean that Benaiah, the son of the priest Jehoiada, was chief of his division. Compare “The third army commander, chief for the third month, was Benaiah, son of Jehoiada the priest” (New American Bible). However, many other versions take the word “chief” as part of the reference to Jehoiada rather than to Benaiah, and they refer to Jehoiada as “the chief/high priest” (so Revised English Bible, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Bible en français courant, La Bible du Semeur, Traduction œcuménique de la Bible, La Bible Pléiade, Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, Biblia Dios Habla Hoy, Nueva Versión Internacional, Reina-Valera revisada, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, Osty-Trinquet, Peregrino. Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia recommends that “Jehoiada the priest chief” be corrected to read “Jehoiada the high priest,” and this reading is followed by some commentators (so Klein). Regarding Benaiah, see 1 Chr 11.22-23. “Benayahu,” the longer form of his name, occurs here and in verse 6, as also in 1 Chr 11.24 (so La Bible Pléiade, Chouraqui). However, nearly all translations use the shorter form Benaiah in all occurrences.

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 .