Take with you is literally “take in your hand” (so De Vries). The text implies, but never actually says, that the food mentioned in this verse is to be given to the prophet and not to be eaten by the king’s wife along the way. For this reason Good News Translation says more explicitly “Take him….” International Children’s Bible is even clearer, saying “Give the prophet….”
Ten loaves: The Hebrew word rendered loaves is literally “bread.” But in this context it clearly refers to “loaves of bread” (New International Version). In some languages it may be quite natural to speak of “ten breads” (as in most French translations). Other languages may refer to “ten sticks of bread” or something similar.
Cakes renders a Hebrew noun that occurs only here and in Josh 9.5-12 (where Revised Standard Version renders it “moldy”). The exact meaning of this noun is uncertain. In Joshua it refers to dry, crumbling bread, which is the basis for the King James Version rendering “cracknels” here in 1 Kings. Other translations include “wafers” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), “raisins” (Revised English Bible), and “savoury food” (New Jerusalem Bible). Gray argues that the noun comes from a Hebrew root meaning “speckled” and that it refers to sweet bread with seeds sprinkled on the crust. The English rendering “cakes” (Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, New International Version) should not be understood to mean the sweet dessert food, but rather it refers to food that is pressed flat.
Jar of honey: The Hebrew noun rendered jar refers to an expensive container with a long neck. When liquids were poured from this type of jar, it made a gurgling noise, which may explain the Hebrew name baqbuq. Nearly all translations render the next Hebrew term as honey here, but the precise nature of this substance is not certain. New American Bible says “preserves.” Some suggest that it may have been a sweet secretion of plant parasites. If it refers to honey, then it is wild honey and not honey made in man-made beehives.
The writer does not state here the reason why Jeroboam’s wife is supposed to take this food. On the basis of other Old Testament texts such as 1 Sam 9.7-8; 2 Kgs 5.15 and 8.7-9, it seems correct to conclude that people generally took gifts when they went to consult a prophet; and that is most likely how the original readers would have understood this verse. As noted above, she was not taking this food for herself to eat during the journey, but was rather taking it as a gift for Ahijah.
He will tell you what shall happen to the child: The text seems to imply that Jeroboam’s wife is to inquire about the prospects for her sick child. For this reason Good News Translation, New Century Version, and Contemporary English Version supply the words “Ask him.” The pronoun he is emphatic in Hebrew.
Child translates the Hebrew noun naʿar, which has a wide range of uses (see the comments on 1 Kgs 11.17). It usually refers to a young man (Jeroboam in 1 Kgs 11.28), but it may refer to a baby only a few months old (Moses in Exo 2.6). In 2 Kgs 2.23-24 it refers to “boys,” who were probably teenagers. This noun is used of young soldiers in 1 Kgs 20.15 and of officials of the Assyrian king in 2 Kgs 19.6. Note that in Exo 2.6 the Hebrew words naʿar and yeled are both used in reference to the baby Moses; and in 2 Kgs 2.23-24 both nouns are used to refer to the same group of boys. The noun yeled, which is also used of Jeroboam’s son in verse 12, comes from the Hebrew verb that means “to bear” and is mostly used in reference to young children, as in 1 Kgs 3.25. But it is sometimes used of young men, as in 1 Kgs 12.8-14 and 2 Kgs 2.24.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .