This verse is a continuation of the provisions that were needed by Solomon and his people and were provided by those who were subject to him.

Ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle: The Hebrew word translated oxen is a collective term that is often rendered “cattle” or “herd.” It refers to bovine cattle and may include bulls, cows, calves, and heifers (see the discussion on this term in 1 Kgs 1.9). In this same verse this Hebrew word is also translated cattle. The word itself does not necessarily refer to male animals. The adjective fat contrasts these animals with those that are pasture-fed. The ten fat oxen were kept confined and fed in stalls, while the twenty pasture-fed cattle were allowed to graze in the fields. Instead of fat oxen, Contemporary English Version says “grain-fed cattle.” For both groups of animals, International Children’s Bible reads “10 cows that were fed good grain, 20 cows that were raised in the fields.”

Harts, gazelles, and roebucks all belong to the deer family. Harts refer to male deer weighing as much as three hundred pounds and having solid branching horns. Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version both translate this as “deer.” Gazelles were small antelopes with hollow antlers that did not branch out. Roebucks were small deer with antlers having five branches. For languages that do not have distinctive terms for different kinds of deer, International Children’s Bible may provide a useful model with “3 different kinds of deer.”

Fatted fowl: The exact identity of this bird is uncertain. Suggestions have included “guineas,” “pigeons,” “cuckoos,” “geese” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh, Contemporary English Version), “young chickens,” and more generally “poultry” (Good News Translation, New Jerusalem Bible). Since the precise kind of bird is uncertain, translators may use a general expression for fatted fowl, such as “fat birds” in International Children’s Bible.

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 .