He set up the pillars: The Hebrew verb rendered He set has no explicit subject. Good News Translation says “Huram placed…,” so that readers will not mistakenly think that Solomon is the subject. Good News Translation also repeats from verse 15 the information that the pillars were “bronze.”

At the vestibule of the temple: The Hebrew preposition rendered at in Revised Standard Version does not specify exactly where the pillars were set up in relation to the vestibule. They may have been in front of the vestibule, which is likely, or inside the vestibule. Good News Translation avoids the problem by simply saying “in front of the entrance of the Temple.”

He set up the pillar on the south and called its name Jachin … the pillar on the north and called its name Boaz: The Temple faced east, as did the entrance to it. So the pillars on the south and the north were positioned on each side of the entrance.

The name Jachin sounds like the Hebrew for “he [God] establishes,” and Boaz sounds like the Hebrew for “by his [God’s] strength.” Since these names have symbolic meaning, that information needs to be expressed; and there are several ways this may be done. Good News Translation, Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente, New Living Translation, and Contemporary English Version place the meaning in footnotes. Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, La Bible du Semeur, and Gray transliterate the two names and place the translation of each name within parentheses in the text following the name. Peregrino does just the opposite of Good News Translation, translating the names in the text as “Firm” and “Strong,” and placing the Hebrew names in footnotes. This is certainly an acceptable solution for those translators who wish to adopt it.

Archaeological evidence shows that doors and gates in Mesopotamia had names that called upon the gods for blessings and protection. Cogan (2000, page 264), therefore, thinks that the two pillars may have had sentences inscribed on them, such as “He will establish the throne of David and his kingdom for his offspring forever” and “In the strength of YHWH shall the king rejoice.”

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 .