He also built Upper Beth-horon and Lower Beth-horon: As in verses 2 and 4, the Hebrew verb for built can be understood in the sense of “rebuilt” (Good News Translation, New International Version, Bible en français courant) or “fortified” (New Living Translation). The cities of Upper Beth-horon (615 meters [2,020 feet] above sea level) and Lower Beth-horon (370 meters [1,210 feet] above sea level) were located in the mountains of Judah in the Valley of Aijalon, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Jerusalem. These two cities were located on a major east-west road from the coastal plains in the west into the hill country to the east and had a clear view of the plains below. The qualifying terms Upper and Lower are intended to indicate that one city was built at a higher elevation than the other. See also the comments on 1 Chr 7.24. The Hebrew text repeats the name Beth-horon, but it will be more natural in some languages to say “Upper and Lower Beth-Horon.”

Fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars: Ancient Israelite cities had two different kinds of walls around them. Some walls were thick solid single walls. Other walls, called “casemate walls,” were two parallel walls connected at intervals by solid walls running between the two walls. Some casemate walls were filled in with dirt and rocks to create a thicker, more solid wall. Archaeological evidence shows that some city walls were more than seven meters [23 feet] thick. These walls usually had guard towers built at intervals around the entire wall and at the corners and gates. For a good description of city walls, see WTH, pages 167-169|fig:WTH.City wall.167-169.html. City gates were usually made of wood but were sometimes covered with metal to protect against fire. The city gate sometimes included two, four, or six rooms on each side where soldiers or guards were stationed. Bars were heavy wooden beams or metal rods that were inserted into slots in the doors of city gates to lock them from the inside. Enemy troops could not push the doors in from outside because they rested against an inner doorstop.

Contemporary English Version provides a helpful model for this verse, saying “He strengthened Upper Beth-Horon and Lower Beth-Horon by adding walls and gates that could be locked.”

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 .