When he had torn Israel …: The beginning of this verse is awkward in Hebrew, and it is not clear what function the very first word in the verse serves. It may be understood as an emphatic particle or as a conjunction. As an emphatic particle, it may be translated “indeed” (New Jerusalem Bible). If it is understood as a conjunction, it may express a temporal relationship (so Revised Standard Version, Good News Translation) or a causal relationship (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh “For”).

The first part of this verse refers to the division of the original united kingdom of Israel into two separate political units called Israel and Judah, or the northern and southern kingdoms. The verb torn implies a rather violent split, which is an accurate reflection of the historical facts. The implied subject of the verb is taken by many commentators and translators as Yahweh, as Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version make explicit. A few versions, however, seem to see it as referring to the action of Israel; for example, New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh has “Israel broke away…” and Knox says “the Israelites cut themselves off….” Yet in view of the clear meaning expressed in 1 Kgs 11.31 and the fact that the verb torn has the same subject as the preceding verbs in verse 20, it seems certain that Yahweh is the subject of the verb. Osty-Trinquet says “He had torn off…,” but capitalizing the pronoun “He” to show that it refers to God does not help the person who only hears the text read.

The house of David: See the comments at 1 Kgs 12.19. This is another way of referring to the southern kingdom of Judah, and in most cases it will be wise to clarify this. Good News Translation does so by using the term “Judah.” But it is also possible to say “David’s family” (Contemporary English Version).

They made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: The pronoun they refers to Israel or “the people living in northern Israel” (Contemporary English Version). Parola Del Signore: La Bibbia in Lingua Corrente translates the first part of this verse as follows: “When the Lord had snatched the kingdom of Israel from the dynasty of David, the Israelites of the North had made Jeroboam, son of Nebat, king.” Compare also Contemporary English Version: “Earlier, when the LORD took the northern tribes away from David’s family, the people living in northern Israel chose Jeroboam son of Nebat as their king.”

For Jeroboam the son of Nebat, see the comments on 1 Kgs 11.26.

Jeroboam drove Israel from following the LORD and made them commit great sin: The two clauses here do not refer to two entirely different matters. So the conjunction and between them may not be suitable. In some languages the order will be reversed and the translation will say something like “Jeroboam caused them to commit a terrible sin, which is to say, he made them stop following the LORD.” Both verbs here are causative in Hebrew and Jeroboam is the subject of both of them. The verb rendered drove occurs only here in the Masoretic Text and means “to separate” or “to remove from.” Most interpreters follow the verb that is a scribal correction in the margin of the Masoretic Text. But the two verbs are basically synonyms in this context.

Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 2. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .