1 Kings 4
4
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
1So King Solomon ruled over the whole nation of Israel.
2Here are the names of his chief officials.
Azariah was the priest. He was the son of Zadok.
3Elihoreph and Ahijah were secretaries. They were the sons of Shisha.
Jehoshaphat kept the records. He was the son of Ahilud.
4Benaiah was the commander in chief. He was the son of Jehoiada.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5Azariah was in charge of the local governors. He was the son of Nathan.
Zabud was a priest. He was also the king’s adviser. He was the son of Nathan.
6Ahishar was in charge of the palace.
Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work for the king. He was the son of Abda.
7Solomon had 12 local governors over the whole land of Israel. They provided supplies for the king and the royal family. Each governor had to provide supplies for one month out of each year.
8Here are their names and areas.
Ben-Hur’s area was the hill country of Ephraim.
9Ben-Deker’s area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan.
10Ben-Hesed’s area was Arubboth. Sokoh and the whole land of Hepher were included in his area.
11Ben-Abinadab’s area was Naphoth Dor. He married Solomon’s daughter Taphath.
12Baana’s area was Taanach, Megiddo and the whole territory of Beth Shan. Beth Shan was next to Zarethan below Jezreel. Baana’s area reached from Beth Shan all the way to Abel Meholah. It also went across to Jokmeam. Baana was the son of Ahilud.
13Ben-Geber’s area was Ramoth Gilead. The settlements of Jair, the son of Manasseh, were included in his area in Gilead. The area of Argob in Bashan was also included. That area had 60 large cities that had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy bronze bars.
14Ahinadab’s area was Mahanaim. He was the son of Iddo.
15Ahimaaz’s area was Naphtali. He had married Basemath. She was Solomon’s daughter.
16Baana’s area was Asher and Aloth. He was the son of Hushai.
17Jehoshaphat’s area was Issachar. He was the son of Paruah.
18Shimei’s area was Benjamin. He was the son of Ela.
19Geber’s area was Gilead. He was the only governor over the area. He was the son of Uri. Gilead had been the country of Sihon and Og. Sihon had been king of the Amorites. Og had been king of Bashan.
Solomon’s Daily Supplies
20There were many people in Judah and Israel. In fact, they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. They ate, drank and were happy. 21Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines. He ruled as far as the border of Egypt. All those countries brought the gifts he required them to bring him. And Solomon ruled over those countries for his whole life.
22Here are the supplies Solomon required every day.
five and a half tons of the finest flour
11 tons of meal
23ten oxen that had been fed by hand
20 oxen that had been fed on grasslands
100 sheep and goats
deer, antelopes and roebucks
the finest birds
24Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms that were west of the Euphrates River. He ruled from Tiphsah all the way to Gaza. And he had peace and rest on every side. 25While Solomon was king, Judah and Israel lived in safety. They were secure from Dan all the way to Beersheba. Everyone had their own vine and their own fig tree.
26Solomon had 4,000 spaces where he kept his chariot horses. He had a total of 12,000 horses.
27The local governors provided supplies for King Solomon. They provided them for all who ate at the king’s table. Each governor provided supplies for one month every year. The governors made sure the king had everything he needed. 28They also brought barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. Each of the governors brought the amounts required of them. They brought them to the proper places.
God Makes Solomon Very Wise
29God made Solomon very wise. His understanding couldn’t even be measured. It was like the sand on the seashore. People can’t measure that either. 30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east. It was greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31Solomon was wiser than anyone else. He was wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda. They were the sons of Mahol. Solomon became famous in all the nations around him. 32He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs. 33He spoke about plants. He knew everything about them, from the cedar trees in Lebanon to the hyssop plants that grow out of walls. He spoke about animals and birds. He also spoke about reptiles and fish. 34The kings of all the world’s nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.
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1 Kings 4: NIrV
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Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
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1 Kings 4
4
1King Solomon ruled over all of Israel. 2These were his officials: Azariah, son of Zadok, was the priest; 3Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, were the king's secretaries. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, kept the royal records. 4Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. 5Azariah, son of Nathan, was in charge of the governors. Zabud, son of Nathan, was a priest and the king's counselor. 6Ahishar was the palace manager. Adoniram, son of Abda, was in charge of those forced to work for the king.
7Solomon had twelve area governors whose responsibilities covered the whole of Israel, providing food for the king and his household. Each one in turn arranged supplies for one month of the year.
8Their names were: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9Ben-deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh and Elon-beth-hanan;
10Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher was his);
11Ben-abinadab, in the whole of Naphath-dor (Taphath, the daughter of Solomon, was his wife);
12Baana, son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, the whole of Beth-shan near Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and across to Jokmeam;
13Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (the towns of Jair, son of Manasseh, in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, with sixty great cities having walls and bronze bars);
14Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);
16Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth;
17Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead (the former country of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. There was also a governor who was over the land of Judah).#4:19. The Hebrew text is unclear. The Septuagint reading is followed here, indicating that there was also a governor over Judah. Some however take this to refer to the previous governor mentioned who was the sole governor during this reign.
20Judah and Israel had become as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank, they were happy. 21Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, right up to the border of Egypt. They presented tribute to Solomon and served him during his lifetime. 22The food required every day for Solomon's court was thirty cors of the best flour and sixty cors of meal; 23ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, one hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and fattened poultry. 24For Solomon ruled over the whole region west of the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza—over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. He had peace on every border. 25During Solomon's lifetime, everyone in Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan to Beersheba. Each one had their own vine and fig tree. 26Solomon had 40,000 stalls for his chariot horses, and 12,000 charioteers. 27Every month the area governors provided in turn food for King Solomon and all who ate at his table. They made sure that nothing was missing. 28They also delivered barley and straw where they were needed for the chariot horses and cart horses.
29God gave to Solomon wisdom, very great discernment, and understanding as extensive as the sand on the seashore. 30Solomon's wisdom was greater than that of all the Eastern wise men, greater than all of Egypt's wisdom. 31He was wiser than anyone, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation spread through the nations around. 32Solomon composed three thousand proverbs and one thousand and five songs. 33He was able to discuss knowledge of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall. He taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34People from all nations came to hear Solomon's wisdom. They were sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard about his wisdom.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com