I Kings 4
4
Solomon’s Administration
1So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; #2 Sam. 8:16; 20:24Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4#1 Kin. 2:35Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and #1 Kin. 2:27Abiathar, the priests; 5Azariah the son of Nathan, over #1 Kin. 4:7the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, #2 Sam. 8:18; 20:26a priest and #2 Sam. 15:37; 16:16; 1 Chr. 27:33the king’s friend; 6Ahishar, over the household; and #1 Kin. 5:14Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.
7And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 8These are their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged #Num. 32:41; 1 Chr. 2:22the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged #Deut. 3:4the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15#2 Sam. 15:27Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16Baanah the son of #2 Sam. 15:32; 1 Chr. 27:33Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18#1 Kin. 1:8Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 19Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in #Deut. 3:8–10the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.
Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign
20Judah and Israel were as numerous #Gen. 22:17; 32:12; 1 Kin. 3:8; (Prov. 14:28)as the sand by the sea in multitude, #Ps. 72:3, 7; Mic. 4:4eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21So #Ex. 34:24; 2 Chr. 9:26; Ps. 72:8Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from #Gen. 15:18; Josh. 1:4the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. #Ps. 68:29They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22#Neh. 5:18Now Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
24For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over #Ps. 72:11all the kings on this side of the River; and #1 Kin. 5:4; 1 Chr. 22:9he had peace on every side all around him. 25And Judah and Israel #(Jer. 23:6)dwelt safely, #(Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10)each man under his vine and his fig tree, #Judg. 20:1from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26#1 Kin. 10:26; 2 Chr. 1:14Solomon had forty thousand stalls of #(Deut. 17:16)horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27And #1 Kin. 4:7these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. 28They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.
29And #1 Kin. 3:12God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men #Gen. 25:6of the East and all #Is. 19:11, 12; Acts 7:22the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was #1 Kin. 3:12wiser than all men—#1 Chr. 15:19; Ps. 89:titlethan Ethan the Ezrahite, #1 Chr. 2:6; Ps. 88:titleand Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32#Prov. 1:1; 10:1; 25:1; Eccl. 12:9He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his #Song 1:1songs were one thousand and five. 33Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, #1 Kin. 10:1; 2 Chr. 9:1, 23came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
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I Kings 4: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
1 Kings 4
4
Solomon's Officials
1-6Here is a list of Solomon's highest officials while he was king of Israel:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were the secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud kept the government records;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander;
Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the regional officers;
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and the king's advisor;
Ahishar was the prime minister;
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
7Solomon chose twelve regional officers, who took turns bringing food for him and his household. Each officer provided food from his region for one month of the year. 8These were the twelve officers:
The son of Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.
9The son of Deker was in charge of the towns of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.
10The son of Hesed was in charge of the towns of Arubboth and Socoh, and the region of Hepher.
11The son of Abinadab was in charge of Naphath-Dor and was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.
12Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of the towns of Taanach and Megiddo. He was also in charge of the whole region of Beth-Shan near the town of Zarethan, south of Jezreel from Beth-Shan to Abel-Meholah to the other side of Jokmeam.
13The son of Geber was in charge of the town of Ramoth in Gilead and the villages in Gilead belonging to the family of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh. He was also in charge of the region of Argob in Bashan, which had 60 walled towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of the territory of Mahanaim.
15Ahimaaz was in charge of the territory of Naphtali and was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath.
16Baana son of Hushai was in charge of the territory of Asher and the town of Bealoth.
17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of the territory of Issachar.
18Shimei son of Ela was in charge of the territory of Benjamin.
19Geber son of Uri was in charge of Gilead, where King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan had lived.
And one officer was in charge of the territory of Judah.#4.19 of Judah: One ancient translation; these words are not in the Hebrew text.
The Size of Solomon's Kingdom
20There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.
21 #
Gn 15.18; 2 Ch 9.26. Solomon ruled every kingdom between the Euphrates River and the land of the Philistines down to Egypt. These kingdoms paid him taxes as long as he lived.
22Every day, Solomon needed 5,000 liters of fine flour, 10,000 liters of coarsely-ground flour, 2310 grain-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, and geese.
24Solomon ruled the whole region west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and he was at peace with all of the countries around him. 25Everyone living in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, was safe as long as Solomon lived. Each family sat undisturbed beneath its own grape vines and fig trees.
26 #
1 K 10.26; 2 Ch 1.14; 9.25. Solomon had 40,000 stalls of chariot horses and 12,000 chariot soldiers.
27Each of the twelve regional officers brought food to Solomon and his household for one month of the year. They provided everything he needed, 28as well as barley and straw for the horses.
Solomon's Wisdom
29Solomon was brilliant. God had blessed him with insight and understanding. 30-31#Ps 89 Title. He was wiser than anyone else in the world, including the wisest people of the east and of Egypt. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Mahol's three sons, Heman, Calcol, and Darda. Solomon became famous in every country around Judah and Israel. 32#Pr 1.1; 10.1; 25.1; Sgs 1.1. Solomon wrote 3,000 wise sayings and composed more than 1,000 songs. 33He could talk about all kinds of plants, from large trees to small bushes, and he taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34Kings all over the world heard about Solomon's wisdom and sent people to listen to him teach.
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.