1 Kings 4
4
Solomon’s Officials
1King Solomon reigned over all Israel,#2Sm 5:5; 8:15 2and these were his officials:#1Kg 12:6
Azariah son of Zadok, priest;
3Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha, secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud, court historian;
4Benaiah son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army;
Zadok and Abiathar, priests;
5Azariah son of Nathan, in charge of the deputies;
Zabud son of Nathan, a priest and adviser to the king;
6Ahishar, in charge of the palace;
and Adoniram son of Abda, in charge of forced labor.
7Solomon had twelve deputies for all Israel. They provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month out of the year.#1Kg 4:27 8These were their names:
Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;
10Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (he had Socoh and the whole land of Hepher);
11Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (Taphath daughter of Solomon was his wife);
12Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
13Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
14Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also had married a daughter of Solomon — Basemath);
16Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan.
There was one deputy in the land of Judah.#4:19 LXX; MT omits of Judah
Solomon’s Provisions
20Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea;#Gn 22:17; 1Kg 3:8 they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing. 21Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and as far as the border of Egypt.#Gn 15:18; 2Ch 9:26 They offered tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.#2Sm 8:2,6
22Solomon’s provisions for one day were 180 bushels#4:22 Lit 30 cors of fine flour and 360 bushels#4:22 Lit 60 cors of meal, 23ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and pen-fed poultry,#4:23 Hb obscure#1Kg 10:5; Neh 5:18 24for he had dominion over everything west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza and over all the kings west of the Euphrates. He had peace on all his surrounding borders. 25Throughout Solomon’s reign, Judah and Israel lived in safety from Dan to Beer-sheba,#Jdg 20:1; 1Sm 3:20 each person under his own vine and his own fig tree.#Mc 4:3–4; Zch 3:10 26Solomon had forty thousand#4:26 2Ch 9:25 reads 4,000 stalls stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.#Dt 17:16; 1Kg 10:26; 2Ch 1:14 27Each of those deputies for a month in turn provided food for King Solomon and for everyone who came to King Solomon’s table. They neglected nothing. 28Each man brought the barley and the straw for the chariot teams and the other horses#Est 8:10,14 to the required place according to his assignment.#4:28 Lit judgment
Solomon’s Wisdom and Literary Gifts
29God gave Solomon wisdom, very great insight, and understanding#1Kg 3:12 as vast as the sand on the seashore. 30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,#Gn 29:1 greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.#Is 19:11; Ac 7:22 31He was wiser than anyone#1Kg 3:12 — wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite,#1Ch 15:19; Ps 88–89 and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol.#1Ch 2:6 His reputation extended to all the surrounding nations.#1Kg 10:1,6
32Solomon spoke 3,000 proverbs,#Pr 1:1; Ec 9:12 and his songs numbered 1,005.#Sg 1:1 33He spoke about trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall. He also spoke about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34Emissaries of all peoples, sent by every king on earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.#1Kg 10:1,6
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
1 Kings 4
4
1So king Solomon was king over all Israel. 2And these were the princes which he had; Azari´ah the son of Zadok the priest, 3Eliho´reph and Ahi´ah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehosh´aphat the son of Ahi´lud, the recorder. 4And Benai´ah the son of Jehoi´ada was over the host: and Zadok and Abi´athar were the priests: 5and Azari´ah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: 6and Ahi´shar was over the household: and Adoni´ram the son of Abda was over the tribute.
7And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. 8And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount E´phra-im: 9the son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Sha-al´bim, and Beth–she´mesh, and E´lon–beth–ha´nan: 10the son of Hesed, in Aru´both; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: 11the son of Abin´adab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 12Ba´ana the son of Ahi´lud; to him pertained Ta´anach and Megid´do, and all Beth–she´an, which is by Zarta´nah beneath Jezreel, from Beth–she´an to A´bel–meho´lah, even unto the place that is beyond Jok´ne-am: 13the son of Geber, in Ra´moth–gil´e-ad; to him pertained the towns of Ja´ir the son of Manas´seh, which are in Gil´e-ad; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars: 14Ahin´adab the son of Iddo had Mahana´im: 15Ahim´a-az was in Naph´tali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: 16Ba´anah the son of Hu´shai was in Asher and in Aloth: 17Jehosh´aphat the son of Paru´ah, in Is´sachar: 18Shim´e-i the son of Elah, in Benjamin: 19Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gil´e-ad, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.
20Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. 21#Gen 15.18; 2 Chr 9.26. And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, 23ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and roebucks, and fallow deer, and fatted fowl. 24For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. 25And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer–sheba, all the days of Solomon. 26#1 Kgs 10.26; 2 Chr 1.14; 9.25. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27And those officers provided victuals for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. 28Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.
29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. 30And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31#Ps 89 Title. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ez´rahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. 32#Prov 1.1; 10.1; 25.1; Song 1.1. And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. 33And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. 34And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
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King James Version 1611, spelling, punctuation and text formatting modernized by ABS in 1962; typesetting © 2010 American Bible Society.