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
1 Kings 4
4
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
1So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2And these were his chief officials:
Azariah son of Zadok—the priest;
3Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud—recorder;
4Benaiah son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;
Zadok and Abiathar—priests;
5Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;
Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;
6Ahishar—palace administrator;
Adoniram son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.
7Solomon had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. 8These are their names:
Ben-Hur—in the hill country of Ephraim;
9Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan;
10Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh and all the land of Hepher were his);
11Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);
12Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across to Jokmeam;
13Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities with bronze gate bars);
14Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;
15Ahimaaz—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath 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 Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.
Solomon’s Daily Provisions
20The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. 21And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.
22Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors#4:22 That is, probably about 5 1/2 tons or about 5 metric tons of the finest flour and sixty cors#4:22 That is, probably about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons of meal, 23ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. 24For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. 25During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.
26Solomon had four#4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25); Hebrew forty thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.#4:26 Or charioteers
27The district governors, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.
Solomon’s Wisdom
29God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.#4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.
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