1 Kings 4
4
Solomon's Officials
1Solomon was king of all Israel, 2and these were his high officials:
The priest: Azariah son of Zadok
3The court secretaries: Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha
In charge of the records: Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud
4Commander of the army: Benaiah son of Jehoiada
Priests: Zadok and Abiathar
5Chief of the district governors: Azariah son of Nathan
Royal adviser: the priest Zabud son of Nathan
6In charge of the palace servants: Ahishar
In charge of the forced labour: Adoniram son of Abda.
7Solomon appointed twelve men as district governors in Israel. They were to provide food from their districts for the king and his household, each man being responsible for one month out of the year. 8The following are the names of these twelve officers and the districts they were in charge of:
Benhur: the hill country of Ephraim
9Bendeker: the cities of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, Elon, and Beth Hanan
10Benhesed: the cities of Arubboth and Socoh and all the territory of Hepher
11Benabinadab, who was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath: the whole region of Dor
12Baana son of Ahilud: the cities of Taanach, Megiddo, and all the region near Beth Shan, near the town of Zarethan, south of the town of Jezreel, as far as the city of Abel Meholah and the city of Jokmeam
13Bengeber: the city of Ramoth in Gilead, and the villages in Gilead belonging to the clan of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, and the region of Argob in Bashan, sixty large towns in all, fortified with walls and with bronze bars on the gates
14Ahinadab son of Iddo: the district of Mahanaim
15Ahimaaz, who was married to Basemath, another of Solomon's daughters: the territory of Naphtali
16Baana son of Hushai: the region of Asher and the town of Bealoth
17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah: the territory of Issachar
18Shimei son of Ela: the territory of Benjamin
19Geber son of Uri: the region of Gilead, which had been ruled by King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.
Besides these twelve, there was one governor over the whole land.
Solomon's Prosperous Reign
20The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore; they ate and drank, and were happy. 21#Gen 15.18; 2 Chr 9.26Solomon's kingdom included all the nations from the River Euphrates to Philistia and the Egyptian border. They paid him taxes and were subject to him all his life.
22The supplies Solomon needed each day were 5,000 litres of fine flour and 10,000 litres of meal; 23ten stall-fed cattle, twenty pasture-fed cattle, and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and poultry.
24Solomon ruled over all the land west of the River Euphrates, from Tiphsah on the Euphrates as far west as the city of Gaza. All the kings west of the Euphrates were subject to him, and he was at peace with all the neighbouring countries. 25As long as he lived, the people throughout Judah and Israel lived in safety, each family with its own grapevines and fig trees.
26 #
1 Kgs 10.26; 2 Chr 1.14; 9.25 Solomon had 40,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 cavalry horses. 27His twelve governors, each one in the month assigned to him, supplied the food King Solomon needed for himself and for all who ate in the palace; they always supplied everything needed. 28Each governor also supplied his share of barley and straw, where it was needed,#4.28 where it was needed; or wherever King Solomon was. for the chariot horses and the draught animals.
29God gave Solomon unusual wisdom and insight, and knowledge too great to be measured. 30Solomon was wiser than the wise men of the East or the wise men of Egypt. 31#Ps 89 (Title)He was the wisest of all men: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame spread throughout all the neighbouring countries. 32#Prov 1.1; 10.1; 25.1; Song 1.1He composed 3,000 proverbs and more than a thousand songs. 33He spoke of trees and plants, from the Lebanon cedars to the hyssop that grows on walls; he talked about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34Kings all over the world heard of his wisdom and sent people to listen to him.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
1 Kings 4
4
Solomon’s Riches: Domestic Affairs.#4:1–5:8] The sub-unit on Solomon’s riches is organized around domestic affairs (4:1–20) and international affairs (5:1–5), with a short appendix on Solomon’s horses and chariots (5:6–8). Compare 9:26–10:29, where comparable elements reappear. 1Solomon was king over all Israel, 2and these were the officials he had in his service:
Azariah, son of Zadok, the priest;
3Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, scribes;
Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, the chancellor;
4Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army;
Zadok and Abiathar, priests;
5Azariah, son of Nathan, in charge of the governors;
Zabud, son of Nathan, priest and companion to the king;
6Ahishar, master of the palace; and
Adoniram, son of Abda, in charge of the forced labor.
7#The administration of the kingdom thus initiated by Solomon continued in its main features for the duration of the monarchy in Israel and Judah. Note the use of “all Israel” to mean only the northern tribes (see also 5:27). Solomon’s exactions did not fall evenly on the whole people, but favored his own southern tribe of Judah. Eventually this inequity would lead to the dissolution of the union of Israel and Judah (12:1–19). Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel who supplied food for the king and his household, each having to provide for one month in the year. 8Their names were:#Several of the governors are identified only by their fathers’ names.
the son of Hur in the hill country of Ephraim;
9the son of Deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon Beth-hanan;
10the son of Hesed in Arubboth, as well as in Socoh and the whole region of Hepher;
11the son of Abinadab, in all Naphath-dor; he was married to Taphath, Solomon’s daughter;
12Baana, son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo and all Beth-shean near Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah to beyond Jokmeam;
13the son of Geber in Ramoth-gilead, having charge of the villages of Jair, son of Manasseh, in Gilead; and of the district of Argob in Bashan—sixty large walled cities with gates barred with bronze;
14Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he was married to Basemath, another daughter of Solomon;
16Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth;
17Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19Geber, son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan.
There was one governor besides, in the land of Judah.#One governor…land of Judah: the royal territory of Judah had its own peculiar administration different from that of the twelve northern districts, each of which had to supply the king and his household with a month’s provisions of food each year (v. 7). 20#Gn 22:17; 32:13; Dn 3:36; Hos 1:10; Heb 11:12. Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sands by the sea; they ate and drank and rejoiced.
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