3 Kings 4
4
1And king Solomon reigned over all Israel:
2And these were the princes which he had: Azarias the son of Sadoc, the priest:
3Elihoreph, and Ahia, the sons of Sisa, scribes: Josaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder:
4Banaias the son of Joiada, over the army: and Sadoc and Abiathar, priests:
5Azarias the son of Nathan, over them that were about the king: Zabud, the son of Nathan the priest, the king's friend:
6And Ahisar, governor of the house: and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the tribute.
7And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided victuals for the king and for his household: for every one provided necessaries, each man his month in the year.
8And these are their names: Benhur, in mount Ephraim.
9Bendecar, in Macces, and in Salebim, and in Bethsames, and in Elon, and in Bethanan.
10Benhesed, in Aruboth: his was Socho, and all the land of Epher.
11Benabinadab, to whom belonged all Nephath-Dor: he had Tapheth the daughter of Solomon to wife.
12Bana the son of Ahilud, who governed Thanac and Mageddo, and all Bethsan, which is by Sarthana beneath Jezrael, from Bethsan unto Abelmehula over against Jecmaan.
13Bengaber, in Ramoth Galaad: he had the towns of Jair the son of Manasses in Galaad, he was chief in all the country of Argob, which is in Basan, threescore great cities with walls, and brazen bolts.
14Abinadab the son of Addo was chief in Manaim.
15Achimaas in Nephtali: he also had Basemath the daughter of Solomon to wife.
16Baana the son of Husi, in Aser and in Baloth.
17Josaphat the son of Pharue, in Issachar.
18Semei the son of Ela, in Benjamin.
19Gaber the son of Uri, in the land of Galaad, in the land of Sehon the king of the Amorrhites and of Og the king of Basan: over all that were in that land.
20Juda and Israel were innumerable, as the sand of the sea in multitude: eating and drinking, and rejoicing.
21And Solomon had under him all the kingdoms from the river to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt: and they brought him presents, and served him, all the days of his life.
22And the provision of Solomon for each day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal;
23Ten fat oxen and twenty out of the pastures, and a hundred rams, besides venison of harts, roes, and buffles, and fatted fowls.
24For he had all the country which was beyond the river, from Thaphsa to Gazan, and all the kings of those countries. And he had peace on every side round about.
25And Juda and Israel dwelt without any fear, every one under his vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan to Bersabee, all the days of Solomon.
26And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of chariot horses, and twelve thousand for the saddle.
27And the foresaid governors of the king fed them: and they furnished the necessaries also for king Solomon's table, with great care in their time.
28They brought barley also and straw for the horses and beasts, to the place where the king was, according as it was appointed them.
29And God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart as the sand that is on the sea-shore.
30And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and of the Egyptians,
31And he was wiser than all men: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Dorda the sons of Mahol. And he was renowned in all nations round about.
32Solomon also spoke three thousand parables: and his poems were a thousand and five.
33And he treated about trees from the cedar that is in Libanus, unto the hyssop that cometh out of the wall: and he discoursed of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
34And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon and from all the kings of the earth who heard of his wisdom.
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
1 Kings 4
4
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
1King Solomon now ruled over all Israel, 2and these were his high officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
3Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries.
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.
4Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.
6Ahishar was manager of the palace property.
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of forced labor.
7Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year. 8These are the names of the twelve governors:
Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim.
9Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan.
10Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher.
11Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor.#4:11 Hebrew Naphath-dor, a variant spelling of Naphoth-dor. (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.)
12Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan#4:12 Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-shan; also in 4:12b. near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam.
13Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh#4:13 Hebrew Jair son of Manasseh; compare 1 Chr 2:22.) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates.
14Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim.
15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters.)
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,#4:19a Greek version reads of Gad; compare 4:13. including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.
There was also one governor over the land of Judah.#4:19b As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks of Judah. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom
20The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. 21#4:21a Verses 4:21-34 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River#4:21b Hebrew the river; also in 4:24. in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime.
22The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal#4:22 Hebrew 30 cors [6.6 kiloliters] of choice flour and 60 cors [13.2 kiloliters] of meal.; 23also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.#4:23 Or and fattened geese.
24Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. 25During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.#4:25 Hebrew each family lived under its own grapevine and under its own fig tree.
26Solomon had 4,000#4:26a As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 9:25); Hebrew reads 40,000. stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.#4:26b Or 12,000 charioteers.
27The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. 28They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables.
29God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. 30In fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 34And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.
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