1 Kings 4
4
1And king Solomon is king over all Israel,
2and these [are] the heads whom he hath: Azariah son of Zadok [is] the priest;
3Elihoreph and Ahiah sons of Shisha [are] scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud [is] remembrancer;
4and Benaiah son of Jehoiada [is] over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar [are] priests;
5and Azariah son of Nathan [is] over the officers; and Zabud son of Nathan [is] minister, friend of the king;
6And Ahishar [is] over the household, and Adoniram son of Abda [is] over the tribute.
7And Solomon hath twelve officers over all Israel, and they have sustained the king and his household — a month in the year is on each one for sustenance;
8and these [are] their names: Ben-Hur in the hill-country of Ephraim;
9Ben-Dekar in Makaz, and Shaalbim, and Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.
10Ben-Hesed [is] in Aruboth, hath Sochoh and all the land of Hepher;
11Ben-Abinadab [hath] all the elevation of Dor, Taphath daughter of Solomon became his wife.
12Baana Ben-Ahilud [hath] Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-Shean, which [is] by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-Shean unto Abel-Meholah, unto beyond Jokneam.
13Ben-Geber, in Ramoth-Gilead, hath the small towns of Jair son of Manasseh, which [are] in Gilead; he hath a portion of Argob that [is] in Bashan, sixty great cities [with] wall and brazen bar.
14Ahinadab son of Iddo [hath] Mahanaim.
15Ahimaaz [is] in Naphtali; he also hath taken Basemath daughter of Solomon for a wife.
16Baanah Ben-Hushai [is] in Asher, and in Aloth.
17Jehoshaphat Ben-Paruah [is] in Issachar.
18Shimei Ben-Elah [is] in Benjamin.
19Geber Ben-Uri [is] in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon king of the Amorite, and of Og king of Bashan: and one officer who [is] in the land.
20Judah and Israel [are] many, as the sand that [is] by the sea for multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.
21And Solomon hath been ruling over all the kingdoms, from the River [to] the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt: they are bringing nigh a present, and serving Solomon, all days of his life.
22And the provision of Solomon for one day is thirty cors of flour, and sixty cors of meal;
23ten fat oxen, and twenty feeding oxen, and a hundred sheep, apart from hart, and roe, and fallow-deer, and fatted beasts of the stalls,
24for he is ruling over all beyond the river, from Tiphsah and unto Gaza, over all the kings beyond the river, and he hath peace from all his servants round about.
25And Judah dwelleth — and Israel — in confidence, each under his vine, and under his fig-tree, from Dan even unto Beer-Sheba, all the days of Solomon.
26And Solomon hath forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27And these officers have sustained king Solomon and every one drawing near unto the table of king Solomon, each [in] his month; they let nothing be lacking.
28And the barley and the straw, for horses and for dromedaries, they bring in unto the place where they are, each according to his ordinance.
29And God giveth wisdom to Solomon, and understanding, very much, and breadth of heart, as the sand that [is] on the edge of the sea;
30and the wisdom of Solomon is greater than the wisdom of any of the sons of the east, and than all the wisdom of Egypt;
31and he is wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol, and his name is in all the nations round about.
32And he speaketh three thousand similes, and his songs [are] five, and the chief one;
33and he speaketh concerning the trees, from the cedar that [is] in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that is coming out in the wall, and he speaketh concerning the cattle, and concerning the fowl, and concerning the creeping things, and concerning the fishes,
34and there come out of all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who have heard of his wisdom.
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1 Kings 4: YLT98
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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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