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1 Kings 4

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Solomon's Chief Administrative Officials 1–6

1
So king Solomon was king over all Israel.
2
And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, ​
3
Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. ​
4
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: ​
5
And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: ​
6
And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. ​

The Twelve District Officers 7–19

7
And 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. ​
8
And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:
9
The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan:
10
The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:
11
The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: ​
12
Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:
13
The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:
14
Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:
15
Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
16
Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:
17
Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:
18
Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:
19
Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, 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. ​

Prosperity and Extent of the Kingdom 20–28

20
Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. ​
21
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. ​
22
And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, ​
23
Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.
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For 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. ​
25
And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ​
26
And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ​
27
And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.
28
Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

Solomon's Unparalleled Wisdom 29–34

29
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. ​
30
And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. ​
31
For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. ​
32
And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. ​
33
And 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. ​
34
And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for 1 Kings 4

Verse 2

the princes which he had — Sar, a head person of any rank. Azariah son of Zadok the priest heads the list; Zadok had been set in Abiathar's place (1 Kgs 2:35). The same kind of roll stands for David in 2 Sam 8:15–18 and 20:23–26.

Verse 3

scribes… the recorder — Saphar, to write and count, is the scribe; the recorder is from zakar, to remember, the keeper of the king's record. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud held the same office under David (2 Sam 8:16), and a scribe is named there too (2 Sam 20:25).

Verse 4

Zadok and Abiathar were the priests — Benaiah now holds the command Joab had (1 Kgs 2:35). Abiathar is still named, though Solomon 'thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD' (1 Kgs 2:27); Zadok, put in his room, is listed first.

Verse 5

over the officers — Natsab, to station; the same word gives the 'twelve officers' of v.7. Zabud is called 'the king's friend' (re'eh, companion), the title borne by Hushai, 'David's friend', under David (2 Sam 16:16). Both men are sons of Nathan.

Verse 6

over the tribute — Mas is tribute in the form of forced labour. Adoniram oversaw the levy sent to Lebanon in courses (1 Kgs 5:13–14). As 'Adoram, who was over the tribute', he was stoned by all Israel under Rehoboam (1 Kgs 12:18).

Verse 7

twelve officers… each man his month — Twelve natsab each 'provided' (kul, to sustain) the court for one month of the year, their districts named in vv.8–19. A monthly rota also stands in David's courses of 1 Chr 27:1, which served the king 'month by month'.

Verse 11

Taphath the daughter of Solomon — Dor lay on the coast ('the coast of Dor', Josh 12:23). The officer of this district was Solomon's son-in-law; another, Ahimaaz, married Basmath, also Solomon's daughter (v.15). Napha, 'region', also means a height.

Verse 19

the country of Sihon… and of Og — The two Amorite kings Israel defeated east of the Jordan (Num 21:24, 35; Deut 3:8). This officer (netsiv, a prefect or post) is called 'the only officer which was in the land'.

Verse 20

as the sand which is by the sea — The promise to Abraham: 'as the sand which is upon the sea shore' (Gen 22:17; cf. Gen 32:12). Solomon himself spoke of 'a great people, that cannot be numbered' (1 Kgs 3:8). Chol is sand; 'eating and drinking, and making merry' marks the plenty.

Verse 21

from the river unto the land of the Philistines — 'The river' is the Euphrates (Gen 15:18), the bound promised to Abraham; the southern edge is Egypt. 'Presents' is minchah, a gift or tribute, as Ps 72:11 says of the king: 'all nations shall serve him.' 2 Chr 9:26 repeats the verse.

Verse 22

thirty measures of fine flour — The kor is the large dry measure; here 30 of solet (fine flour) and 60 of qemach (meal) are one day's bread. The table fed 'all that came unto king Solomon's table' (v.27), and v.23 continues the list in meat.

Verse 24

dominion… peace on all sides — Radah, to rule, the verb of Ps 72:8, 'He shall have dominion also from sea to sea'. Tiphsah on the river to Azzah (Gaza) marks the span. Shalom fits the name Solomon and the promise of 'a man of rest' (1 Chr 22:9).

Verse 25

under his vine and under his fig tree — Betach, 'safely', security without fear. 'From Dan even to Beersheba' is the whole land (Judg 20:1). The same picture is promised for the coming age: 'none shall make them afraid' (Mic 4:4; cf. Zech 3:10).

Verse 26

forty thousand stalls of horses — Urvah, a stall. The king was forbidden to 'multiply horses to himself' (Deut 17:16). 1 Kgs 10:26 gives his chariots as fourteen hundred, with twelve thousand horsemen; Ps 20:7 sets trust in chariots against the name of the LORD.

Verse 29

largeness of heart — Rochab lev, breadth of heart; the 'heart' is the seat of understanding. It is the gift asked for and granted, 'a wise and an understanding heart' (1 Kgs 3:12). 'Wisdom' is chokmah, 'understanding' tevunah; the breadth is likened to the sand, as the people were in v.20.

Verse 30

the children of the east country… Egypt — Qedem, the east, where Abraham sent the sons of his concubines (Gen 25:6). Egypt's learning was proverbial: Moses 'was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians' (Acts 7:22). Solomon's wisdom surpassed both.

Verse 31

Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman — Ethan and Heman are named with Calcol and Dara among the sons of Zerah (1 Chr 2:6). Psalm 89 is 'Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite' and Psalm 88 'of Heman the Ezrahite'; Heman and Ethan were also temple singers (1 Chr 15:19).

Verse 32

three thousand proverbs… his songs were a thousand and five — Mashal, a proverb or comparison, and shir, a song. Proverbs opens 'The proverbs of Solomon' (Prov 1:1), and 'The song of songs, which is Solomon's' (Song 1:1). Eccl 12:9 says he 'set in order many proverbs'.

Verse 33

from the cedar tree… unto the hyssop — From the highest tree, the erez of Lebanon, to the ezov in the wall, the hyssop used in the Passover blood (Ex 12:22). He spoke also 'of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes', the creatures of Gen 1:20–25.

Verse 34

to hear the wisdom of Solomon — The visit of the queen of Sheba, who 'came to prove him with hard questions' (1 Kgs 10:1), is the example. 2 Chr 9:23 repeats that the kings came 'to hear his wisdom'. Christ says she came 'to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here' (Matt 12:42).