1 Kings 4
Lexham English Bible
Solomon’s Wisdom: Political Administration
4 King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 Now these are the officials who were his: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest. 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were the secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder. 4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests. 5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the governors, and Zabud the son of Nathan was a priest, an advisor to the king. 6 Ahishar was over the palace, and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor. 7 Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, and they sustained the king and his palace, each one was to sustain for each month of the year.[a] 8 These are their names: Ben-Hur was in the hill country of Ephraim. 9 Ben-Deker was in Makaz and in Shaalbim and in Beth-Shemesh and Elon of Beth-Hanan. 10 Ben-Hesed was in the Arubbot; Socoh and all the land of Hepher were his. 11 Ben-Abinadab was in all of Naphat of Dor; Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife. 12 Baanah the son of Ahilud was in Taanach and Megiddo and all Beth-Shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, of Beth-Shean up to Abel-Meholah up to the other side of Jokmeam. 13 Ben-Geber was in Ramoth-Gilead; the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh which are in the Gilead were his, and the region of Argob which is in the Bashan, sixty great cities, with walls having crossbars of bronze, were his. 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo was in Mahanaim. 15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he moreover also had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife. 16 Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and Bealoth. 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah was in Issachar. 18 Shimei the son of Ela was in Benjamin. 19 Geber the son of Uri was in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and of Og, the king of Bashan; one governor which was over the land. 20 Judah and Israel were as many as the sand which is on the seashore in abundance, eating and drinking and rejoicing!
Solomon’s Wisdom: Prosperity
21 [b] Now Solomon was ruling over all the kingdoms from the River[c] to the land of the Philistines, and up to the border of Egypt, who were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life. 22 The food of Solomon for one day was thirty dry measures of choice meal and sixty dry measures of flour; 23 ten stall-fed oxen and twenty pasture-fed oxen and a hundred sheep, besides deer and buck gazelles and roebucks and well-fed fowls. 24 For he was ruling over all the west of the River[d] from Tiphsah up to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River;[e] and he had peace from every side all around. 25 Judah and Israel lived in security, each man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 Now Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his war chariots and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 These governors sustained King Solomon and all who came near to the table of King Solomon, each in his month; they did not omit anything. 28 The barley and the straw for the horses and for packhorses they brought to the place where they were, each according to his share.
Solomon’s Wisdom: Literature, Zoology, Biology, Dendrology
29 God gave wisdom to Solomon and very great discernment, as well as breadth of understanding,[f] as the sand which is on the edge of the seashore. 30 The wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the people[g] of the east and more than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than all the men: Ethan the Ezrahite; Heman, Calcol, and Darda the children of Mahol; and he was very well known.[h] 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. 33 He spoke concerning the trees, from the cedar which is in Lebanon up to the hyssop which grows on the wall; he also spoke concerning the animals, concerning the birds, concerning the creeping things, and concerning the fish. 34 They came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon; from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:7 Literally “a month in the year he was over one to sustain”
- 1 Kings 4:21 1 Kings 4:21–5:18 in the English Bible is 5:1–32 in the Hebrew Bible
- 1 Kings 4:21 That is, the Euphrates
- 1 Kings 4:24 That is, the Euphrates
- 1 Kings 4:24 That is, the Euphrates
- 1 Kings 4:29 Literally “width of heart”
- 1 Kings 4:30 Or “sons/children”
- 1 Kings 4:31 Literally “his name was among all the peoples around”
1 Kings 4
New English Translation
Solomon’s Royal Court and Administrators
4 King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2 These were his officials:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened.[a]
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records.
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of[b] the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
5 Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of[c] the district governors.
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to[d] the king.
6 Ahishar was supervisor of the palace.[e]
Adoniram son of Abda was supervisor of[f] the work crews.[g]
7 Solomon had twelve district governors appointed throughout Israel who acquired supplies for the king and his palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year. 8 These were their names:
Ben Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Ben Deker was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan.
10 Ben Hesed was in charge of Arubboth; he controlled Socoh and all the territory of Hepher.
11 Ben Abinadab was in charge of Naphath Dor. (He was married to Solomon’s daughter Taphath.)
12 Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of Taanach and Megiddo, as well as all of Beth Shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah and on past Jokmeam.
13 Ben Geber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he controlled the villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty large walled cities with bronze bars locking their gates.
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of Mahanaim.
15 Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He married Solomon’s daughter Basemath.)
16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of Asher and Aloth.
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of Issachar.
18 Shimei son of Ela was in charge of Benjamin.
19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of the land of Gilead (the territory which had once belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites and to King Og of Bashan). He was sole governor of the area.
Solomon’s Wealth and Fame
20 The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. 21 (5:1)[h] Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River[i] to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime.[j] 22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed[k] thirty cors[l] of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, 23 ten calves fattened in the stall,[m] 20 calves from the pasture, and 100 sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds. 24 His royal court was so large because[n] he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah[o] to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors.[p] 25 All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon’s lifetime.[q] 26 Solomon had 4,000 stalls[r] for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. 27 The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace.[s] Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking. 28 Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horses.[t]
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding[u] was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt.[v] 31 He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighboring nations.[w] 32 He composed[x] 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. 33 He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant,[y] from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing[z] animals, birds, insects, and fish. 34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s display of wisdom;[aa] they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:3 tn Heb “were scribes”; NASB, NIV, NRSV “secretaries”; TEV, NLT “court secretaries.”
- 1 Kings 4:4 tn Heb “was over.”
- 1 Kings 4:5 tn Heb “was over.”
- 1 Kings 4:5 tn Heb “close associate of”; KJV, ASV, NASB “the king’s friend” (a title for an adviser, not just an acquaintance).
- 1 Kings 4:6 tn Heb “over the house.”
- 1 Kings 4:6 tn Heb “was over.”
- 1 Kings 4:6 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word (מַס, mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
- 1 Kings 4:21 sn Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.
- 1 Kings 4:21 tn Heb “the River” (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.
- 1 Kings 4:21 tn Heb “[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.”
- 1 Kings 4:22 tn Heb “the food of Solomon for each day was.”
- 1 Kings 4:22 tn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.
- 1 Kings 4:23 tn The words “in the stall” are added for clarification; note the immediately following reference to cattle from the pasture.
- 1 Kings 4:24 tn Heb “because.” The words “his royal court was so large” are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.
- 1 Kings 4:24 sn Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.
- 1 Kings 4:24 tn Heb “for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around.”
- 1 Kings 4:25 tn Heb “Judah and Israel lived securely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beer Sheba, all the days of Solomon.”
- 1 Kings 4:26 tn The Hebrew text has “40,000,” but this is probably an inflated number (nevertheless it is followed by KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV, TEV, CEV). Some Greek mss of the OT and the parallel in 2 Chr 9:25 read “4,000” (cf. NAB, NIV, NCV, NLT).
- 1 Kings 4:27 tn Heb “everyone who drew near to the table of King Solomon.”
- 1 Kings 4:28 tn Heb “barley and straw for the horses and the steeds they brought to the place which was there, each according to his measure.”
- 1 Kings 4:29 tn Heb “heart,” i.e., mind. (The Hebrew term translated “heart” often refers to the mental faculties.)
- 1 Kings 4:30 tn Heb “the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.”
- 1 Kings 4:31 tn Heb “his name was in all the surrounding nations.”
- 1 Kings 4:32 tn Heb “spoke.”
- 1 Kings 4:33 tn Heb “he spoke about plants.”
- 1 Kings 4:33 tn Heb “he spoke about.”
- 1 Kings 4:34 tn Heb “the wisdom of Solomon.”
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