1 Kings 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Solomon’s Riches: Domestic Affairs.[a] 1 Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were the officials he had in his service:
Azariah, son of Zadok, the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, scribes;
Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, the chancellor;
4 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, in charge of the army;
Zadok and Abiathar, priests;
5 Azariah, son of Nathan, in charge of the governors;
Zabud, son of Nathan, priest and companion to the king;
6 Ahishar, master of the palace; and
Adoniram, son of Abda, in charge of the forced labor.
7 [b]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. 8 Their names were:[c]
the son of Hur in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 the son of Deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon Beth-hanan;
10 the son of Hesed in Arubboth, as well as in Socoh and the whole region of Hepher;
11 the son of Abinadab, in all Naphath-dor; he was married to Taphath, Solomon’s daughter;
12 Baana, son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo and all Beth-shean near Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah to beyond Jokmeam;
13 the 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;
14 Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he was married to Basemath, another daughter of Solomon;
16 Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber, 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.[d] 20 (A)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sands by the sea; they ate and drank and rejoiced.
Footnotes
- 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.
- 4:7–19 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).
- 4:8–19 Several of the governors are identified only by their fathers’ names.
- 4:19 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).
1 Kings 4
New King James Version
Solomon’s Administration
4 So King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2 And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [a]scribes; (A)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4 (B)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and (C)Abiathar, the priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan, over (D)the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, (E)a priest and (F)the king’s friend; 6 Ahishar, over the household; and (G)Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.
7 And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 8 These are their names: [b]Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9 [c]Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10 [d]Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11 [e]Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13 [f]Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged (H)the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged (I)the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 (J)Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16 Baanah the son of (K)Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 (L)Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in (M)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.
Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous (N)as the sand by the sea in multitude, (O)eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 So (P)Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from (Q)the[g] River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. (R)They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 (S)Now Solomon’s [h]provision for one day was thirty [i]kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23 ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side of [j]the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over (T)all the kings on this side of the River; and (U)he had peace on every side all around him. 25 And Judah and Israel (V)dwelt[k] safely, (W)each man under his vine and his fig tree, (X)from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
26 (Y)Solomon had [l]forty thousand stalls of (Z)horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And (AA)these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. 28 They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.
29 And (AB)God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30 Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men (AC)of the East and all (AD)the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was (AE)wiser than all men—(AF)than Ethan the Ezrahite, (AG)and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 (AH)He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his (AI)songs were one thousand and five. 33 Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34 And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, (AJ)came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:3 secretaries
- 1 Kings 4:8 Lit. Son of Hur
- 1 Kings 4:9 Lit. Son of Deker
- 1 Kings 4:10 Lit. Son of Hesed
- 1 Kings 4:11 Lit. Son of Abinadab
- 1 Kings 4:13 Lit. Son of Geber
- 1 Kings 4:21 The Euphrates
- 1 Kings 4:22 Lit. bread
- 1 Kings 4:22 Each about 5 bushels
- 1 Kings 4:24 The Euphrates
- 1 Kings 4:25 lived in safety
- 1 Kings 4:26 So with MT, most other authorities; some LXX mss. four thousand; cf. 2 Chr. 9:25
1 Kings 4
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition
Solomon’s Administrative Officers
4 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 Azariah son of Nathan was over the officials; Zabud son of Nathan was priest and king’s friend; 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labour.
7 Solomon had twelve officials over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one had to make provision for one month in the year. 8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as his wife); 12 Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath, Solomon’s daughter, as his wife); 16 Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of King Sihon of the Amorites and of King Og of Bashan. And there was one official in the land of Judah.
Magnificence of Solomon’s Rule
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they ate and drank and were happy. 21 [a] Solomon was sovereign over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of choice flour, and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty pasture-fed cattle, one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the region west of the Euphrates from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings west of the Euphrates; and he had peace on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all of them under their vines and fig trees. 26 Solomon also had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 Those officials supplied provisions for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, each one in his month; they let nothing be lacking. 28 They also brought to the required place barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds, each according to his charge.
Fame of Solomon’s Wisdom
29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment, and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, children of Mahol; his fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He would speak of trees, from the cedar that is in the Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish. 34 People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon; they came from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.
Footnotes
- 1 Kings 4:21 Ch 5.1 in Heb
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