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Solomon’s Officers

King Solomon ·ruled [was king] over all Israel. These are the names of his ·leading officers [chief officials]:

Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;

Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, ·recorded what happened in the courts [were court secretaries];

Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud ·recorded the history of the people [was recorder/royal historian];

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army;

Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors;

Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and ·adviser [L friend] to the king;

Ahishar was ·responsible for everything in the palace [manager of the household];

Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of ·the labor force [or forced labor].

Solomon placed twelve ·governors [deputies; administrators] over the districts of Israel, who gathered ·food from their districts [provisions] for the king and his ·family [household]. Each ·governor [deputy; administrator] was responsible for bringing food to the king one month of each year. These are the names of the twelve ·governors [deputies; administrators]:

Ben-Hur was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of the ·mountain [hill] country of Ephraim.

Ben-Deker was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan.

10 Ben-Hesed was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Arubboth, Socoh, and all the land of Hepher.

11 Ben-Abinadab was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Naphoth Dor. (He was married to Taphath, Solomon’s daughter.)

12 Baana son of Ahilud was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Taanach, Megiddo, and all of Beth Shan next to ·Zarethan. This was below Jezreel [Zarethan below Jezreel, and] from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah ·across from [and over to] Jokmeam.

13 Ben-Geber was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Ramoth in Gilead. (He was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of all the towns of Jair in Gilead. Jair was the son of Manasseh. Ben-Geber was also over the district of Argob in Bashan, which had sixty large, walled cities with bronze bars on their gates.)

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Mahanaim.

15 Ahimaaz was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, Solomon’s daughter.)

16 Baana son of Hushai was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Asher and Aloth.

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Issachar.

18 Shimei son of Ela was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Benjamin.

19 Geber son of Uri was ·governor [deputy; administrator] of Gilead. Gilead had been the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. ·But Geber was the only governor over this district [In addition, there was one governor/deputy/adminstrator over the land of Judah].

Solomon’s Kingdom(A)

20 There were as many people in Judah and Israel as grains of sand on the seashore [Gen. 22:17; 32:12]. The people ate, drank, and were ·happy [content; rejoicing]. 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought Solomon ·the payments he demanded [tribute], and they ·were under his control [served him] all his life.

22 ·Solomon needed much food each day to feed himself and all the people who ate at his table: Solomon’s daily provisions were one hundred ninety-five bushels [L thirty cors] of fine flour, three hundred ninety bushels [L sixty cors] of ·grain [meal], 23 ten ·cows that were fed on good grain [fat oxen], twenty ·cows [oxen] that were raised in the fields, one hundred sheep, deer, gazelles, and roe deer, and ·fattened birds [choice poultry].

24 Solomon ·controlled [ruled; had dominion over] all the countries west of the ·Euphrates River [L River]—the land from Tiphsah to Gaza. And he had peace on all ·sides of his kingdom [his borders/frontiers]. 25 During Solomon’s life Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba [C the extreme north to the extreme south], also lived in ·peace [safety]; all of his people were able to sit under their own fig trees and grapevines.

26 Solomon had four[a] thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand ·horses [or horsemen; cavalry]. 27 Each month one of the ·district governors [deputies; administrators] ·gave King Solomon all the food he needed [provided for King Solomon]—enough for every person who ate at the king’s table. The ·governors [deputies; administrators] made sure ·he had everything he needed [that nothing was lacking]. 28 They also brought enough barley and straw for Solomon’s ·chariot [L swift steeds] and work horses; each person ·brought this grain to the right place [according to his duty/charge].

Solomon’s Wisdom

29 God gave Solomon great wisdom ·so he could understand many things [L and great discernment/understanding]. His [L breadth/width of] ·wisdom [mind; heart] was ·as hard to measure as [or as vast as; L like] the grains of sand on the seashore. 30 His wisdom was greater than any wisdom of the East, or any wisdom in Egypt. 31 He was wiser than ·anyone on earth [L all mankind]. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite [C see Ps. 89 title], as well as Heman [C see Ps. 88 title], Calcol, and Darda—the three sons of Mahol. King Solomon became famous in all the surrounding ·countries [nations]. 32 During his life he spoke three thousand ·wise sayings [proverbs] and also wrote one thousand five songs. 33 He taught about many kinds of plants—everything from the great cedar trees of Lebanon to the ·weeds [hyssop] that grow out of the walls. He also taught about animals, birds, ·crawling things [reptiles], and fish. 34 People from all nations came to listen to King Solomon’s wisdom. The kings of all nations sent them to him, ·because they had heard of [or to listen to] Solomon’s wisdom.

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:26 four Some Greek copies read “four.” Hebrew copies read “forty.”

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