J c¹ 1-19. Solomon. Riches (officers).
d¹ 20. People. Prosperity.
c² 21. Solomon. Dominion (foreign).
d² 22-23. People. Provision.
c³ 24. Solomon. Dominion (foreign).
d³ 25. People. Security.
c4 26-28. Solomon. Riches (officers).920 to 917 B.C.
1 Kings 4)
1 So king Solomon was king over all Israel (Expression not peculiar to any writer or period).
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 remembrancer (cp. 1 Chron. 18:15).
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 (Probably David's son. Cp. Luke 3:31): and Zabud the son of Nathan [was] priest (see Heb. [2 Sam. 8:19]), [and] the king's friend (as Hushai had been David's [2 Sam. 15:37]):
6 And Ahishar [was] over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda [was] over the tribute.
7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel (Cp. David's 12 captains [1 Chron.27:2-15]), 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 the hill country of Ephraim:
9 The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan (= oak of the house of grace. Some codices read "Elon and Beth-hanan". Sept. reads "Elon as far as Beth-hanan"):
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 (cp. Josh. 11:2; 12:23; 17:11); 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 (the country of Elisha [19:16,21]. Cp. Judg.7:22), [even] to [the place that is] beyond Jokneam:
13 The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead (in the tribe of Gad. Famous for Ahab's last battle[22:20]. Cp. Josh. 20:8. Judg. 11:29); to him [pertained] the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which [are] in Gilead; to him [also pertained] the region (a sharply defined border, defining the rocky rampart encircling the "Lejah" as it is called today.) of Argob (= Edrei, one of "the giant cities of Bashan". See Gen:6:2,4), which [is] in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo [had] Mahanaim (cp. Gen.32:2 Josh.13:26):
15 Ahimaaz [was] in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:
16 Baanah the son of Hushai (see v.5) [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 [Gibor was] the only officer (not the same word as in v.7) which [was] in the land [of Bashan].
20 Judah and Israel [were] many, as the sand which [is] by the sea shore in multitude (cp. Gen.13:16; 22:17, &c.), eating and drinking, and making merry.
21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from Euphrates (cp. Gen. 15:18. Josh.1:4) even to the land of the Philistines (cp. 2 Chron. 9:26), and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents (cp. Ps. 72:10,11), and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 And Solomon's provision (Heb. bread, put for all kind of food) for one day was thirty measures (about 240 bushels) of fine flour, and sixty measures (about 480 bushels) of meal,
23 Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallow-deer, and fatted fowl.
24 For he had dominion over all [the region] on this side (or beyond) Euphrates, 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 confidently, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba (the two extremities. Cp. Judg. 20:1. and 1 Sam. 3:20, &c.), all the days of Solomon.
26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls (in 2 Chron. it is 4,000, which is more likely to be correct. The 12,000 are the same in both places. The ancient Hebrew characters were Phoenician, and may be seen on the Moabite stone. These were in current use till about 140 B.C., and were gradually replaced by the modern Hebrew "square" characters. Mistakes in copying occurred through the similarity of certain letters. See 2 Sam. 24:10. Jer. 3:8. Ezek. 6:4; 22:20) of horses for his chariots (a breach of Deut.17:16. It began by breeding mules [1:33,38,44], which was a breach of Lev.19:19), and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came to king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.
28 Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they to the place where [the officers] were, every man according to his charge.
H e 29. Extent.
f 30,31. Others. Pre-eminence over.
e 32,33. Extent.
f 34. Others. Resort by.920 to 917 B.C.
29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding very great (Syr. reads this in connection with "largeness of heart", instead of with "understanding"), 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 sons of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than any human being; than Ethan the Ezrahite (the same 4 names occur among the sons of Zera the son of Judah [1 Chron. 2:6], except Dara for Darda; but cp. 1 Cron. 6:44 and 33), and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his name was in all nations round about.
32 And he spoke three thousand proverbs (Some included in the Book of that name): and his songs (cp. Ps. 72 and 127) were a thousand and five.
33 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that [is] in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall: he spoke also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.
34 And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon (cp. Chapter 10), from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.