1 Kings 4

1 King Shlomo was king over all Isra'el,

2 and these were his high officials: 'Azaryah the son of Tzadok, the cohen;

3 Elichoref and Achiyah the sons of Shisha, secretaries; Y'hoshafat the son of Achilud, secretary of state;

4 B'nayah the son of Y'hoyada, commander of the army; Tzadok and Evyatar, cohanim;

5 'Azaryah the son of Natan, chief administrator; Zavud the son of Natan, the king's trusted counselor;

6 Achishar, in charge of the palace; Adoniram the son of 'Avda, in charge of forced labor.

7 Shlomo had twelve officers over all Isra'el who were in charge of providing food and supplies for the king and his household; each one was in charge of provisions for one month out of the year.

8 They were: the son of Hur, in the hills of Efrayim;

9 the son of Deker, in Makatz, Sha'albim, Beit-Shemesh and Eilon-Beit-Hanan;

10 the son of Hesed, in Arubot; he also had charge of Sokhoh and all the territory of Hefer;

11 the son of Avinadav, in all the area of Dor; he had Tafat the daughter of Shlomo as his wife;

12 Ba'ana the son of Achilud, in Ta'anakh, Megiddo, and all Beit-Sh'an by Tzartan below Yizre'el, from Beit-Sh'an to Avel-M'cholah, as far as beyond Yokme'am;

13 the son of Gever, in Ramot-Gil'ad; he was in charge of the villages of Ya'ir the son of M'nasheh in Gil'ad and in charge of the region of Argov in Bashan, sixty large cities with walls and bronze bars;

14 Achinadav the son of 'Iddo, in Machanayim;

15 Achima'atz, in Naftali; he also took Basmat the daughter of Shlomo as his wife;

16 Ba'ana the son of Hushai, in Asher and in Alot;

17 Y'hoshafat the son of Paruach, in Yissakhar;

18 Shim'i the son of Ela, in Binyamin; and

19 Gever the son of Uri, in the land of Gil'ad, the country of Sichon king of the Emori and 'Og king of Bashan. Over all these, there was one administrator in the land.

20 Y'hudah and Isra'el were as numerous as sand grains on the seashore; they ate, drank and enjoyed themselves.

21 Shlomo ruled over all the kingdoms from the [Euphrates] River through the land of the P'lishtim to the border of Egypt; they paid tribute and served Shlomo as long as he lived.

22 Shlomo's provisions for one day consisted of 150 bushels of fine flour, 310 bushels of meal,

23 ten fattened oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks and fattened poultry.

24 For he ruled all the area this side of the [Euphrates] River, from Tifsach to 'Azah. He was over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace all around him, on every side.

25 From Dan to Be'er-Sheva, Y'hudah and Isra'el lived securely, every man under his vine and fig tree, throughout the lifetime of Shlomo.

26 Shlomo also had 40,000 stalls for the horses used with his chariots and 12,000 horsemen.

27 Those officers [named above] supplied food and other materials for King Shlomo and for everyone for whom Shlomo provided. Each was responsible for his month's supplies; they saw to it that nothing was lacking.

28 They also made sure there was barley and straw where it was needed for the horses and draft animals; each filled his quota.

29 God gave Shlomo exceptional wisdom and understanding, as well as a heart as vast as the sandy beach by the sea.

30 Shlomo's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of the people from the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 For he was wiser than everyone - wiser than Eitan the Ezrachi and wiser than Heiman, Kalkol and Darda the sons of Machol; so that his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.

32 He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs.

33 He could discuss trees, from the cedar in the L'vanon to the hyssop growing out of the wall; he could discuss wild animals, poultry, reptiles and fish.

34 People from all nations came to hear the wisdom of Shlomo, including kings from all over the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 4 Commentary

Chapter 4

Solomon's court. (1-19) Solomon's dominions, His daily provision. (20-28) The wisdom of Solomon. (29-34)

Verses 1-19 In the choice of the great officers of Solomon's court, no doubt, his wisdom appeared. Several are the same that were in his father's time. A plan was settled by which no part of the country was exhausted to supply his court, though each sent its portion.

Verses 20-28 Never did the crown of Israel shine so bright, as when Solomon wore it. He had peace on all sides. Herein, his kingdom was a type of the Messiah's; for to Him it is promised that he shall have the heathen for his inheritance, and that princes shall worship him. The spiritual peace, and joy, and holy security, of all the faithful subjects of the Lord Jesus, were typified by that of Israel. The kingdom of God is not, as Solomon's was, meat and drink, but, what is infinitely better, righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. The vast number of his attendants, and the great resort to him, are shown by the provision daily made. Herein Christ far outdoes Solomon, that he feeds all his subjects, not with the bread that perishes, but with that which endures to eternal life.

Verses 29-34 Solomon's wisdom was more his glory than his wealth. He had what is here called largeness of heart, for the heart is often put for the powers of the mind. He had the gift of utterance, as well as wisdom. It is very desirable, that those who have large gifts of any kind, should have large hearts to use them for the good of others. What treasures of wisdom and knowledge are lost! But every sort of knowledge that is needful for salvation is to be found in the holy Scriptures. There came persons from all parts, who were more eager after knowledge than their neighbours, to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Solomon was herein a type of Christ, in whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge; and hid for us, for he is made of God to us, wisdom. Christ's fame shall spread through all the earth, and men of all nations shall come to him, learn of him, and take upon them his easy yoke, and find rest for their souls.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO FIRST KINGS 4

As in the preceding chapter we have a proof of the wisdom and understanding which the Lord gave to Solomon, as promised, so in this an account is given of the riches and honour he was possessed of; of him, as king over all Israel, and of his princes, 1Ki 4:1-6; of the providers of food for his household in the several parts of the land, 1Ki 4:7-19; of the largeness and extent of his dominions, and of the peace and prosperity thereof, 1Ki 4:20,21,24,25; of his daily provisions for his household and for his cattle, 1Ki 4:22,23,26-28; and of his superior wisdom and knowledge to all others in all nations, which brought some out of all to hear it, 1Ki 4:29-34.