1 Kings 4:18-28

18 ¹Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;

19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, ²the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

Solomon's Power, Wealth and Wisdom

20 ³Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

21 ⁴Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms ⁵from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; ⁶they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of meal,

23 ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep besides * deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.

24 For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to ⁷Gaza, ⁸over all the kings west of the River; and ⁹he had peace on all sides around about him.

25 ¹⁰So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, ¹¹from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 ¹²Solomon had 40,000 * stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 * * horsemen.

27 Those deputies provided for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon's table, each in his month; they left nothing * lacking.

28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and ¹³swift steeds to the place where * it should be, each according to his charge.

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1 Kings 4:18-28 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 13

1. 1 Kings 1:8
2. Deuteronomy 3:8-10
3. Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12; 1 Kings 3:8
4. 2 Chronicles 9:26
5. Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4
6. 2 Samuel 8:2, 6
7. Judges 1:18
8. Psalms 72:11
9. 1 Chronicles 22:9
10. Jeremiah 23:6; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10
11. 1 Samuel 3:20
12. 1 Kings 10:26; 2 Chronicles 1:14
13. Esther 8:10, 14; Micah 1:13

Footnotes 13

[a]. Lit "sea"
[b]. Ch 5:1 in Heb
[c]. I.e. Euphrates
[d]. Lit "bread"
[e]. I.e. One kor equals approx 10 bu
[f]. I.e. One kor equals approx 10 bu
[g]. Lit "oxen of the pasture"
[h]. Lit "beyond"
[i]. I.e. Euphrates
[j]. Lit "beyond"
[k]. I.e. Euphrates
[l]. One ms reads "4000," cf 2 Chr 9:25
[m]. Or "nourished"