1 Kings 4:20-34

Solomon's Power, Wealth and Wisdom

20 ¹Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

21 ²Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms ³from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; ⁴they 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 ⁵Gaza, ⁶over all the kings west of the River; and ⁷he had peace on all sides around about him.

25 ⁸So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, ⁹from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 ¹⁰Solomon 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 ¹¹swift steeds to the place where * it should be, each according to his charge.

29 Now ¹²God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, ¹³like the sand that is on the seashore *.

30 Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all ¹⁴the sons of the east and ¹⁵all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 For ¹⁶he was wiser than all men, than ¹⁷Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, ¹⁸Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations.

32 ¹⁹He also spoke 3,000 * proverbs, and his songs were 1,005 *.

33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish.

34 Men ²⁰came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

1 Kings 4:20-34 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.

Cross References

• 1. Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12; 1 Kings 3:8
• 2. 2 Chronicles 9:26
• 3. Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4
• 4. 2 Samuel 8:2, 6
• 5. Judges 1:18
• 6. Psalms 72:11
• 7. 1 Chronicles 22:9
• 8. Jeremiah 23:6; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10
• 9. 1 Samuel 3:20
• 10. 1 Kings 10:26; 2 Chronicles 1:14
• 11. Esther 8:10, 14; Micah 1:13
• 12. 1 Kings 3:12
• 13. 1 Kings 4:20
• 14. Genesis 29:1; Judges 6:33
• 15. Isaiah 19:11; Acts 7:22
• 16. 1 Kings 3:12
• 17. 1 Chronicles 15:19; Ps 89: title
• 18. 1 Chronicles 2:6
• 19. Proverbs 1:1; Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 25:1; Ecclesiastes 12:9; Song of Songs 1:1
• 20. 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:23

Footnotes

• [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"
• [n]. Lit "heart"
• [o]. In 1 Chr 2:6, "Dara"
• [p]. Lit "name"
• [q]. Lit "they"