1Thus King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and Abiathar, the priests; 5Azariah the son of Nathan, over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest and the king's friend; 6Ahishar, over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force. 7And Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. 8These are their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; 9Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 12Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; 13Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged the region of Argob in Bashan; sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; 14Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; 16Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; 17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; 19Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only deputy who was in the land. 20Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21And Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, 23ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl. 24For he was ruling over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on every side all around him. 25And Judah and Israel dwelt securely, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. 26Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27And these deputies, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon's table. They left nothing lacking. 28They also brought barley and straw to the assigned places, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge. 29And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and breadth of heart like the sand on the seashore. 30Thus Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the sons of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were one thousand and five. 33He also spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 SOLOMON'S PRINCES. (
1Kgs 4:1-6)
So King Solomon was king over all Israel--This chapter contains a general description of the state and glory of the Hebrew kingdom during the more flourishing or later years of his reign.
2 these were the princes--or chief officers, as is evident from two of them marrying Solomon's daughters.
Azariah the son of Zadok the priest--rather, "the prince," as the Hebrew word frequently signifies (
Gen 41:45;
Exod 2:16;
2Sam 8:18); so that from the precedency given to his person in the list, he seems to have been prime minister, the highest in office next the king.
3 scribes--that is, secretaries of state. Under David, there had been only one [
2Sam 8:17;
2Sam 20:25]. The employment of three functionaries in this department indicates either improved regulations by the division of labor, or a great increase of business, occasioned by the growing prosperity of the kingdom, or a more extensive correspondence with foreign countries.
recorder--that is, historiographer, or annalist--an office of great importance in Oriental courts, and the duties of which consisted in chronicling the occurrences of every day.
4 Benaiah . . . was over the host--formerly captain of the guard. He had succeeded Joab as commander of the forces.
Zadok and Abiathar were the priests--Only the first discharged the sacred functions; the latter had been banished to his country seat and retained nothing more than the name of high priest.
5 over the officers--that is, the provincial governors enumerated in
1Kgs 4:17-19.
principal officer, and the king's friend--perhaps president of the privy council, and Solomon's confidential friend or favorite. This high functionary had probably been reared along with Solomon. That he should heap those honors on the sons of Nathan was most natural, considering the close intimacy of the father with the late king, and the deep obligations under which Solomon personally lay to the prophet.
6 Ahishar was over the household--steward or chamberlain of the palace.
Adoniram--or Adoram (
2Sam 20:24;
1Kgs 12:18), or Hadoram (
2Chr 10:18),
was over the tribute--not the collection of money or goods, but the levy of compulsory laborers (compare
1Kgs 5:13-14).
7 HIS TWELVE OFFICERS. (
1Kgs 4:7-21)
Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel--The royal revenues were raised according to the ancient, and still, in many parts, existing usage of the East, not in money payments, but in the produce of the soil. There would be always a considerable difficulty in the collection and transmission of these tithes (
1Sam 8:15). Therefore, to facilitate the work, Solomon appointed twelve officers, who had each the charge of a tribe or particular district of country, from which, in monthly rotation, the supplies for the maintenance of the king's household were drawn, having first been deposited in "the store cities" which were erected for their reception (
1Kgs 9:19;
2Chr 8:4,
2Chr 8:6).
8 The son of Hur--or, as the Margin has it, Benhur, Bendekar. In the rural parts of Syria, and among the Arabs, it is still common to designate persons not by their own names, but as the sons of their fathers.
21 Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river--All the petty kingdoms between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean were tributary to him. Similar is the statement in
1Kgs 4:24.
22 Solomon's provision for one day--not for the king's table only, but for all connected with the court, including, besides the royal establishment, those of his royal consorts, his principal officers, his bodyguards, his foreign visitors, &c. The quantity of fine floor used is estimated at two hundred forty bushels; that of meal or common flour at four hundred eighty. The number of cattle required for consumption, besides poultry and several kinds of game (which were abundant on the mountains) did not exceed in proportion what is needed in other courts of the East.
24 from Tiphsah--that is, Thapsacus, a large and flourishing town on the west bank of the Euphrates, the name of which was derived from a celebrated ford near it, the lowest on that river.
even to Azzah--that is, Gaza, on the southwestern extremity, not far from the Mediterranean.
25 every man under his vine and . . . fig tree--This is a common and beautiful metaphor for peace and security (
Mic 4:4;
Zech 3:10), founded on the practice, still common in modern Syria, of training these fruit trees up the walls and stairs of houses, so as to make a shady arbor, beneath which the people sit and relax.
26 forty thousand stalls--for the royal mews (see on
2Chr 9:25).
28 Barley . . . and straw--Straw is not used for litter, but barley mixed with chopped straw is the usual fodder of horses.
dromedaries--one-humped camels, distinguished for their great fleetness.
29 HIS WISDOM. (
1Kgs 4:29-34)
God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart--that is, high powers of mind, great capacity for receieving, as well as aptitude for communicating knowledge.
30 Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country--that is, the Arabians, Chaldeans, and Persians (
Gen 25:6).
all the wisdom of Egypt--Egypt was renowned as the seat of learning and sciences, and the existing monuments, which so clearly describe the ancient state of society and the arts, show the high culture of the Egyptian people.
31 wiser than all men--that is, all his contemporaries, either at home or abroad.
than Ethan--or Jeduthun, of the family of Merari (
1Chr 6:44).
Heman-- (
1Chr 15:17-19) --the chief of the temple musicians and the king's seers (
1Chr 25:5); the other two are not known.
the sons of Mahol--either another name for Zerah (
1Chr 2:6); or taking it as a common noun, signifying a dance, a chorus, "the sons of Mahol" signify persons eminently skilled in poetry and music.
32 he spake three thousand proverbs--embodying his moral sentiments and sage observations on human life and character.
songs . . . a thousand and five-- Psalm 72, 127, 132, and the Song of Songs are his.
33 he spake of trees, from the cedar . . . to the hyssop--all plants, from the greatest to the least. The Spirit of God has seen fit to preserve comparatively few memorials of the fruits of his gigantic mind. The greater part of those here ascribed to him have long since fallen a prey to the ravages of time, or perished in the Babylonish captivity, probably because they were not inspired.
