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¶ So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

And these were the princes which he had: Azariah, the son of Zadok, the priest,

Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes, Jehoshaphat, the son of Ahilud, writer of the chronicles;

Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests;

Azariah, the son of Nathan, was over the officers; and Zabud, the son of Nathan, was the priest and special companion of the king;

and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram, the son of Abda, was over the tribute.

And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who maintained the king and his household. Each one of them made provision for one month in the year.

And these are their names: The son of Hur, in Mount Ephraim;

the son of Dekar, in Makaz and in Shaalbim and in Bethshemesh and in Elon and in Bethhanan;

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, who 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, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam;

13 the son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which were in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and brasen bars;

14 Ahinadab, the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath, the daughter of Solomon, to wife.

16 Baanah, the son of Hushai, 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 land of Gilead, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan; and in addition to these there was an officer over all the land.

20 ¶ Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.

21 And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt, and they brought presents and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour and sixty measures of meal,

23 ten fat oxen and twenty oxen out of the pastures and one hundred sheep beside harts and roebucks and fallowdeer and fatted fowl.

24 For he had dominion over all the region on the other side of the river and from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on the other side of the river, and he had peace on all sides {Heb. with all the slaves} round about him.

25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 And Solomon had forty thousand horses in his stables for his chariots and twelve thousand horsemen.

27 And these officers maintained King Solomon and all that came unto king Solomon’s table, each one in his month; they made sure nothing was lacking.

28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and beasts of burden unto the place where he was, each one according to his charge.

29 ¶ And God gave Solomon exceedingly great wisdom and intelligence and magnanimity 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 and all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

31 For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan, the Ezrahite, and Heman and Chalcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he was named in all nations round about.

32 And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

33 And he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springs out of the wall. He also spoke of animals and of fowl and of serpents and of fishes.

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

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. And these were his chief officials:(A)

Azariah(B) son of Zadok—the priest;

Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;(C)

Jehoshaphat(D) son of Ahilud—recorder;

Benaiah(E) son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;

Zadok(F) and Abiathar—priests;

Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;

Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;

Ahishar—palace administrator;(G)

Adoniram(H) son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.(I)

Solomon had twelve district governors(J) over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. These are their names:

Ben-Hur—in the hill country(K) of Ephraim;

Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim,(L) Beth Shemesh(M) and Elon Bethhanan;

10 Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh(N) and all the land of Hepher(O) were his);

11 Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor(P) (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);

12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan(Q) next to Zarethan(R) below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah(S) across to Jokmeam;(T)

13 Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair(U) son of Manasseh in Gilead(V) were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities(W) with bronze gate bars);

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;(X)

15 Ahimaaz(Y)—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);

16 Baana son of Hushai(Z)—in Asher and in Aloth;

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;

18 Shimei(AA) son of Ela—in Benjamin;

19 Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon(AB) king of the Amorites and the country of Og(AC) king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

Solomon’s Daily Provisions

20 The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand(AD) on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy.(AE) 21 And Solomon ruled(AF) over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River(AG) to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt.(AH) These countries brought tribute(AI) and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.

22 Solomon’s daily provisions(AJ) were thirty cors[a] of the finest flour and sixty cors[b] of meal, 23 ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl.(AK) 24 For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah(AL) to Gaza, and had peace(AM) on all sides. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba,(AN) lived in safety,(AO) everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.(AP)

26 Solomon had four[c] thousand stalls for chariot horses,(AQ) and twelve thousand horses.[d]

27 The district governors,(AR) each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. 28 They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

Solomon’s Wisdom

29 God gave Solomon wisdom(AS) and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand(AT) on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East,(AU) and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.(AV) 31 He was wiser(AW) than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He spoke three thousand proverbs(AX) and his songs(AY) numbered a thousand and five. 33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop(AZ) that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. 34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings(BA) of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.[e]

Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 5 1/2 tons or about 5 metric tons
  2. 1 Kings 4:22 That is, probably about 11 tons or about 10 metric tons
  3. 1 Kings 4:26 Some Septuagint manuscripts (see also 2 Chron. 9:25); Hebrew forty
  4. 1 Kings 4:26 Or charioteers
  5. 1 Kings 4:34 In Hebrew texts 4:21-34 is numbered 5:1-14.