The In-Dept Study of the Bible
Kings 04
1 King Solomon was king over all Israel.
2 These were the princes whom he had:
Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of
Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of
Ahilud, the recorder;
4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was
over the army; Zadok and Abiathar were
priests;
5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the
officers; Zabud the sonof Nathan was chief
minister, the king’s friend;
6 Ahishar was over the household; and
Adoniram the son of Abda was over the
men subject to forced labor.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all
Israel, who provided food for the king and
his household. Each man had to make
provision for a month in the year.
8 These are their names: Ben Hur, in the
hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben Deker, in Makaz, in Shaalbim, Beth
Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
10 Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh and all
the land of Hepher belonged to him);
11 Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor
(he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as
wife);
12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach
and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean which
is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from
Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam;
13 Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (the
towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which
are in Gilead, belonged to him; and the
region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty
great cities with walls and bronze bars,
belonged to him);
14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took
Basemath the daughter of Solomon as
wife);
16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and
Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of
Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the
Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he
was the only officer who was in the land.
20 Judah and Israel were numerous as
the sand which is by the sea in multitude,
eating and drinking and making merry.
21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms
fromtheRiver to the landofthePhilistines, and to the border of Egypt. They brought
tribute and served Solomon all the days of
his life.
22 Solomon’s provision for one day was
thirty cors† of fine flour, sixty measures of
meal,
23 ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of
cattle out ofthe pastures, and one hundred
sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.
24 For he had dominion over all on this
side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza,
over allthe kings onthis side theRiver; and
he had peace on all sides around him.
25 Judah and Israel lived safely, every
man under his vine and under his fig tree,
from DaneventoBeersheba, allthe days of
Solomon.
26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of
horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 Those officers provided food for King
Solomon, and for all who came to King
Solomon’s table, every man in his month.
They let nothing be lacking.
28 They also brought barley and straw
for the horses and swift steeds to the place
where the officers were, each man according to his duty.
29 God gave Solomon abundant wisdom,
understanding, and breadth of mind like
the sand that is on the seashore.
30 Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children
of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.
31 For he was wiser than all men—wiser
than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol,
and Darda,the sons of Mahol; and his fame
was in all the nations all around.
32 He spoke three thousand proverbs,
and his songs numbered one thousand
five.
33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar
that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that
grows out of the wall; he also spoke of
animals, of birds, of creeping things, and
of fish.
34 People of all nations came to hear the
wisdom of Solomon, sent by all kings ofthe
earth who had heard of his wisdom.