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1 Kings 4

KJV · Chapter 4/22

1So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

2And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,

3Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.

4And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

5And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king’s friend:

6And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.

7And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.

8And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:

9The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth–shemesh, and Elon–beth–hanan:

10The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:

11The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

12Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth–shean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth–shean to Abel–meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:

13The son of Geber, in Ramoth–gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:

14Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:

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

16Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:

17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:

18Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:

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

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

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

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

23Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.

24For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.

25And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer–sheba, all the days of Solomon.

26And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

27And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.

28Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

29And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.

30And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

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

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

33And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.

34And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The chapter lists the chief officials of Solomon's government and the twelve regional governors responsible for supplying the royal court. It describes the prosperity, peace, and international fame of Solomon's wisdom, which surpassed that of all the wise men of the East.

Explanation

This is an administrative summary showing how Solomon organized the kingdom systematically, dividing Israel into administrative districts independent of the traditional tribal borders — a decision that centralizes royal power but also creates regional resentments that would explode after his death (1 Kings 12). The phrase 'each man under his own vine and fig tree' describes an ideal of peace and domestic prosperity that the prophets later revisit as an image of the messianic kingdom. It is the material peak of the united kingdom of Israel's history.

Fun facts

  • According to this chapter, Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs — a literary output of which only a fraction has survived in the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and possibly some Psalms.
  • The mention that Solomon 'spoke of trees... of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish' suggests an encyclopedic interest in nature, almost like an ancient natural science.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Kings 4:1The chapter opens confirming what was already known: Solomon is firmly reigning over all Israel.
  2. 1 Kings 4:2The list of officials shows a government machine already organized: priests, secretaries, a recorder, an army commander, and someone in charge of tribute. This office of tax collection reappears later as the direct target of the revolt against Solomon’s son.
  3. 1 Kings 4:3Among Solomon’s officials are two secretaries, Elihoreph and Ahiah, and Jehoshaphat, in charge of the kingdom’s records.
  4. 1 Kings 4:4Benaiah commands the army, while Zadok and Abiathar are listed as priests within the structure of government.
  5. 1 Kings 4:5Azariah is in charge of the regional governors, and Zabud is a priest and the king’s personal friend — a position of direct trust.
  6. 1 Kings 4:6Ahishar administers the royal household, and Adoniram is in charge of forced labor and tribute.
  7. 1 Kings 4:7Solomon divided the country into twelve supply districts, each responsible for sustaining the court for one month of the year. It was a rotating tax system paid in kind — food, mainly — at a time when minted coinage did not yet exist.
  8. 1 Kings 4:8This is one of Solomon’s twelve governors, responsible for the hill country of Ephraim.
  9. 1 Kings 4:9Another governor oversees Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan — territory that helps sustain the royal court.
  10. 1 Kings 4:10This one administers Aruboth, including Sochoh and all the land of Hepher, within the system of twelve districts that took turns supplying the king.
  11. 1 Kings 4:11This one governs the whole region of Dor and is also the king’s son-in-law: he married Taphath, Solomon’s daughter.
  12. 1 Kings 4:12This one controls a strategic strip — Taanach, Megiddo, and the whole region of Beth-shean near Jezreel, all the way to Abel-meholah and Jokneam.
  13. 1 Kings 4:13This one administers Ramoth-gilead, including the villages of Jair and the region of Argob, with sixty fortified cities with walls and bronze bars.
  14. 1 Kings 4:14This one is in charge of Mahanaim, one more of the twelve territories that guaranteed the court’s monthly supply.
  15. 1 Kings 4:15This one administers Naphtali and is also the king’s son-in-law, married to Basmath, Solomon’s daughter.
  16. 1 Kings 4:16This one is in charge of Asher and Aloth, another piece of the twelve-district system.
  17. 1 Kings 4:17This one administers Issachar, fulfilling his month of supply to the king like the other eleven.
  18. 1 Kings 4:18This one is in charge of Benjamin within the same administrative division.
  19. 1 Kings 4:19This one governs the old land of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, in the region of Gilead, and was the only governor responsible for that whole area.
  20. 1 Kings 4:20Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand of the sea, eating, drinking, and rejoicing — the picture of a prosperous people under Solomon’s reign.
  21. 1 Kings 4:21Solomon’s dominion stretched from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt; those peoples paid tribute and served him all his life.
  22. 1 Kings 4:22Thirty measures of fine flour and sixty of meal a day, plus dozens of oxen and sheep, give a sense of the size of the court that had to be fed daily. A measure held well over fifty gallons, so these numbers work more as a sign of splendor than as a literal menu.
  23. 1 Kings 4:23The court’s daily consumption included ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep, plus deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl — a picture of the reign’s luxury.
  24. 1 Kings 4:24Solomon ruled over the whole region west of the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings of that area, and lived at peace on every side.
  25. 1 Kings 4:25Judah and Israel lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon’s reign — the classic biblical symbol of peace and abundance.
  26. 1 Kings 4:26The number of stalls here is much higher than the one given in the book of Chronicles for that same period, which speaks of four thousand. Scholars think it is an old copying error, since numbers in Hebrew were written with letters that are easy to confuse.
  27. 1 Kings 4:27Each of the twelve governors, in his own month, provided food for Solomon and for everyone who sat at the king’s table, without letting anything be lacking.
  28. 1 Kings 4:28They also supplied barley and straw for the horses and other animals, each one doing his part in the system.
  29. 1 Kings 4:29God gave Solomon wisdom, immense understanding, and a mind as broad as the sand on the seashore.
  30. 1 Kings 4:30Solomon’s wisdom surpassed that of all the wise men of the east and of all Egypt, the standards of knowledge in that age.
  31. 1 Kings 4:31He was wiser than any man, even wiser than famous sages like Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda; his fame spread through all the surrounding nations.
  32. 1 Kings 4:32Solomon is described not only as wise in the law, but as a kind of natural scientist of his time, able to speak about plants, animals, and poetic compositions. This kind of encyclopedic knowledge gave international prestige to an ancient court.
  33. 1 Kings 4:33Solomon spoke about trees, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on the wall, and also about beasts, birds, reptiles, and fish — an encyclopedic knowledge of nature.
  34. 1 Kings 4:34People from every nation, including kings who heard about him, came just to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

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