1 Kings 4
4
Solomon’s Officers
1King Solomon ruled over all Israel. 2These are the names of his leading officers:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
3Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, recorded what happened in the courts;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud recorded the history of the people;
4Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army;
Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
5Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the district governors;
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;
6Ahishar was responsible for everything in the palace;
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the labor force.
7Solomon placed twelve governors over the districts of Israel, who gathered food from their districts for the king and his family. Each governor was responsible for bringing food to the king one month of each year. 8These are the names of the twelve governors:
Ben-Hur was governor of the mountain country of Ephraim.
9Ben-Deker was governor of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Bethhanan.
10Ben-Hesed was governor of Arubboth, Socoh, and all the land of Hepher.
11Ben-Abinadab was governor of Naphoth Dor. (He was married to Taphath, Solomon’s daughter.)
12Baana son of Ahilud was governor of Taanach, Megiddo, and all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan. This was below Jezreel from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across from Jokmeam.
13Ben-Geber was governor of Ramoth in Gilead. (He was governor of all the towns of Jair in Gilead. Jair was the son of Manasseh. Ben-Geber was also over the district of Argob in Bashan, which had sixty large, walled cities with bronze bars on their gates.)
14Ahinadab son of Iddo was governor of Mahanaim.
15Ahimaaz was governor of Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, Solomon’s daughter.)
16Baana son of Hushai was governor of Asher and Aloth.
17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was governor of Issachar.
18Shimei son of Ela was governor of Benjamin.
19Geber son of Uri was governor of Gilead. Gilead had been the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. But Geber was the only governor over this district.
Solomon’s Kingdom
20There were as many people in Judah and Israel as grains of sand on the seashore. The people ate, drank, and were happy. 21Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought Solomon the payments he demanded, and they were under his control all his life.
22Solomon needed much food each day to feed himself and all the people who ate at his table: one hundred ninety-five bushels of fine flour, three hundred ninety bushels of grain, 23ten cows that were fed on good grain, twenty cows that were raised in the fields, one hundred sheep, three kinds of deer, and fattened birds.
24Solomon controlled all the countries west of the Euphrates River—the land from Tiphsah to Gaza. And he had peace on all sides of his kingdom. 25During Solomon’s life Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, also lived in peace; all of his people were able to sit under their own fig trees and grapevines.
26Solomon had four thousand stalls for his chariot horses and twelve thousand horses. 27Each month one of the district governors gave King Solomon all the food he needed—enough for every person who ate at the king’s table. The governors made sure he had everything he needed. 28They also brought enough barley and straw for Solomon’s chariot and work horses; each person brought this grain to the right place.
Solomon’s Wisdom
29God gave Solomon great wisdom so he could understand many things. His wisdom was as hard to measure as the grains of sand on the seashore. 30His wisdom was greater than any wisdom of the East, or any wisdom in Egypt. 31He was wiser than anyone on earth. He was even wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, as well as Heman, Calcol, and Darda—the three sons of Mahol. King Solomon became famous in all the surrounding countries. 32During his life he spoke three thousand wise sayings and also wrote one thousand five songs. 33He taught about many kinds of plants—everything from the great cedar trees of Lebanon to the weeds that grow out of the walls. He also taught about animals, birds, crawling things, and fish. 34People from all nations came to listen to King Solomon’s wisdom. The kings of all nations sent them to him, because they had heard of Solomon’s wisdom.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.