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1 Kings Chapter 4 (JPS)

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1 Kings 4: Solomon's Kingdom at Peace
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1 And king Solomon was king over all Israel.

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

5 and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister and the king's friend;

6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the levy.

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

8 And these are their names: The son of Hur, in the hill-country of Ephraim;

9 the son of Deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;

10 the son of Hesed, in Arubboth; to him pertained Socoh, and all the land of Hepher;

11 the son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to 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 the son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; even to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars;

14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon to 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 one officer that was over all the officers in the land.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are Solomon's chief officials?
The chapter lists his priests, scribes, recorder, army commander Benaiah, and twelve officers who each provided a month's food supply for the king's household (v2-19).
How is Solomon's daily provision described?
One day's provisions included thirty measures of fine flour, sixty of meal, ten fat oxen, twenty pasture oxen, a hundred sheep, plus deer and fattened fowl (v22-23).
How is Solomon's wisdom described here?
He's said to have spoken three thousand proverbs and a thousand and five songs, to have taught about trees, beasts, birds, and fish, and to have drawn visitors from all the kings of the earth who'd heard of the wisdom God gave him at Gibeon, as told in 1 Kings 3:12 (v29-34).

Today's Verse

The proud have forged a lie against me: With my whole heart will I keep thy precepts.

Psalms 119:69 | ASV

Verse Of The Day

Judah and Israel dwell safely, every man under his own vine and fig tree, while Solomon's three thousand proverbs and 1,005 songs draw hearers from every nation; his next project, the temple, begins in 1 Kings 5.