4:1ffSolomon was well organized, with 11 high officials who had specific responsibilities, 12 district governors, and a governor in charge of the district governors. Each person had a specific responsibility or territory to manage. This organization was essential to maintain the government's effectiveness: It was a wise move by a wise man. It is good stewardship to be well organized. Good organization helps people work together in harmony and ensures that the desired goal will be reached.
Life Application Study Bible1 KingsChapter 4
1 Kings 4
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 518, 519, 520
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41 Kings 4
Solomon’s Officials and Governors
1King Solomon now ruled over all Israel,
2and these were his high officials:Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
3Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were court secretaries.Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the royal historian.
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, a priest, was a trusted adviser to the king.
6Ahishar was manager of the palace property.Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the labor force.
7Solomon also had twelve district governors who were over all Israel. They were responsible for providing food for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year. 8These are the names of the twelve governors: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim. 8 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan. 10Ben-hesed, in Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher. 11Ben-abinadab, in all of Naphoth-dor.* (He was married to Taphath, one of Solomon’s daughters.) 12Baana son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shan* near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam. 13Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead, including the Towns of Jair (named for Jair of the tribe of Manasseh*) in Gilead, and in the Argob region of Bashan, including sixty large fortified towns with bronze bars on their gates. 144 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim. 15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali. (He was married to Basemath, another of Solomon's daughters.) 16Baana son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth.
17Jehoshaphat son of Paruah, in Issachar.
18Shimei son of Ela, in Benjamin.
19Geber son of Uri, in the land of Gilead,* including the territories of King Sihon of theAmorites and King Og of Bashan.There was also one governor over the land of Judah.*
Solomon’s Prosperity and Wisdom
2020The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink. Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River* in the north to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt in the south. The conquered peoples of those lands sent tribute money to Solomon and continued to serve him throughout his lifetime. 22The daily food requirements for Solomon’s palace were 150 bushels of choice flour and 300 bushels of meal*; 22also 10 oxen from the fattening pens, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep or goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and choice poultry.* 24Solomon’s dominion extended over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza. And there was peace on all his borders. 25During the lifetime of Solomon, all of Judah and Israel lived in peace and safety. And from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, each family had its own home and garden.* 26Solomon had 4,000* stalls for his chariot horses, and he had 12,000 horses.* 27The district governors faithfully provided food for King Solomon and his court; each made sure nothing was lacking during the month assigned to him. 28They also brought the necessary barley and straw for the royal horses in the stables. 29God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and knowledge as vast as the sands of the seashore. 30in fact, his wisdom exceeded that of all the wise men of the East and the wise men of Egypt. 31He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite and the sons of Mahol—Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations. 3*He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs. 33He could speak with authority about all kinds of plants, from the great cedar of Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows from cracks in a wall. He could also speak about animals, birds, small creatures, and fish. 34And kings from every nation sent their ambassadors to listen to the wisdom of Solomon. 3. Solomon builds the Temple
Textual footnotes
- shan; also in 4:12b.
- 4:11 Hebrew Naphath-dor, a variant spelling of Naphoth-dor.
- 4:12 Hebrew Beth-shean, a variant spelling of Beth-
- 4:13 Hebrew Jair son of Manasseh; compare 1 Chr 2:22.
- 4:19a Greek version reads of Gad; compare 4:13.
- 4:19b As in some Greek manuscripts; Hebrew lacks of Judah.
- 4:21a Verses 4:21-34 are numbered 5:1-14 in Hebrew text.
- 4:21b Hebrew
- 4:22 Hebrew 30 cors [5.5 kiloliters] of choice flour and 60 cors [11 kiloliters] of meal.
- 4:23 Or and fattened geese.
- 4:25 Hebrew each family lived under its own grapevine and under its own fig tree.
- 4:26a As in some Greek manuscripts (see also 2 Chr 9:25); Hebrew reads 40,000.
- 4:26b Or 12,000 chatioteers.
Life Application Notes 4 notes
4:20-25Throughout most of his reign, Solomon applied his wisdom well because he sought God. The fruits of this wisdom were peace, security, and prosperity for the nation. Solomon’s era is often looked upon as the ideal of what any nation can become when united in its trust in and obedience to God.
4:32The book of Proverbs records many of these 3,000 wise proverbs. Other biblical writings of Solomon include Psalms 72 and 127, and the books of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs. Solomon's wisdom was known throughout the world.
4:33We might expect King David to send a great war horse to bring his son Solomon to the ceremony: instead, Solomon rode David's mule. In David’s time, mules were prized animals, ridden by the wealthy and powerful. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, he came in not on a horse, but on a donkey (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:7).
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Personality profile · page 519
Profile: Solomon
Wisdom is only effective when it is put into action. Early in his life, Solomon had the sense to recognize his need for wisdom. But by the time Solomon asked for wisdom to rule his kingdom, he had already started a habit that would make his wisdom ineffective for his own life— he sealed a pact with Egypt by marrying Pharaoh's daughter. She was the first of hundreds of wives married for political reasons. In doing this, Solomon went against not only his father’s last words but also against God’s direct commands. His action reminds us how easy it is to know what is right and yet not do it. It is clear that God’s gift of wisdom to Solomon did not mean that he couldn't make mistakes. He had been given great possibilities as the king of God’s chosen people, but with them came great responsibilities; unfortunately, he tended to pursue the former and neglect the latter. While becoming famous as the builder of the Temple and the palace, he became infamous as a leader who excessively taxed and overworked his people. Visitors from distant lands came to admire this wise king, while his own people were gradually alienated from him. Little is mentioned in the Bible about the last decade of Solomon’s reign. Ecclesiastes probably records his last reflections on life. In that book we find a man proving through bitter experience that finding meaning in life apart from God is a vain pursuit. Security and contentment are found only in a personal relationship with God. The contentment we find in the opportunities and successes of this life is temporary. The more we expect our successes to be permanent, the more quickly they are gone. Be sure to balance your pursuit of life’s possibilities with reliable fulfillment of your responsibilities.
Strengths and accomplishments
• Third king of Israel, David’s chosen heir
• The wisest man who ever lived
• Author of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs, as well as many of the proverbs and a couple of the psalms © Built God’s Temple in Jerusalem
• Diptomat, trader, collector, patron of the arts
• Sealed many foreign agreements by marrying pagan women
• Allowed his wives to affect his loyalty to God
• Excessively taxed his people and drafted them into labor and military forces
Weaknesses and mistakes
Effective leadership can be nullified by an ineffective personal life
• Solomon failed to obey God, but did not learn the lesson of repentance until late in life
• Knowing what actions are required of us means little without the will to do those actions
Lessons from his life
Vital statistics
• Where: Jerusalem © Occupation: King of Israel
• Relatives: Father: David. Mother: Bathsheba. Brothers: Absalom, Adonijah. Sister: Tamar. Son: Rehoboam
“Wasn't this exactly what led King Solomon of Israel into sin?’ I demanded. ‘There was no king from any nation who could compare to him, and God loved him and made him king over all Israel. But even he was fed into sin by his foreign wives’” (Nehemiah 13:26).
Key verse
Solomon’s story is told in 2 Samuel 12:24—1 Kings 11:43. He is also mentioned in 1 Chronicles 28—29; 2 Chronicles 1—10; Nehemiah 13:26; Psalm 72; and Matthew 6:29; 12:42.
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