4

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

¹So King Solomon ruled over all Israel. ²And these were his chief officials:
Azariah son of Zadok—the priest;
³Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha—secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud—recorder;
⁴Benaiah son of Jehoiada—commander in chief;
Zadok and Abiathar—priests;
⁵Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the district governors;
Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and adviser to the king;
⁶Ahishar—palace administrator;
Adoniram son of Abda—in charge of forced labor.
⁷Solomon had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied provisions for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year. ⁸These are their names:
Ben-Hur—in the hill country of Ephraim;
⁹Ben-Deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan;
¹⁰Ben-Hesed—in Arubboth (Sokoh and all the land of Hepher were his);
¹¹Ben-Abinadab—in Naphoth Dor (he was married to Taphath daughter of Solomon);
¹²Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah across to Jokmeam;
¹³Ben-Geber—in Ramoth Gilead (the settlements of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan and its sixty large walled cities with bronze gate bars);
¹⁴Ahinadab son of Iddo—in Mahanaim;
¹⁵Ahimaaz—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);
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 Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district.

Solomon’s Daily Provisions

²⁰The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. ²¹And Solomon 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 tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life.
²²Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors⚓ of the finest flour and sixty cors⚓ of meal, ²³ten head of stall-fed cattle, twenty of pasture-fed cattle and a hundred sheep and goats, as well as deer, gazelles, roebucks and choice fowl. ²⁴For he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and had peace on all sides. ²⁵During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, lived in safety, everyone under their own vine and under their own fig tree.
²⁶Solomon had four⚓ thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.⚓
²⁷The district governors, each in his month, supplied provisions for King Solomon and all who came to the king’s table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking. ²⁸They also brought to the proper place their quotas of barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses.

Solomon’s Wisdom

²⁹God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. ³⁰Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. ³²He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. ³³He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. ³⁴From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.⚓

4

Solomon’s Administration

¹So King Solomon was king over all Israel. ²And these were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; ³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; ⚓Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; ⁴⚓Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, over the army; Zadok and ⚓Abiathar, the priests; ⁵Azariah the son of Nathan, over ⚓the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan, ⚓a priest and⚓the king’s friend; ⁶Ahishar, over the household; and ⚓Adoniram the son of Abda, over the labor force.
⁷And Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each one made provision for one month of the year. ⁸These are their names: Ben-Hur, in the mountains of Ephraim; ⁹Ben-Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; ¹⁰Ben-Hesed, in Arubboth; to him belonged Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; ¹¹Ben-Abinadab, in all the regions of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as wife; ¹²Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zaretan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as the other side of Jokneam; ¹³Ben-Geber, in Ramoth Gilead; to him belonged⚓the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, in Gilead; to him also belonged⚓the region of Argob in Bashan—sixty large cities with walls and bronze gate-bars; ¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; ¹⁵⚓Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife; ¹⁶Baanah the son of ⚓Hushai, in Asher and Aloth; ¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; ¹⁸⚓Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; ¹⁹Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in⚓the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only governor who was in the land.

Prosperity and Wisdom of Solomon’s Reign

²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous ⚓as the sand by the sea in multitude, ⚓eating and drinking and rejoicing. ²¹So ⚓Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from ⚓the River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. ⚓They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
²²⚓Now Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour, sixty kors of meal, ²³ten fatted oxen, twenty oxen from the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fatted fowl.
²⁴For he had dominion over all the region on this side of the River from Tiphsah even to Gaza, namely over ⚓all the kings on this side of the River; and ⚓he had peace on every side all around him. ²⁵And Judah and Israel ⚓dwelt safely, ⚓each man under his vine and his fig tree, ⚓from Dan as far as Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.
²⁶⚓Solomon had forty thousand stalls of ⚓horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷And ⚓these governors, each man in his month, provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon’s table. There was no lack in their supply. ²⁸They also brought barley and straw to the proper place, for the horses and steeds, each man according to his charge.
²⁹And ⚓God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore. ³⁰Thus Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the men ⚓of the East and all ⚓the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was ⚓wiser than all men—⚓than Ethan the Ezrahite, ⚓and Heman, Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. ³²⚓He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his ⚓songs were one thousand and five. ³³Also he spoke of trees, from the cedar tree of Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. ³⁴And men of all nations, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom, ⚓came to hear the wisdom of Solomon.