1 Kings 4

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 men subject to taskwork.

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: Ben-hur, in the hill-country of Ephraim;9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him pertained Socoh, and all the land of Hepher);11 Ben-abinadab, in all the height 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 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him pertained the towns 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 he was the only officer that was 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.21 And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought tribute, and served Solomon all the days of his life.22 And Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal,23 ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl.24 For he had dominion over all the region on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River: and he had peace on all sides round about him.25 And 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.26 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.27 And those officers provided victuals for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking.28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore.30 And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations round about.32 And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five.33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; he spake also of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fishes.34 And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.

1 KINGS 4

Solomon's Officials

1-6 Here is a list of Solomon's highest officials while he was king of Israel:
Azariah son of Zadok was the priest;
Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha were the secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud kept the government records;
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander;
Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the regional officers;
Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and the king's advisor;
Ahishar was the prime minister;
Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
7 Solomon chose twelve regional officers, who took turns bringing food for him and his household. Each officer provided food from his region for one month of the year.

8 These were the twelve officers:
The son of Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim.

9 The son of Deker was in charge of the towns of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan.

10 The son of Hesed was in charge of the towns of Arubboth and Socoh, and the region of Hepher.

11 The son of Abinadab was in charge of Naphath-Dor and was married to Solomon's daughter Taphath.

12 Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of the towns of Taanach and Megiddo. He was also in charge of the whole region of Beth-Shan near the town of Zarethan, south of Jezreel from Beth-Shan to Abel-Meholah to the other side of Jokmeam.

13 The son of Geber was in charge of the town of Ramoth in Gilead and the villages in Gilead belonging to the family of Jair, a descendant of Manasseh. He was also in charge of the region of Argob in Bashan, which had 60 walled towns with bronze bars on their gates.

14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of the territory of Mahanaim.

15 Ahimaaz was in charge of the territory of Naphtali and was married to Solomon's daughter Basemath.

16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of the territory of Asher and the town of Bealoth.

17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of the territory of Issachar.

18 Shimei son of Ela was in charge of the territory of Benjamin.

19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of Gilead, where King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan had lived.
And one officer was in charge of the territory of Judah.t

The Size of Solomon's Kingdom

20 There were so many people living in Judah and Israel while Solomon was king that they seemed like grains of sand on a beach. Everyone had enough to eat and drink, and they were happy.

21  t Solomon ruled every kingdom between the Euphrates River and the land of the Philistines down to Egypt. These kingdoms paid him taxes as long as he lived.
22 Every day, Solomon needed 5,000 liters of fine flour, 10,000 liters of coarsely-ground flour,

23 10 grain-fed cattle, 20 pasture-fed cattle, 100 sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, and geese.
24 Solomon ruled the whole region west of the Euphrates River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, and he was at peace with all of the countries around him.

25 Everyone living in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, was safe as long as Solomon lived. Each family sat undisturbed beneath its own grape vines and fig trees.

26  t Solomon had 40,000 stalls of chariot horses and 12,000 chariot soldiers.
27 Each of the twelve regional officers brought food to Solomon and his household for one month of the year. They provided everything he needed,

28 as well as barley and straw for the horses.

Solomon's Wisdom