1 And King Solomon is king over all Israel, 2 and these [are] the heads whom he has: Azariah son of Zadok [is] the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahiah sons of Shisha [are] scribes; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud [is] remembrancer; 4 and Benaiah son of Jehoiada [is] over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar [are] priests; 5 and Azariah son of Nathan [is] over the officers; and Zabud son of Nathan [is] minister, friend of the king; 6 and Ahishar [is] over the household, and Adoniram son of Abda [is] over the tribute. 7 And Solomon has twelve officers over all Israel, and they have sustained the king and his household—a month in the year is on each one for sustenance; 8 and these [are] their names: Ben-Hur in the hill-country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-Dekar in Makaz, and Shaalbim, and Beth-Shemesh, and Elon-Beth-Hanan; 10 Ben-Hesed, in Aruboth, has Sochoh and all the land of Hepher; 11 Ben-Abinadab [has] all the elevation of Dor; Taphath daughter of Solomon became his wife; 12 Baana Ben-Ahilud [has] Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-Shean, which [is] by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-Shean to Abel-Meholah, to beyond Jokneam; 13 Ben-Geber, in Ramoth-Gilead, has the small towns of Jair son of Manasseh, which [are] in Gilead; he has a portion of Argob that [is] in Bashan—sixty great cities [with] wall and bronze bar; 14 Ahinadab son of Iddo [has] Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz [is] in Naphtali; he also has taken Basemath daughter of Solomon for a wife; 16 Baanah Ben-Hushai [is] in Asher, and in Aloth; 17 Jehoshaphat Ben-Paruah [is] in Issachar; 18 Shimei Ben-Elah [is] in Benjamin; 19 Geber Ben-Uri [is] in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon king of the Amorite, and of Og king of Bashan: and [he is] the one officer who [is] in the land. 20 Judah and Israel [are] many, as the sand that [is] by the sea for multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing. 21 And Solomon has been ruling over all the kingdoms, from the River [to] the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt: they are bringing a present near, and serving Solomon, all [the] days of his life. 22 And the provision of Solomon for one day is thirty cors of flour, and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fat oxen, and twenty feeding oxen, and one hundred sheep, apart from deer, and roe, and fallow-deer, and fatted beasts of the stalls, 24 for he is ruling over all beyond the river, from Tiphsah and to Gaza, over all the kings beyond the River, and he has peace from all his surrounding servants. 25 And Judah dwells—and Israel—in confidence, each under his vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-Sheba, all the days of Solomon. 26 And Solomon has forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27 And these officers have sustained King Solomon and everyone drawing near to the table of King Solomon, each [in] his month; they let nothing be lacking. 28 And the barley and the straw, for horses and for dromedaries, they bring to the place where they are, each according to his ordinance. 29 And God gives very much wisdom and understanding to Solomon, and breadth of heart, as the sand that [is] on the edge of the sea; 30 and the wisdom of Solomon is greater than the wisdom of any of the sons of the east, and [greater] than all the wisdom of Egypt; 31 and he is wiser than all men, [wiser] than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol, and his name is in all the surrounding nations. 32 And he speaks three thousand allegories, and his songs [are] one thousand and five; 33 and he speaks concerning the trees, from the cedar that [is] in Lebanon, even to the hyssop that is coming out in the wall, and he speaks concerning the livestock, and concerning the bird, and concerning the creeping things, and concerning the fishes, 34 and there come out [those] of all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth who have heard of his wisdom.
1 Kings · Literal Standard Version
1 Kings 4 Literal Standard Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Abda
Named as the father of Adoniram, who was in charge of the forced labor.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:6
Adoniram
Son of Abda, in charge of the forced labor, who oversaw the monthly shifts of 30,000 sent to Lebanon.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:6; 1 Kings 5:14
Ahilud
Named as the father of Jehoshaphat, David's recorder.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 8:16; 2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 4:3
Ahimaaz
One of Solomon's twelve governors, over Naphtali, who married Basemath, a daughter of Solomon.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:15
Ahinadab
Son of Iddo, one of Solomon's twelve governors, over Mahanaim.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:14
Ahishar
Listed among Solomon's chief officials as being in charge of the palace.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:6
Azariah
Son of Nathan (the text does not say which Nathan), in charge of the governors.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:5
Azariah
Son of Zadok, listed first among Solomon's chief officials as the priest.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:2
Baana
Son of Ahilud, one of Solomon's twelve governors, over Taanach, Megiddo and Beth-shean.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:12
Baana
Son of Hushai, one of Solomon's twelve governors, over Asher and Aloth.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:16
Basemath
A daughter of Solomon, wife of the governor Ahimaaz.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:15
Darda
One of the sons of Mahol, a wise man whom Solomon's wisdom surpassed.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:31
Elihoreph
One of the two sons of Shisha listed among Solomon's chief officials as a secretary.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:3
Ethan the Ezrahite
A wise man whom Solomon's wisdom surpassed.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:31; Psalm 89:1
Geber
Son of Uri, one of Solomon's governors, over the land of Gilead including the territories of Sihon and Og.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:19
Heman
One of the sons of Mahol, a wise man whom Solomon's wisdom surpassed.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:31
Iddo
Named as the father of Ahinadab, Solomon's governor at Mahanaim.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:14
Jehoshaphat
Son of Ahilud, listed as the recorder in David's administration.
Cited in the guide: 2 Samuel 8:16; 2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 4:3
Jehoshaphat
Son of Paruah, one of Solomon's twelve governors, over Issachar.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:17
Mahol
Named as the father of the wise men Heman, Calcol and Darda.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:31
Shimei
Son of Ela, one of Solomon's twelve governors, over Benjamin.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:18
Shisha
Named as the father of Elihoreph and Ahijah, Solomon's secretaries.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:3
Sihon
King of the Amorites, whose former territory lay within the district of Solomon's governor in Gilead.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:19
Solomon
David's son who built the temple and became famous for God-given wisdom.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 1-11; 1 Chron. 3:5; Matt. 1:6-7
Taphath
A daughter of Solomon, wife of the governor Ben-abinadab.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:11
Zabud
Son of Nathan (the text does not say which Nathan), called a priest and adviser to the king.
Cited in the guide: 1 Kings 4:5
Cross references (31)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Chronicles 9:30; 1 Kings 12:19–20; 1 Chronicles 12:38; Ecclesiastes 1:12; 1 Kings 11:35–36
- 2 1 Corinthians 12:28; Exodus 18:21; 2 Samuel 20:23–26; 2 Samuel 8:15–18; 1 Chronicles 6:8–10
- 3 2 Samuel 8:16; Isaiah 62:6; 1 Chronicles 18:15; 1 Chronicles 18:6; 2 Samuel 20:24–25
- 4 1 Kings 2:35; 1 Kings 2:26–27
- 5 2 Samuel 15:37; 1 Chronicles 27:33; 2 Samuel 16:16; John 15:14–15; 2 Samuel 12:25
- 6 2 Samuel 20:24; 1 Kings 12:18; 1 Kings 9:15; 1 Kings 5:13–14
- 7 1 Chronicles 27:1–15
- 8 Joshua 24:33; Judges 19:1; Judges 17:1
- 9 Joshua 19:42; 1 Samuel 6:12; Judges 1:35; Joshua 21:16; 1 Samuel 6:20
- 10 Joshua 12:17; Joshua 15:35; Joshua 17:2
- 11 Joshua 11:2; Joshua 17:11; Joshua 12:23; Judges 1:27
- 12 Joshua 17:11; Joshua 3:16; 1 Kings 19:16; Judges 5:19; 1 Kings 7:46
- 13 Deuteronomy 3:4; Numbers 32:41; 1 Kings 22:3; 2 Kings 9:14; Deuteronomy 4:43
- 14 Genesis 32:2; 2 Samuel 2:8; Joshua 13:26; 2 Samuel 17:24; 2 Samuel 17:27
- 15 1 Samuel 18:18; Joshua 19:32–39; 2 Samuel 15:27; 1 Kings 4:11
- 16 Joshua 19:24–31; 2 Samuel 15:32
- 17 Joshua 19:17–23
- 18 1 Kings 1:8; Zechariah 12:13; Joshua 18:20–28
- 19 Deuteronomy 2:26–3:17; Joshua 13:9–12; Numbers 21:21–35
- 20 1 Kings 3:8; Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12; 1 Chronicles 12:39; Genesis 15:5
- 21 Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4; Psalm 68:29; 2 Chronicles 9:26–31; 1 Kings 4:24
- 23 Nehemiah 5:17–18
- 24 1 Chronicles 22:9; Psalm 72:11; Genesis 10:19; 1 Kings 5:4; Isaiah 9:7
- 25 Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10; Jeremiah 33:15–16; Jeremiah 23:5–6; 2 Kings 18:31
- 26 2 Chronicles 1:14; 2 Chronicles 9:25; 2 Samuel 8:4; Psalm 20:7; 1 Kings 10:25–26
- 28 Esther 8:10; Esther 8:14; Micah 1:13
- 29 1 Kings 3:12; James 3:17; James 1:5; 1 Kings 4:20; Ecclesiastes 2:26
- 30 Daniel 5:11–12; Genesis 25:6; Acts 7:22; Daniel 1:20; Job 1:3
- 31 1 Chronicles 15:19; 1 Chronicles 2:6; 1 Kings 3:12; 1 Chronicles 6:33; Psalm 89:1–52
- 33 2 Kings 19:23; Psalm 51:7; Psalm 92:12; Numbers 19:18; Numbers 24:6
- 34 2 Chronicles 9:23; 1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1; Isaiah 2:2; Zechariah 8:23
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
… cannot contain, really dwell with men upon the earth?" And he pleased God, and was the admiration of all; and all kings of the earth sought an interview with him (quærebant faciem ejus) that they might hear the wisdom which God had conferred upon him. The queen of the south, too, came to him from the ends of the earth, …