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4
1 King Solomon ruled over all of Israel. 2 These were his officials: Azariah, son of Zadok, was the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, sons of Shisha, were the king's secretaries. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, kept the royal records. 4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was the army commander. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. 5 Azariah, son of Nathan, was in charge of the governors. Zabud, son of Nathan, was a priest and the king's counselor. 6 Ahishar was the palace manager. Adoniram, son of Abda, was in charge of those forced to work for the king.
7 Solomon had twelve area governors whose responsibilities covered the whole of Israel, providing food for the king and his household. Each one in turn arranged supplies for one month of the year.
8 Their names were: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh and Elon-beth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher was his);
11 Ben-abinadab, in the whole of Naphath-dor (Taphath, the daughter of Solomon, was his wife);
12 Baana, son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, the whole of Beth-shan near Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shan to Abel-meholah and across to Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (the towns of Jair, son of Manasseh, in Gilead belonged to him, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, with sixty great cities having walls and bronze bars);
14 Ahinadab, son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had married Basemath the daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana, son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth;
17 Jehoshaphat, son of Paruah, in Issachar;
18 Shimei, son of Ela, in Benjamin;
19 Geber son of Uri in the land of Gilead (the former country of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and of Og, king of Bashan. There was also a governor who was over the land of Judah).*The Hebrew text is unclear. The Septuagint reading is followed here, indicating that there was also a governor over Judah. Some however take this to refer to the previous governor mentioned who was the sole governor during this reign.
20 Judah and Israel had become as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They ate, they drank, they were happy. 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, right up to the border of Egypt. They presented tribute to Solomon and served him during his lifetime. 22 The food required every day for Solomon's court was thirty cors of the best flour and sixty cors of meal; 23 ten fattened cattle, twenty range cattle, one hundred sheep, as well as deer, gazelles, roe deer, and fattened poultry. 24 For Solomon ruled over the whole region west of the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza—over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates. And he had peace on all sides around him. He had peace on every border. 25 During Solomon's lifetime, everyone in Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan to Beersheba. Each one had their own vine and fig tree. 26 Solomon had 40,000 stalls for his chariot horses, and 12,000 charioteers. 27 Every month the area governors provided in turn food for King Solomon and all who ate at his table. They made sure that nothing was missing. 28 They also delivered barley and straw where they were needed for the chariot horses and cart horses.
29 God gave to Solomon wisdom, very great discernment, and understanding as extensive as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than that of all the Eastern wise men, greater than all of Egypt's wisdom. 31 He was wiser than anyone, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, sons of Mahol. His reputation spread through the nations around. 32 Solomon composed three thousand proverbs and one thousand and five songs. 33 He was able to discuss knowledge of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall. He taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon's wisdom. They were sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard about his wisdom.

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*4:19 The Hebrew text is unclear. The Septuagint reading is followed here, indicating that there was also a governor over Judah. Some however take this to refer to the previous governor mentioned who was the sole governor during this reign.

© 2018 Dr. Jonathan Gallagher