The First Book of Kings


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The First Book of Kings
Chapter Four
The Royal Administrators of Solomon
The Redivision of Tribal Israel by Solomon
The Inclusion or Exclusion of Judah in the Redivision?
The Extent of Solomon's Kingdom
Provisions for Solomon's Court
Running the Kingdom
The Wisdom of Solomon and his Communication with the Creation



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1-Kings 4
The 1-Kings 4
Sources used for the Commentary on this chapter:
Yehudah Kiel ("Safer Melacim", Daat Mikra).
 
The Royal Administrators of Solomon
[1-Kings 4:1] SO KING SOLOMON WAS KING OVER ALL ISRAEL.                    
 
[1-Kings 4:2] AND THESE WERE THE PRINCES WHICH HE HAD; AZARIAH THE SON OF ZADOK THE PRIEST,                    
ZADOK had served as High Priest under David (1-Kings 1:8). AZARIAH may have been one of his sons. Alternately Azariah has been identified with a descendants of Zadok (cf. 1-Chronicles 6:8-10 or in the Hebrew Original 6:38. Why is there a discrepancy? Does the KJ in this case follow the Greek Septuagent?).  It is a principle in Scripture that the term "son of" does not always mean a direct son of but rather "descended from" more than one generation ago.
 
[1-Kings 4:3] ELIHOREPH AND AHIAH, THE SONS OF SHISHA, SCRIBES; JEHOSHAPHAT THE SON OF AHILUD, THE RECORDER.                    
SCRIBES in this case means   Correspondents with near-Ministerial powers.
THE RECORDER:  The equivalent of "Chief Secretary" in our terms.
 
[1-Kings 4:4] AND BENAIAH THE SON OF JEHOIADA WAS OVER THE HOST: AND ZADOK AND  ABIATHAR WERE THE PRIESTS:      
Benaiah in the time of David had been over the CHERETHITES, AND THE PELETHITES [1-Kings 1:38] who were the Royal Bodyguard and possibly of foreign origin.
 
[1-Kings 4:5] AND AZARIAH THE SON OF NATHAN WAS OVER THE OFFICERS: AND ZABUD THE  SON OF NATHAN WAS PRINCIPAL OFFICER, AND THE KING'S FRIEND:                    
 
[1-Kings 4:6] AND AHISHAR WAS OVER THE HOUSEHOLD: AND ADONIRAM THE SON OF ABDA  WAS OVER THE TRIBUTE.                    
 
The Redivision of Tribal Israel by Solomon
[1-Kings 4:7] AND SOLOMON HAD TWELVE OFFICERS OVER ALL ISRAEL, WHICH PROVIDED VICTUALS FOR THE KING AND HIS HOUSEHOLD: EACH MAN HIS MONTH IN A YEAR MADE  PROVISION. 
These twelve officers parallel the twelve tribes of Israel but not exactly.  Some Tribes overlap each other in these divisions while others are divided. It may be that in the course of time the relative populations of the different tribes that had always been uneven in numbers had become accentuated. Since these divisions were for the purpose of taxation and administration it makes sense that a certain departure from strict Tribal Boundaries was required in order to make the distribution more equitable.                  
 
[1-Kings 4:8] AND THESE ARE THEIR NAMES: THE SON OF HUR, IN MOUNT EPHRAIM:
Most of the original area of Ephraim.                    
 
[1-Kings 4:9] THE SON OF DEKAR, IN MAKAZ, AND IN SHAALBIM, AND BETHSHEMESH, AND ELONBETHHANAN: 
This mainly entailed the original area of Dan that Dan had mostly left and moved northwards leaving it to Joseph (mainly Ephraim) to take over (Judges 1:35).                   
 
[1-Kings 4:10] THE SON OF HESED, IN ARUBOTH; TO HIM PERTAINED SOCHOH, AND ALL THE LAND OF HEPHER:
Portions of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Dan on the coast.                   
 
[1-Kings 4:11] THE SON OF ABINADAB, IN ALL THE REGION OF DOR; WHICH HAD TAPHATH THE DAUGHTER OF SOLOMON TO WIFE: 
This was the coastal section of Manasseh. Dor was a very important port.  People of Menasseh were later referred to as "Dorians" and confused with a Grecian people of the same name. The Dorians of Menasseh eventually moved to Tartessos of Spain and from there to Ireland and Britain.  We have suggest (in "Lost Israelite Identity") that a memory of the daughter of Solomon, "Taphath", gave rise to the Irish tradition concerning Tea Tephi.  This area may also have included elements from Zebulon and Issachar.               
 
[1-Kings 4:12] BAANA THE SON OF AHILUD; TO HIM PERTAINED TAANACH AND MEGIDDO, AND ALL BETHSHEAN, WHICH IS BY ZARTANAH BENEATH JEZREEL, FROM BETHSHEAN TO  ABELMEHOLAH, EVEN UNTO THE PLACE THAT IS BEYOND JOKNEAM
This region included sections of Manasseh, Issachar, and the North Galilee.                   
 
[1-Kings 4:13] THE SON OF GEBER, IN RAMOTHGILEAD; TO HIM PERTAINED THE TOWNS OF JAIR  THE SON OF MANASSEH, WHICH ARE IN GILEAD; TO HIM ALSO PERTAINED THE REGION OF ARGOB,  WHICH IS IN BASHAN, THREESCORE GREAT CITIES WITH WALLS AND BRASEN BARS:
Mainly Manasseh east of the Jordan. Geber was a very important name in Irish tradition. The Gabraige were one of the peoples of Northern Ireland extending into Scotland.
 THE SON OF GEBER in the past we suggested that he was the son of GEBER THE SON OF URI [1-Kings 4:19] mentioned below. This is still a possibility though it is not necessary so. "Ben-Gever" in Hebrew can mean THE SON OF GEBER, or the "Son of a Hero", or  "A Heroic Man".              
 
[1-Kings 4:14] AHINADAB THE SON OF IDDO HAD MAHANAIM:
Gad, some of Manasseh, and possibly alsopart of Reuben.                    
 
[1-Kings 4:15] AHIMAAZ WAS IN NAPHTALI; HE ALSO TOOK BASMATH THE DAUGHTER OF  SOLOMON TO WIFE:                    
 
[1-Kings 4:16] BAANAH THE SON OF HUSHAI WAS IN ASHER AND IN ALOTH:
The territory of Asher extended up through Lebanon and along the coast of Syria.                   
 
[1-Kings 4:17] JEHOSHAPHAT THE SON OF PARUAH, IN ISSACHAR:                    
 
[1-Kings 4:18] SHIMEI THE SON OF ELAH, IN BENJAMIN:                    
 
[1-Kings 4:19] GEBER THE SON OF URI WAS IN THE COUNTRY OF GILEAD, IN THE COUNTRY OF  SIHON KING OF THE AMORITES, AND OF OG KING OF BASHAN; AND HE WAS THE ONLY OFFICER  WHICH WAS IN THE LAND. 
Most of Reuben.  Note the recurrence of the name "Geber"  (cf. 1-Kings 4:13 above) in both cases associated with areas east of the Jordan.

The Inclusion or Exclusion of Judah in the Redivision?
AND HE WAS THE ONLY OFFICER WHICH WAS IN THE LAND [1-Kings 4:19]. This is read as referring to Geber to son of Uri at the beginning of the verse.
Sometimes however in Biblical Hebrew words are doubled over. 
The first word of the next verse is JUDAH[1-Kings 4:20].  In the original text of the Torah according to Nachmanides there was no punctuation and no breaks between words. It was all written in one straight line.
In stead of the phrase AND HE WAS THE ONLY OFFICER  WHICH WAS IN THE LAND being attached to verse [1-Kings 4:19] it should be read (as it can be rendered in Hebrew),
AND ONE OFFICER  WHICH WAS IN THE LAND of JUDAH. The word Judah is doubled over and is used here as well as heading the next verse JUDAH AND ISRAEL WERE MANY?[1-Kings 4:20].
That is to say, that instead of writing,
[1-Kings 4:19] AND ONE OFFICER  WHICH WAS IN THE LAND of JUDAH. JUDAH AND ISRAEL WERE MANY [1-Kings 4:20] with the word JUDAH being written twice one beside the other. It was instead written,
[1-Kings 4:19] AND ONE OFFICER  WHICH WAS IN THE LAND of JUDAH AND ISRAEL WERE MANY [1-Kings 4:20] with the word JUDAH being both the end of the previous verse and the beginning of the next one.
This phenomenon according to some Commentators happens quite often in Scripture. Iben Ezra frequently mentions it and uses it to explain difficult passages.
Remember that all the divisions we have of Scripture, which letters form which words, sentences, etc, etc, are all ultimately based on the Oral Tradition.
Every now and again "Purists" (who often do not know Hebrew or know it only partially) come along and say we have to get back to the written text and throw out all the oral traditions. The Problem however is that without the Oral Tradition we would not even know what the Written text said. It would all be nothing more than a jumble of incoherent letters.
 
[1-Kings 4:20] JUDAH AND ISRAEL WERE MANY, AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEA IN MULTITUDE, EATING AND DRINKING, AND MAKING MERRY.
The Twelve Tribes of Israel were all included in the above divisions.
According to the above interpretation (based on that of Yehudah Kiel) Judah was also included and had an appointee over them of their own.
There are some modern (Jewish and non-Jewish) Commentators who are not aware of this interpretation or reject it. They claim that Solomon hset Governors who were also de facto tax collectors over all the other Tribes but Judah he left alone apparently ruling it himself.  This claimed mark of favoritism, they say, was one of the reasons the other Tribes later separated themselves from Judah and set up their own kingdom.   Anything is possible but in order to accept something like this we would need more evidence and a more explicit mention by Scripture which incidentally does not hesitate to reveal the shortcomings of any of its "heroes".           

The Extent of Solomon's Kingdom

[1-Kings 4:21][5:1] AND SOLOMON REIGNED OVER ALL KINGDOMS FROM THE RIVER UNTO THE LAND OF THE PHILISTINES, AND UNTO THE BORDER OF EGYPT: THEY BROUGHT PRESENTS, AND SERVED  SOLOMON ALL THE DAYS OF HIS LIFE.
[In modern versions of the Hebrew Bible this begins chapter five but in the KJ it continues chapter four]
See the Maps below of the borders of Greater Israel in Biblical Times for an idea as to the extent of the Kingdom of Solomon.  His actual sphere of influence extended well beyond these regions.
 

Greater Israel According to Brit-Am and other authorities
Greater Israel According to More Conventional Sources


Provisions for Solomon's Court

[1-Kings 4:22] AND SOLOMON'S PROVISION FOR ONE DAY WAS THIRTY MEASURES OF FINE FLOUR, AND THREESCORE MEASURES OF MEAL,                    
 
[1-Kings 4:23] TEN FAT OXEN, AND TWENTY OXEN OUT OF THE PASTURES, AND AN HUNDRED  SHEEP, BESIDE HARTS, AND ROEBUCKS, AND FALLOWDEER, AND FATTED FOWL.                    
 
Running the Kingdom

[1-Kings 4:24] FOR HE HAD DOMINION OVER ALL THE REGION ON THIS SIDE THE RIVER, FROM TIPHSAH EVEN TO AZZAH, OVER ALL THE KINGS ON THIS SIDE THE RIVER: AND HE HAD PEACE ON ALL SIDES ROUND ABOUT HIM.                    
THE RIVER: This is the Euphrates River.
 
[1-Kings 4:25] AND JUDAH AND ISRAEL DWELT SAFELY, EVERY MAN UNDER HIS VINE AND UNDER  HIS FIG TREE, FROM DAN EVEN TO BEERSHEBA, ALL THE DAYS OF SOLOMON.                    
DAN and Beersheba were the names of Provinces as well as being townships within those Provinces.
 
[1-Kings 4:26] AND SOLOMON HAD FORTY THOUSAND STALLS OF HORSES FOR HIS CHARIOTS, AND  TWELVE THOUSAND HORSEMEN. 
Here is says that Solomon had 40.000 stables whereas in 2-Chronicles it says he had only 4,000.
AND SOLOMON HAD FOUR THOUSAND STALLS FOR HORSES AND CHARIOTS, AND TWELVE THOUSAND HORSEMEN; WHOM HE BESTOWED IN THE CHARIOT CITIES, AND WITH THE KING AT JERUSALEM [2-Chronicles 9:25].
Different explanations have been given for this discrepancy. One says (quoted in Daat Mikra) that he had 4,000 in Jerusalem and many more scattered throughout his kingdom. Another explanation says that the different verses were referring to different periods in his reign.
  HORSEMEN. Hebrew "parashim" which does mean horsemen or "cavalry" in Modern Hebrew. Daat Mikra  claims (based on a comparison with Arabic) that the word may also mean just "horses".   
 
Cf. Josephus
The Antiquities of the Jews
Book VIII
CHAPTER 1.s.4
  4. The king had also other rulers, who were over the land of Syria and of the Philistines, which reached from the river Euphrates to Egypt, and these collected his tributes of the nations. Now these contributed to the king's table, and to his supper every day (3) thirty cori of fine flour, and sixty of meal; as also ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and a hundred fat lambs; all these were besides what were taken by hunting harts and buffaloes, and birds and fishes, which were brought to the king by foreigners day by day. Solomon had also so great a number of chariots, that the stalls of his horses for those chariots were forty thousand; and besides these he had twelve thousand horsemen, the one half of which waited upon the king in Jerusalem, and the rest were dispersed abroad, and dwelt in the royal villages; but the same officer who provided for the king's expenses supplied also the fodder for the horses, and still carried it to the place where the king abode at that time.

[1-Kings 4:27] AND THOSE OFFICERS PROVIDED VICTUAL FOR KING SOLOMON, AND FOR ALL THAT CAME UNTO KING SOLOMON'S TABLE, EVERY MAN IN HIS MONTH: THEY LACKED NOTHING.                    
THOSE OFFICERS i.e. the Governors of the 12 different administrative districts listed above.
 
[1-Kings 4:28] BARLEY ALSO AND STRAW FOR THE HORSES AND DROMEDARIES BROUGHT THEY  UNTO THE PLACE WHERE THE OFFICERS WERE, EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS CHARGE.                    
DROMEDARIES. A dromedary is a one-humped camel as distinct from the Bactrian camel of Central Asia which has two humps.  The Hebrew word here is "haRechesh" which usually means "acquirement, property, purchase". Daat Mikra says it means here "swift horses".
Metsudat Zion says it means a type of beast that runs swiftly and refers to Esther 8:10 where again the KJ translates it as "dromedaries".  Radak (Kimchi) quotes an opinion that it means Mules. A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse.
In Ancient Times there were other horse-like creatures in existence that have since become extinct.
Remains of these beings are sometimes found in archaeological remains and are referred to as "equids".
See:
"Brit-Am Now"-314
#3. Excavations at Tartessos
http://britam.org/now/now314.html
This article discusses finds from Tartessus in Spain which in the Bible is referred to as "Tarshish"
and as we shall see was also connected with King Solomon.
Amongst the finds were those of some kind of "equid".
"Surprisingly, we have also found skeletons of what at first appeared to be horses or donkeys.
Later analysis showed that these were the bones of a now-extinct equid not known anywhere else in the world one smaller than a horse but taller than
a donkey or a pony."
Remains of  thirty of these creatures were found in the described excavation.
Elsewhere we have suggested that the Biblical word "padar" translated as "mule" or "ass"
also refers to a type of equid.
 
The Wisdom of Solomon and his Communication with the Creation

[1-Kings 4:29] AND GOD GAVE SOLOMON WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING EXCEEDING MUCH,  AND LARGENESS OF HEART, EVEN AS THE SAND THAT IS ON THE SEA SHORE.                    
 
[1-Kings 4:30] AND SOLOMON'S WISDOM EXCELLED THE WISDOM OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE  EAST COUNTRY, AND ALL THE WISDOM OF EGYPT.                    
 
[1-Kings 4:31] FOR HE WAS WISER THAN ALL MEN; THAN ETHAN THE EZRAHITE, AND HEMAN,  AND CHALCOL, AND DARDA, THE SONS OF MAHOL: AND HIS FAME WAS IN ALL NATIONS ROUND ABOUT.  
The above names are also found given as the sons of Zerrah son of Judah.
AND THE SONS OF ZERAH; ZIMRI, AND ETHAN, AND HEMAN, AND CALCOL, AND DARA: FIVE OF THEM IN ALL  [1-Chronicles 2:6].  The Sages said that these sons of Zerah were indeed referred to here and that they were very wise and Prophesied amongst the Children of Israel while they were still in Egypt. 
THE SONS OF MAHOL.  In Hebrew this expression "Beni Mahol" could be translated to mean (as indicated by Daat Mikra) "Setters to Rhyme" i.e. they set their wisdom to rhyming stanzas to be chanted in popular assemblies or by workers in the fields.
       
[1-Kings 4:32] AND HE SPAKE THREE THOUSAND PROVERBS: AND HIS SONGS WERE A THOUSAND AND FIVE.                    
 
[1-Kings 4:33] AND HE SPAKE OF TREES, FROM THE CEDAR TREE THAT IS IN LEBANON EVEN  UNTO THE HYSSOP THAT SPRINGETH OUT OF THE WALL: HE SPAKE ALSO OF BEASTS, AND OF FOWL, AND OF CREEPING THINGS, AND OF FISHES. 
Solomon acquired great knowledge of botany and biology. We see from this that the search for knowledge amongst the Ancient Hebrews was highly respected.. They who fear God and believe in the Bible should be well informed also in secular matters.                 
HE SPAKE ALSO OF. Hebrew "al" which can mean "to". The Sages interpreted this to mean not that he spoke of them but that he spoke "to them", i.e. he could communicate with them. This is not so far-fetched as it sounds. People who live in the wilds, etc, sometimes develop a certain ability to interrelate with animals.
 
[1-Kings 4:34] AND THERE CAME OF ALL PEOPLE TO HEAR THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON, FROM ALL   KINGS OF THE EARTH, WHICH HAD HEARD OF HIS WISDOM. 
Knowledge is power. The wisdom of Solomon sanctified the Almighty in the eyes of others. There were periods in Ancient Times when a respect for the God of Israel and the Laws of Israel spread to other nations.                 
 


 



 
1-Kings ch.3		 harp 1-Kings ch.5