1 Kings 4

1 King Solomon was king over all Israel.

2 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 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, the king’s friend;

6 Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.

7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for a month in the year.

8 These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

9 Ben Deker, in Makaz, in Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;

10 Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);

11 Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as 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 (the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, belonged to him; and the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars, belonged to him);

14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as 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 who was in the land.

20 Judah and Israel were numerous as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.

21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour, sixty measures of meal,

23 ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl.

24 For he had dominion over all on this side of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the River; and he had peace on all sides around him.

25 Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

27 Those officers provided food for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, every man in his month. They let nothing be lacking.

28 They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where the officers were, each man according to his duty.

29 God gave Solomon abundant wisdom, understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand that is on the seashore.

30 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—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations all around.

32 He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand five.

33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.

34 People of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, sent by all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Around 1 Kings 4

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

1 Kings 4 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Under Solomon, Israel is quiet and full. The chapter opens with a roll of his officials: priests, scribes, a recorder, the commander of the army, and a man over the forced labor. Nothing is lacking at the king’s table.

The numbers are large. Judah and Israel are as many as the sand by the sea, eating and drinking and making merry. Solomon rules from the River to the border of Egypt, and the people live safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba. He has forty thousand stalls for chariot horses.

But the chapter is really about wisdom. God gave Solomon breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, wiser than all the wise men of the east and of Egypt. He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand five. He spoke of trees from the cedar to the hyssop, and of animals, birds, creeping things and fish.

Background

This chapter shows Solomon’s kingdom at its height, a picture of peace and plenty that follows the promises made to Abraham and David. The list of officials and districts shows how the kingdom was run, and the monthly provision hints at the weight on the people, which becomes a complaint in chapter 12. The proverbs and songs link Solomon with the wisdom books, and Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon are traditionally connected with his name.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 30 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes