1 Kings4chapter 4

1 Kings 4:1

“Solomon, that is, was king over “all Israel” from the first; not like David, who for seven and a half years reigned over Judah only. This feature well introduces the glory of Solomon and the organisation of the court, of which the historian in this chapter intends to give us a general sketch. Solomon constitutes certain “princes” or officers of the first rank, deriving their station from him, and probably holding it during pleasure.”

1 Kings 4:2

“And these were the princes which he had,.... That were in office about him, in the highest posts of honour and trust: Azariah the son of Zadok the priest: or rather his grandson, since Ahimaaz was the son of Zadok, and Azariah the son of Ahimaaz, 1Ch 6:8; though another Zadok may be meant, and his son not a priest but a prince, as the word may be rendered, and was Solomon's prime minister of state, and the rather, since he is mentioned first.”

1 Kings 4:3

“Shisha, or Shavsha 1Ch 18:16, seems also to have been called Sheva 2Sa 20:25, and Seraiah 2Sa 8:17. The “scribes” were probably royal “secretaries” (margin), who drew up the king’s edicts, wrote his letters, and perhaps managed his finances 1Ki 12:10. They were among his most influential councillors. By “recorder” or “remembrancer” (margin), we must understand “court annalist” (marginal reference “a”).”

1 Kings 4:3

“Scribes - That is, secretaries of state. He chose two, whereas David had but one: either, because he observed some inconveniences in trusting all those matters in one hand: or, because he had now much more employment than David had, this being a time of great peace and prosperity, and his empire enlarged.”

1 Kings 4:4

“And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host,.... General of the army in the room of Joab, 1Ki 2:35; and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests; so they were when Solomon came to the throne; but Abiathar was deposed by him after some time, though he might retain the name afterwards, and be employed, as Ben Gersom thinks, in case of necessity, in the room of Zadok, or, however, be employed as a common priest at Jerusalem, upon a reconciliation with Solomon; though Kimchi thinks another Abiathar is meant, which is not so likely.”

1 Kings 4:4

“It is curious to find Abiathar in this list of princes, after what has been said of his disgrace 1Ki 2:27, 1Ki 2:35. Some have supposed that after a while Solomon pardoned him. Perhaps the true explanation is that the historian here enumerates all those who were accounted “princes” in any part of Solomon’s reign.”

1 Kings 4:5

“The son of Nathan - It is uncertain whether the Nathan of this verse is the prophet or the son of David 2Sa 5:14. While on the one hand the position of “king’s friend” is more likely to have been held by a contemporary, which the prophet’s son would have been, than by one so much younger as the son of a younger brother; on the other hand the title “cohen” seems to point to a member of the royal family. (See the next note.)”

1 Kings 4:6

“Ahishar was over the household--steward or chamberlain of the palace. Adoniram--or Adoram (2Sa 20:24; 1Ki 12:18), or Hadoram (2Ch 10:18), was over the tribute--not the collection of money or goods, but the levy of compulsory laborers (compare 1Ki 5:13, 14).”

1 Kings 4:7-19

“The officials elected by Solomon designate the order of the chosen ones whom Christ affirmed in his grace and appointed as rulers of his people. Indeed, twelve prefects were selected to administer the incomes of this king and his house, because just as many apostles …”

1 Kings 4:7

“The requirement of a portion of their produce from subjects, in addition to money payments, is a common practice of Oriental monarchs. It obtained in ancient, and it still obtains in modern, Persia.”

1 Kings 4:8

“And these are their names,.... Or rather the names of their fathers; for of many of them not their own names but their fathers' names are given, as being well known: the son of Hur, in Mount Ephraim; a fruitful country in the tribe of Ephraim, from whence this officer was to furnish the king with provisions for one month in the year.”

1 Kings 4:8

“In this arrangement of the territory into twelve portions, the divisions of the tribes seem to have been adopted as far as could be managed without unfairness. The prefecture of Ben-Hur corresponded nearly to the territory of Ephraim; that of Ben-Dekar to Dan; that of Ben-Hesed to Judah; those of Ben-Abinadab and Baana to Cis-Jordanic Manasseh; that of Ben-Geber to Manasseh beyond Jordan; of Abinadab to Gad; of Ahimaaz to Naphtali; of Baanah to Asher; of Jehoshaphat to Issachar; of Shimei to Benjamin; and of Geber to Reuben.”

1 Kings 4:11

“The son of Abinadab in all the region of Dor,.... The same with Dor and her towns, belonged to the half tribe of Manasseh, on this side Jordan, Jos 17:11; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife; not when he was first put into this office, when, in all probability, Solomon had not a daughter marriageable; but behaving well in it, in process of time he bestowed a daughter of his on him.”

1 Kings 4:11

“Dor - See Jos 11:2 note. It has always been a practice among Oriental potentates to attach to themselves the more important of their officers by giving them for wives princesses of the royal house. Hence, the union here between Ben-Abinadab (probably Solomon’s first cousin, compare 1Sa 16:8) and Taphath. Compare 1Ki 4:15.”

1 Kings 4:12

“Baana the son of Ahilud, to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean,.... All which were places in the tribe of Manasseh, Jos 17:11; which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel; so described, to distinguish it, as is thought, from Zaretan in Jos 3:16; and the country this officer presided over reached also from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam; the two first of these were in the tribe of Manasseh, and the last in the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:11.”

1 Kings 4:13

“The son of Geber in Ramothgilead,.... A city in the tribe of Gad, and was a city of refuge, Jos 20:8; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; of which see Num 32:41; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls, and brasen bars; called by Josephus (s) Ragaba, beyond Jordan; See Gill on Deu 3:4. (s) Antiqu. l. 13. c. 15. sect. 5.”

1 Kings 4:14

“Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim. Another city on the other side Jordan, where both Ishbosheth and David sometimes dwelt, 2Sa 2:8; this and the places adjacent must be very fruitful, since this officer was to furnish the king with provisions for a month once a year from hence,”

1 Kings 4:16

“Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher,.... In the tribe of Asher; a very plentiful tribe, particularly for oil; this officer was perhaps the son of Hushai, the Archite, David's friend, and, it may be, promoted for his sake: and in Aloth; which signifies ascensions, mountains went upon by steps; near to this place was an high mountain, called the ladder of Tyre (t); perhaps that and the parts adjacent may be meant here. (t) Vid. Joseph. de Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 10. sect. 2.”

1 Kings 4:18

“Shimei the son of Elah in Benjamin. So described, to distinguish him from that Shimei that cursed David, who was of the same tribe; See Gill on 2Sa 16:5.”

1 Kings 4:19

The meaning of the last clause is somewhat doubtful. On the whole, our King James Version may well stand as nearly correct. The writer has assigned to Geber a wide stretch of territory; and, anticipating surprise, assures his readers ” (there was but) one officer who (purveyed) in this land.”

1 Kings 4:19

“Country of Gilead - That is, in the remaining part of that land of Gilead, which was mentioned above. The only officer - In all Gilead, excepting the parcels mentioned before, in all the territories of Sihon and Og; which because they were of large extent, and yet all committed to this one man, it is here noted concerning him as his privilege above the rest.”

1 Kings 4:20

“Eating and drinking, and making merry - They were very comfortable, very rich, very merry, and very corrupt. And this full feeding and dissipation led to a total corruption of manners.”

1 Kings 4:21

“Solomon’s empire, like all the great empires of Asia down to the time of the Persians, consisted of a congeries of small kingdoms, all ruled by their own kings 1Ki 4:24, who admitted the suzerainty of the Jewish monarch, and paid him “presents,” i. e., an annual tribute (see 1Ki 10:25). Unto the land of the Philistines - There is no word corresponding to “unto” in the Hebrew.”

1 Kings 4:21

“The river - Euphrates: for so far David, having conquered the Syrians, extended his empire, which Solomon also maintained in that extent. And so God's promise concerning the giving the whole land, as far as Euphrates, to the Israelites, was fulfilled.”

1 Kings 4:22

“Solomon’s provision for one day: - Of fine flour 30 measures, or cors. Of meal 60 ditto. Stall-fed oxen 10 Ditto from the pasture 20 Sheep 100; with harts, roebucks, fallow deer, and fat fowls. The כר cor was the same as the homer, and contained nearly seventy-six gallons, wine measure, according to Bishop Cumberland. Sheep - צאן tson, comprehending both sheep and goats. Harts - מאיל meaiyal, the deer. Roebucks - צבי tsebi, the gazal, antelope, or wild goat. Fallow deer - יחמור yachmur, the buffalo. See the notes on Deu 12:15; Deu 14:”

1 Kings 4:23

“Harts ... - The exact sorts of wild land animals here intended are very uncertain. Perhaps it would be best to translate “wild-goats, gazelles, and wild oxen,” which abounded in the wilder parts of Syria, from where Solomon would be supplied. (See 1Ki 4:24.) (Yahmur, or the “roebuck,” gives its name to a valley in a wooded district, south of Carmel (Conder).) The use of game at the royal banquets of Assyria appears in the sculptures.”

1 Kings 4:24

“For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river,.... Or beyond the river Euphrates, in the sense before given, 1Ki 4:21; which accounts for the plenty of provisions he had, and the revenue with which he supported such a table he kept: from Tiphsah even to Azzah; or Gaza, one of the five principalities of the Philistines.”

1 Kings 4:24

“On this side the river - i. e., the region west of the Euphrates. Tiphsah, or Tiphsach, the place on the Euphrates called Thapsacus. The word means “ford,” or “passage,” being formed from פסח pâsach, “to pass over” (compare “paschal”). It is the modern Suriyeh, forty-five miles below Balls, at the point where the Euphrates changes its course from south to southeast by east. The stream is fordable here, and nowhere else in this part of its course. Solomon’s possession of Thapsacus would have been very favorable to his schemes of land commerce 1Ki 9:”

1 Kings 4:24

“Tiphsah - Either that Tiphsah, 2 Kings xv, 16, which was in the kingdom of Israel within Jordan; or, rather, another place of that name upon Euphrates, even that eminent city which is mentioned by Ptolemy, and Strabo, and Pliny, called Thapsarum.”

1 Kings 4:25

“Under his vine ... - This phrase seems to have been common among the Jews, and even among neighboring nations 2Ki 18:31, to express a time of quiet and security. It is used by the prophets in descriptions of the Messianic kingdom (marginal references).”

1 Kings 4:25

“Those that had vines and fig-trees ate the fruit of them themselves; and so great was the peace of the country that they might, if they pleased, dwell as safely under the shadow of them as within the walls of a city. Or, because it was usual to have vines by the sides of their houses ( Ps. cxxviii. 3 ), they are said to dwell under their vines.”

1 Kings 4:26

“Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses - and twelve thousand horsemen - In 2Ch 9:25, instead of forty thousand stalls, we read four thousand; and even this number might be quite sufficient to hold horses for twelve thousand horsemen; for stalls and stables may be here synonymous. In 1Ki 10:26 it is said he had one thousand four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; and this is the reading in 2Ch 1:”

1 Kings 4:26

“But it is not exactly the same Hebrew word which is here and there, though we translate both stalls; and therefore there may well be allowed some difference in the signification, the one signifying properly stables, of which there were four thousand, the other stalls or partitions for each horse, which were forty thousand.”

1 Kings 4:27-28

“Let great men learn hence good house-keeping, to be generous in spending according to their ability, but prudent in providing. It is the character of the virtuous woman that she bringeth her food from afar ( Prov. xxxi. 14 ), not far-fetched and dear-bought, but the contrary, every thing bought where it is cheapest.”

1 Kings 4:28

“And dromedaries - The word רכש rechesh, which we translate thus, is rendered beasts, or beasts of burden, by the Vulgate; mares by the Syriac and Arabic; chariots by the Septuagint; and race-horses by the Chaldee. The original word seems to signify a very swift kind of horse, and race-horse or post-horse is probably its true meaning. To communicate with so many distant provinces, Solomon had need of many animals of this kind.”

1 Kings 4:28

“Barley . . . and straw--Straw is not used for litter, but barley mixed with chopped straw is the usual fodder of horses. dromedaries--one-humped camels, distinguished for their great fleetness.”

1 Kings 4:29

“Largeness of heart - What we call “great capacity.” The expression which follows is common in reference to numerical multitude 1Ki 4:20, but its use here to express mere amplitude or greatness is unique.”

1 Kings 4:29

“He gives the powers of reason ( Job xxxviii. 36 ), preserves and improves them. The ordinary advances of them are owing to his providence, the sanctification of them to his grace, and this extraordinary pitch at which they arrived in Solomon to a special grant of his favour to him in answer to prayer.”

1 Kings 4:30

“Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country--that is, the Arabians, Chaldeans, and Persians (Ge 25:6). all the wisdom of Egypt--Egypt was renowned as the seat of learning and sciences, and the existing monuments, which so clearly describe the ancient state of society and the arts, show the high culture of the Egyptian people.”

1 Kings 4:30

“If nature excels art, much more does grace. The knowledge which God gives by special favour goes beyond that which man gets by his own labour. Some wise men there were in Solomon's time, who were in great repute, particularly Heman, and others who were Levites, and employed by David in the temple-music, 1 Chron. xv.”

1 Kings 4:31

“Heman-- (1Ch 15:17-19) --the chief of the temple musicians and the king's seers (1Ch 25:5); the other two are not known. the sons of Mahol--either another name for Zerah (1Ch 2:6); or taking it as a common noun, signifying a dance, a chorus, "the sons of Mahol" signify persons eminently skilled in poetry and music.”

1 Kings 4:32

“Of his three thousand proverbs a single book is left, while all the others perished during the captivity. And of his one thousand and five songs we still possess a single one, that is the Song of Songs.”

1 Kings 4:32

“He spake three thousand proverbs - The book of Proverbs, attributed to Solomon, contain only about nine hundred or nine hundred and twenty-three distinct proverbs; and if we grant with some that the first nine chapters are not the work of Solomon, then all that can be attributed to him is only about six hundred and fifty.”

1 Kings 4:32

“Proverbs - That is, short, and deep, and useful sentences, whereof a great part are contained in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Songs - Whereof the chief and most divine are in the Canticles.”

1 Kings 4:33

“Trees ... - A keen appreciation of the beauties of nature, and a habit of minute observation, are apparent in the writings of Solomon that remain to us. The writer here means to say that Solomon composed special works on these subjects. The Lebanon cedars were the most magnificent of all the trees known to the Hebrews, and hence, represent in the Old Testament the grandest of vegetable productions. (Psa 104:16; Son 5:15; Eze 31:3, etc.) For the hyssop, see Exo 12:22 note.”

1 Kings 4:33

“Trees - That is, of all plants, of their nature and qualities: all which discourses are lost, without any impeachment of the perfection of the holy scriptures; which were not written to teach men philosophy or physick, but only to make them wise unto salvation. From the cedar, &c. - That is, from the greatest to the least.”

1 Kings 4:34

“There came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon - We learn from 1 Kings 10, that the queen of Sheba was one of those visitants, and perhaps the most remarkable, as we have the particulars of her visit, but not of the others. It is astonishing that of a person so renowned for wisdom, so little should be left to prove the truth of a fact of which all the civilized nations of the world have heard, and of which scarcely any man has ever doubted.”

1 Kings 4:34

“But, Lastly, Solomon was, herein, a type of Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and hidden for use; for he is made of God to us wisdom.”