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1 Kings 4:1

in 1 Kings 4

So King Solomon ruled over Israel,

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And king Solomon was king over all Israel.

KJV

So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

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This verse in 1 Kings 4

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
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.

This site's exposition

king over all Israel

on 1 Kings 4:1-6

The roster opens with the priesthood before the sword: Azariah the son of Zadok holds the office 1 Kings 2:35 set in Zadok's line when Abiathar was put out of it, yet verse 4 still names Zadok and Abiathar together as the priests. The bench reads the tension two ways, some taking the chapter as a summary spanning the whole reign so that Abiathar's name belongs to its earlier years, others reading it as a title left to a man never formally stripped of the name though barred from the function. Zabud the son of Nathan carries a title of his own, the king's friend, an office this list names nowhere else.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): So king Solomon was king, that is, he was confirmed and established king over all Israel, and not, as his successors, only over two tribes. He was a king, that is, he did the work and duty of a king, with the wisdom God had given him.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

So King Solomon was king over all Israel. As David his father was not at first, only over Judah, and as Solomon's successors were not, after the division of the kingdom under his son Rehoboam; though this seems to have a particular respect to what is related in the preceding chapter concerning the wisdom of Solomon, for which he was so famous, that he reigned by the consent of all, and in the hearts of all the people of Israel.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

So King Solomon was king over all Israel--This chapter contains a general description of the state and glory of the Hebrew kingdom during the more flourishing or later years of his reign.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

King over all of Yisroel. When they observed his wisdom they all rejoiced in his kingship. 1 And no one opposed him.—Radak
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on I Kings 4:1:1, via Sefaria, The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

7 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַֽיְהִי֙and he was

    vayhiH1961 →3559 times

  • הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king

    hamelekhH4428 →2525 times

  • שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon

    shelomohH8010 →291 times

  • מֶ֖לֶךְking

    melekhH4428 →2525 times

  • עַל־over

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ סIsrael

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Chronicles 12:38All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites were of one mind to make David king.2 works1 Kings 11:35–36But I will take ten tribes of the kingdom from the hand of his son and give them to you.2 works1 Kings 12:19–20So to this day Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David.2 works1 Kings 11:13Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”2 works2 Samuel 5:5In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.2 worksEcclesiastes 1:12I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Chronicles 9:30Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.2 works2 Chronicles 10:1Then Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone there to make him king.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Kings 11:13

    Yet I will not tear the whole kingdom away from him. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, which I…

    it leads to

    • 1 Kings 12:20

      When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they summoned him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.

    • Deuteronomy 12:11

      then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all…

    • 1 Kings 11:32

      But one tribe will remain for the sake of My servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.

    • Luke 1:32–33

      He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,

  • Through

    2 Samuel 5:5

    In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 2:11

      And the length of time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

    • 1 Chronicles 3:4

      These six sons were born to David in Hebron, where he reigned seven years and six months. And David reigned in Jerusalem thirty-three years,

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 12:38

    All these men of war, arrayed for battle, came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. And all the rest of the Israelites were of one mind to make David…

    it leads to

    • Genesis 49:8–10

      Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the necks of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down to you.

    • 1 Kings 8:61

      So let your heart be fully devoted to the LORD our God, as it is this day, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments.”

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Kings: the study guide →Read 1 Kings 4 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Kings 4 →