1 Kings 4:27
in 1 Kings 4Each month the governors in turn provided food for King Solomon and all who came to his table. They saw to it that nothing was lacking.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And those officers provided victuals for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Kings 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseLet 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.
This site's exposition
forty thousand stalls of horses
on 1 Kings 4:26-28
Forty thousand stalls of horses stands beside four thousand at 2 Chronicles 9:25, a number the bench treats as a copyist's difference between the Hebrew letters for forty and four rather than two separate counts, and the manuscripts divide on which figure is original. The horses are the first clause of the three the law of the king forbade at Deuteronomy 17:16, multiplying horses, and the narrator states the number here without comment, saving the sharper report of horses fetched from Egypt for chapter ten. The same twelve officers who supplied the king's table in verses 22 and 23 also carried barley and straw to every stall, one administration feeding both the court and the stud.
This site's exposition
They saw to it that nothing was lacking.
Matthew Henry reads the monthly turns of the governors as good housekeeping for King Solomon's table, generous in spending and careful in providing. He sets beside it the word of Ecclesiastes that more goods bring more mouths. Each month had its supplier.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And these officers provided victuals for King Solomon,....
When goods increase those are increased that eat them; and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes, unless withal they have the satisfaction of doing good with them? Solomon's Distinguished Reputation. 29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
We will read a few verses first, and at the close of them you will find the text. The last words are the text for this occasion. From the whole passage you will see that the kingdom of Israel under the sway of Solomon was a fair type of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps it most exactly describes His future dominion, in the long-expected Glory of the latter days. The present state of the Church may be compared to the reign of David, splendid with victories, but disturbed with battles. But there are better days to come, days in which the kingdom shall be extended and become more manifest—and then the Lord Jesus Christ shall be even more conspicuously seen as the Solomon of the kingdom, "who shall have dominion from sea to sea." Yet even now, as "we that have believed do enter into rest," so do we also enter into the richest provision which is made in the Covenant of Grace, even at this present time. And I may say of all who have come under the sway of Christ, that we dwell in a region of peace, seated, every man, under his vine and fig tree and none making us afraid. "There is, therefore, now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus," and, "therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "The peace of God which passes all understanding" does keep our heart and mind by Jesus Christ. Israel under Solomon had abundance as well as peace. What says the historian? They were "as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry." It is said that there was such plenty in the land in Solomon's time that gold was of no more value than silver and silver became of little more value than iron! And as for the other metals, they were little accounted of.
We will read a few verses first, and at the close of them you will find the text. The last words are the text for this occasion. From the whole passage you will see that the kingdom of Israel under the sway of Solomon was a fair type of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps it most exactly describes His future dominion, in the long-expected Glory of the latter days. The present state of the Church may be compared to the reign of David, splendid with victories, but disturbed with battles.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִלְכְּלוּ֩ | vekhilkelu | and they supplied | H3557 → | 38 times |
| הַנִּצָּבִ֨ים | hanitzavim | the overseers | H5324 → | 75 times |
| הָאֵ֜לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֗ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| וְאֵ֧ת | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַקָּרֵ֛ב | hakarev | <the> [person] approaching | H7131 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שֻׁלְחַ֥ן | shulchan | [the] table of | H7979 → | 71 times |
| הַמֶּֽלֶךְ־ | hamelekh- | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | each | H376 → | 1663 times |
| חָדְשׁ֑וֹ | chadesho | month his | H2320 → | 284 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְעַדְּר֖וּ | yeaderu | they left lacking | H5737 → | |
| דָּבָֽר׃ | davar | anything | H1697 → | 1440 times |
וְכִלְכְּלוּ֩and they supplied
vekhilkeluH3557 →38 times
הַנִּצָּבִ֨יםthe overseers
hanitzavimH5324 →75 times
הָאֵ֜לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַמֶּ֣לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֗הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
וְאֵ֧תand <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַקָּרֵ֛ב<the> [person] approaching
hakarevH7131 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שֻׁלְחַ֥ן[the] table of
shulchanH7979 →71 times
הַמֶּֽלֶךְ־the king
hamelekh-H4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֖הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
אִ֣ישׁeach
ʾishH376 →1663 times
חָדְשׁ֑וֹmonth his
chadeshoH2320 →284 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְעַדְּר֖וּthey left lacking
yeaderuH5737 →
דָּבָֽר׃anything
davarH1697 →1440 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings

Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1504: “The Swift Camels” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
