1 Kings 4:3
in 1 Kings 4Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder;
KJV
Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.
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This verse in 1 Kings 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
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”).
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 Awakening3 voices
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.
Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes,.... Their father Shisha, the same with Sheva, was scribe only in David's time; and he being dead very probably, both his sons were continued in the office as secretaries of state, Solomon having more business for such an office, see 2Sa 20:25; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; who was in the same office in the times of David, and now held it under Solomon, 2Sa 8:16.
Solomon, though a wise man, would not affect to be wiser than his father in this matter. When sons come to inherit their father's wealth, honour, and power, it is a piece of respect to their memory, cæteris paribus--where it can properly be done, to employ those whom they employed, and trust those whom they trusted.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Elihoreph and Ahiah - scribes - Secretaries to the king. Jehoshaphat - recorder - Historiographer to the king, who chronicled the affairs of the kingdom. He was in this office under David see 2Sa 20:24.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֱלִיחֹ֧רֶף | ʾelichoref | Elihoreph | H456 → | |
| וַאֲחִיָּ֛ה | vaachiyah | and Ahijah | H281 → | 24 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] sons of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שִׁישָׁ֖א | shisha' | Shisha | H7894 → | |
| סֹפְרִ֑ים | soferim | [were] scribes | H5608 → | 159 times |
| יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥ט | yehoshafat | Jehoshaphat | H3092 → | 84 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| אֲחִיל֖וּד | ʾachilud | Ahilud | H286 → | |
| הַמַּזְכִּֽיר׃ | hamazkir | [was] the recorder | H2142 → |
אֱלִיחֹ֧רֶףElihoreph
ʾelichorefH456 →
וַאֲחִיָּ֛הand Ahijah
vaachiyahH281 →24 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] sons of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
שִׁישָׁ֖אShisha
shisha'H7894 →
סֹפְרִ֑ים[were] scribes
soferimH5608 →159 times
יְהוֹשָׁפָ֥טJehoshaphat
yehoshafatH3092 →84 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
אֲחִיל֖וּדAhilud
ʾachiludH286 →
הַמַּזְכִּֽיר׃[was] the recorder
hamazkirH2142 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Isaiah 62:6On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen; they will never be silent day or night. You who call on the LORD shall take no rest for yourselves,
it leads to
- Isaiah 52:8
Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, together they shout for joy. For every eye will see when the LORD returns to Zion.
- Ezekiel 3:17–21
“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Pray without ceasing.
- Psalms 134:1–2
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD who serve by night in the house of the LORD!
- Jeremiah 6:17
I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.’ But they answered, ‘We will not listen!’
- Isaiah 52:8
Through
1 Chronicles 18:15Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 11:6
Now David had said, “Whoever is the first to strike down a Jebusite will become chief commander.” And Joab son of Zeruiah went up first, and he became the chief.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Samuel 8:16
Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
- 1 Chronicles 11:6
Through
2 Samuel 8:16Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 19:13
And say to Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God punish me, and ever so severely, if from this time you are not the commander of my army in place of Joab!’”
- 2 Samuel 19:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.