Top of Page
Page Style
was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his officials:
Azariah son of Zadok—the priest;
3 Elihoreph and Ahijah sons of Shisha—secretaries;
Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud—recorder;
4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada—commander of the army;
Zadok and Abiathar—priests;
5 Azariah son of Nathan—in charge of the administrative officers;
Zabud son of Nathan—a priest and advisor to the king;
6 Ahishar—in charge of the palace;
Adoniram son of Abda—in charge of the forced labour.
7 Solomon had twelve deputies over Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each one had supply food for one month in the year. 8 These are their names:
Ben-hur—in the hill country of Ephraim;
9 Ben-deker—in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;
10 Ben-hesed—in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher were his);
11 Ben-abinadab—in all the region of Dor (Taphath, daughter of Solomon was his wife);
12 Baana son of Ahilud—in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam;
13 Ben-geber—in Ramoth-gilead (the towns of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead were his, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
14 Ahinadab son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
15 Ahimaaz—in Naphtali (he had married Basemath daughter of Solomon);
16 Baana son of Hushai—in Asher and Bealoth;
17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah—in Issachar;
18 Shimei son of Ela—in Benjamin;
19 Geber son of Uri—in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the country of Og king of Bashan. He was the only official in the region.
20 Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea. They ate and they drank, and they were happy. 21 Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.
22 Solomon’s provisions for one day were thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors of meal, 23 ten fattened oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, and a hundred sheep and goats, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and choice fowl. 24 For he had dominion over all the regions west of the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza; and he had peace on all sides around him. 25 During Solomon’s lifetime all Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, each man under his own vine and under his own fig tree.
26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
27 The deputies, each during his own month, provided food for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon’s table. They made sure that there was nothing lacking. 28 They also brought their assigned supply of barley and straw to the required place, each according to his quota.
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and great insight, and depth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 He was wiser than any other man—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame spread to all the surrounding nations. 32 He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five. 33 He described plant life, from the cedar trees of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 Men came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, sent by all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.