1 Kings 4: Solomon's officials, his daily food, and his wisdom

In plain English: King Solomon was king over all Israel.

In plain English: These were his chief officials (this Bible: princes): Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest;

In plain English: Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder;

In plain English: Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

In plain English: Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister (or: a priest; see the note) and the king's friend;

The Hebrew word: "Chief minister" is kohen, the usual word for "priest": the same word as "the priest" in verse 2 and "priests" in verse 4. It is explained in the note on 2 Samuel 8:18, where "David's sons were chief ministers".

What changes: Read as "priest", Zabud was a priest and also the king's friend. Read as this Bible has it, he was the king's chief officer. The text does not say more. Hushai is called "David's friend" in 2 Samuel 15:37.

In plain English: Ahishar was over the household (literally: the house); and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.

The Hebrew word: "Forced labor" is mas, the word explained in the note on Joshua 16:10. The dictionary gives it as "a tax in the form of forced labor".

Good to know: 2 Samuel 20:24 names "Adoram" over the forced labor under David, and 12:18 tells of "Adoram, who was over the men subject to forced labor" under King Rehoboam. The text does not say whether Adoram and Adoniram are the same man.

In plain English: Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each one had to provide for one month of the year.

In plain English: These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;

Good to know: Five of the twelve officers are named only as "Ben", that is, "son of" someone: Ben Hur, Ben Deker (verse 9), Ben Hesed (verse 10), Ben Abinadab (verse 11) and Ben Geber (verse 13). The text does not give their own names.

In plain English: Ben Deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Beth Hanan;

In plain English: Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher were his);

In plain English: Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath, Solomon's daughter, as his wife);

In plain English: Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean, which is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam;

In plain English: Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (the towns (or: villages) of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, were his; and the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, was his: sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);

In plain English: Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim;

In plain English: Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife);

In plain English: Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;

In plain English: Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar;

In plain English: Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin;

In plain English: Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. He was the only officer in that land (word for word: and one officer who was in the land).

In plain English: Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They were eating and drinking and glad.

In plain English: Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute (or: gifts) and served Solomon all the days of his life.

Good to know: "The River" is nahar, which the dictionary gives as "a stream", and it names the Nile and the Euphrates among the rivers the word is used for. The verse does not name the river. In Genesis 15:18 Yahweh tells Abram, "I have given this land to your offspring, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates".

In plain English: Solomon's food for one day was thirty cors of fine flour and sixty cors (this Bible: measures) of flour (this Bible: meal),

In plain English: ten fattened cattle, twenty cattle from the pastures and a hundred sheep, besides deer, gazelles, roebucks and fattened birds (this Bible: fowl).

In plain English: For he ruled over all the land across the River (this Bible: on this side of the River; see the note), from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings across the River. And he had peace on every side all around him.

The Hebrew words: "On this side of the River" is word for word "across the River". "Across" is eber, which the dictionary gives as "a region across" and "on the opposite side".

What changes: The words say "across" without saying from which side. This Bible reads it as the land on this side of the River. Either way, the verse names the land it means: from Tiphsah, which the dictionary gives as "a place in Mesopotamia", to Gaza.

In plain English: Judah and Israel lived in safety, each man under his own vine and under his own fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.

Good to know: The prophet Micah uses the same picture: "every man will sit under his vine and under his fig tree. No one will make them afraid" (Micah 4:4).

In plain English: Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.

Good to know: These are the text's own numbers. 2 Chronicles 9:25 has "four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen", and 10:26 gives Solomon "one thousand four hundred chariots and twelve thousand horsemen". The text does not explain the different numbers. "Stalls" is urvah, which the dictionary gives as "a herding-place for an animal"; it is in only 3 verses of the Bible.

In plain English: Those officers provided food for King Solomon and for all who came to King Solomon's table, each in his month. They let nothing be lacking.

In plain English: They also brought barley and straw for the horses and the swift horses (this Bible: steeds) to the place where it was to be (this Bible: where the officers were), each according to his duty.

In plain English: God gave Solomon very great wisdom and understanding, and breadth of mind (literally: breadth of heart) like the sand on the seashore.

In plain English: Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt.

In plain English: He was wiser than anyone: wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame (literally: his name) was in all the nations all around.

Good to know: The text names these men only to say that Solomon was wiser than they were. 1 Chronicles 2:6 names "Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara" among the sons of Zerah, and the dictionary gives "Ezrahite" as "an Ezrachite or descendant of Zerach". The headings of Psalm 88 and Psalm 89 name "Heman, the Ezrahite" and "Ethan, the Ezrahite". The text does not say whether these are the same men.

In plain English: He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five.

Good to know: The text gives the numbers and does not say where the proverbs and songs were written down. The book of Proverbs opens with "The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel" (Proverbs 1:1), and the Song of Songs with "The Song of songs, which is Solomon's" (Song of Songs 1:1).

In plain English: He spoke of trees, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He also spoke of animals, birds, creeping things and fish.

In plain English: People from all nations came to hear Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.