Solomon’s Royal Court and Administrators
4:1 King Solomon ruled over all Israel.
Delegation of authority is a sign of wisdom. This chapter reflects the wisdom that God gave Solomon in establishing his administrative leadership of Israel.
4:2 These were his officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest.
Azariah was the grandson of Zadok. The Hebrew word for “son” is בֵּן (bain), meaning son, grandson, or descendant. Zadok was the former co-priest of David. The family line of Zadok will one day become the future priests of the Millennial Kingdom.
4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, wrote down what happened. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was in charge of the records.
Elihoreph, Ahijah, and Jehoshaphat were the secretaries who prepared and kept official records affecting trade, commerce, and military alliances.
4:4 Benaiah son of Jehoiada was commander of the army.
Zadok and Abiathar were priests.
General Benaiah replaced the dangerous General Joab as the Commander-in-chief. Zadok became the High Priest. Abiathar was a co-priest with Zadok during David’s administration, but he lost his position because of his involvement in the Adonijah rebellion. However, he still retained the royal title of priest. He was the last of the line of Eli to wear the priestly garb.
4:5 Azariah son of Nathan was supervisor of the district governors. Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king.
Azariah was in charge of the 12 district officers named in verses 8–19. Nathan may have been the prophet of David’s reign. If so, then Solomon was honoring his children. Zabud worked as co-priest with Zadok, just as Abiathar had worked with Zadok during David’s reign.
4:6 Ahishar was supervisor of the palace. Adoniram son of Abda was supervisor of the work crews.
Ahishar supervised the palace. Adoniram supervised the non-Israelites who were on the forced-work crews. The work crews built the temple, the palace, the roads, and the many other building projects of Solomon. Solomon was one of the wisest architects who has ever lived.
4:7 Solomon had twelve district governors appointed throughout Israel who acquired supplies for the king and his palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year.
Solomon divided Israel into twelve districts, most likely divided by tribal territory. He appointed a governor in each district. The district governors were responsible for providing supplies for the king’s table for one month of the year.
4:8 These were their names: Ben-Hur was in charge of the hill country of Ephraim. 4:9 Ben-Deker was in charge of Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan. 4:10 Ben-Hesed was in charge of Arubboth; he controlled Socoh and all the territory of Hepher. 4:11 Ben-Abinadab was in charge of Naphath Dor. (He was married to Solomon’s daughter Taphath.) 4:12 Baana son of Ahilud was in charge of Taanach and Megiddo, as well as all of Beth Shan next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth Shan to Abel Meholah and on past Jokmeam. 4:13 Ben-Geber was in charge of Ramoth Gilead; he controlled the tent villages of Jair son of Manasseh in Gilead, as well as the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty large walled cities with bronze bars locking their gates. 4:14 Ahinadab son of Iddo was in charge of Mahanaim. 4:15 Ahimaaz was in charge of Naphtali. (He married Solomon’s daughter Basemath.) 4:16 Baana son of Hushai was in charge of Asher and Aloth. 4:17 Jehoshaphat son of Paruah was in charge of Issachar. 4:18 Shimei son of Ela was in charge of Benjamin. 4:19 Geber son of Uri was in charge of the land of Gilead (the territory which had once belonged to King Sihon of the Amorites and to King Og of Bashan). He was sole governor of the area.
Each governor was responsible for supplying provisions for the royal household, the thousand women of his harem, and the thousands of horses for his stable. Two of Solomon’s son-in-laws were district governors. Solomon exempted the tribe of Judah from these taxes.
Solomon’s Wealth and Fame
4:20 The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy.
The population of Judah was growing extremely large, but there was no famine. This was Israel’s golden age. Everyone prospered and had plenty to eat and drink. This time of Israel's history was a small sample of what the Millennial Kingdom will look like, except it will be supernaturally global.
4:21 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime.
This verse does not teach that the Abrahamic Covenant was fulfilled in Solomon’s day, as many Amillennialists and Postmillennialists falsely claim. Many of the tribute kingdoms retained their identities during Solomon’s reign. Israel’s own geographic limits were “from Dan to Beersheba” (1 Kings 4:25).
4:22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed thirty cors of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, 4:23 ten calves fattened in the stall, twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds.
The nation of Israel had to prosper greatly just to be able to feed Solomon’s royal house.
4:24 His royal court was so large because he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors.
Solomon was so strong militarily, that no nation would dare attack him. David was the warrior king, but Solomon was the prince of peace. Solomon could only keep Israel in peace, because of the earlier battles that his father had won.
4:25 All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon’s lifetime.
Since everyone had a vine and fig tree, then Solomon ran a governmental program where there was no poverty or peasant class. Everyone prospered materially. The wealthy were unable to steal and monopolize all of the land, resources, and wealth under Solomon’s administration.
4:26 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses.
Most Hebrew translations record 40,000 stalls, but this was most likely a copyist error. Many of Solomon’s stalls have been dug up by archaeologists. The stall at Megiddo held over 450 horses. Multiply this number by 4000 and one can see the extent that Solomon multiplied horses. It was against the Mosaic Law for a king to multiply wives and horses. God wanted His kings trusting in Jehovah and not in their political alliances or their military.
4:27 The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace. Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking.
The governors had to supply for about 4,000–5,000 people who were cared for at the king’s court.
4:28 Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horse.
Barley and straw for all of these horses was also supplied by by the district governors.
4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore.
God gave Solomon wisdom and discernment in political matters, but not in spiritual matters.
4:30 Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt.
The wise men of the east were those from Babylon who would eventually visit the Lord Jesus Christ when he became a little baby. Egypt was also know for her wise sages. Solomon was wiser than any of these men.
4:31 He was wiser than any man, including Ethan the Ezrahite or Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. He was famous in all the neighboring nations.
These men may be the ones mentioned in I Chronicles 2:6. Ethan was the author of Psalm 89. Heman was his brother and the author of Psalm 88.
All of the neighboring nations knew of Solomon’s wisdom, including the Phoenicians who lived next door to Israel in Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were seaport cities on the Mediterranean Sea. The Phoenicians traveled all over the known world, taking information about Solomon to all nations. There is a strong possibility that the ancient Greek scholars from Athens received much of their information from Solomon via the Phoenicians.
4:32 He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs.
Only a few hundred of Solomon’s proverbs are recorded in the Book of Proverbs. Song of Songs was the only song which made it into the Bible. These proverbs and songs were inspired by the Holy Spirit. The other proverbs and songs have been lost. Only a fragment of Solomon’s writings exist today.
4:33 He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant, from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing animals, birds, insects, and fish.
Solomon was an expert in botany and biology. He was also a zoologist (animals), an ornithologist (birds), an entomologist (insects), and an ichthyologist (fishes). Solomon was the founder of all sciences. He knew as much as any Ph.D. today in about 22 different fields of science.
4:34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s display of wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.
Kings from all over the world came to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Jehovah was bringing nations from all over the world to learn about the one true God. Evangelism through Solomon was one of the many ways that Jehovah witnessed to the pagan nations at this time.
It is important to note that while Solomon possessed great wisdom, his human sin nature would not always help him to apply this wisdom to his own life. Having intelligence or political wisdom does not guarantee that one will always use this gift for godly purposes. If Solomon lived today, he would be known as a Leonardo da Vinci of encyclopedia knowledge.