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1 KINGS 4

PARAGRAPH DIVISIONS OF MODERN TRANSLATIONS

READING CYCLE THREE (see "Bible Interpretation Seminar")

FOLLOWING THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR'S INTENT AT THE PARAGRAPH LEVEL

This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

Read the chapter in one sitting. Identify the subjects. Compare your subject divisions with the five translations above. Paragraphing is not inspired, but it is the key to following the original author's intent, which is the heart of interpretation. Every paragraph has one and only one subject.

1. First paragraph
2. Second paragraph
3. Etc.

WORD AND PHRASE STUDY

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 4:1-6
  ¹Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. ²These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest; ³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the recorder; ⁴and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ⁵and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king's friend; ⁶and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.

4:1 Notice how in verse 1 it says "all Israel," but in vv. 20,25 "Judah" and "Israel" are listed separately. This possibly means that from the very beginning of his reign all the covenant people supported him (i.e., unlike his father).

4:2 "the son of Zadok" He is a grandson, not a son. Azariah is called "the priest," but in v. 4 both Abiathar (who was exiled to Anathoth) and Zadon are mentioned as priests. This is a historical flashback.

These persons (BDB 708) could be

1. muster officer
2. secretary
3. scribe (see SPECIAL TOPIC: SCRIBES)

How this office is related to "recorder" (BDB 269, KB 269, Hiphil PARTICIPLE) is uncertain. The basic meaning of the root is "remember," "to announce," or "reports," therefore, possibly a royal herald (Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, p. 132).

4:5 The word "priest" (BDB 463) usually refers to those who serve the altar. Here, it may refer to a herald who did some priestly functions (the Rotherham's Emphasized Bible, p. 355, based on the Hebrew Lexicon of Gesenius). The only other place this word refers to a non-priest is 2 Sam. 8:18; 1 Chr. 18:17.

▣ "was the king's friend" This is another office at court (cf. 2 Sam. 15:37). For a good brief discussion of the possible ways to understand this office, see Roland deVaux, Ancient Israel, pp. 122-123.

4:6 "the men subject to forced labor" This program of forced labor caused many tensions in Israel (cf. 1 Sam. 8:12-17). Solomon's aggressive building programs required many workers, so each tribe had to provide so many for a certain period.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 4:7-19
  ⁷Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided for the king and his household; each man had to provide for a month in the year. ⁸These are their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim; ⁹Ben-deker in Makaz and Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh and Elonbeth-hanan; ¹⁰Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh was his and all the land of Hepher); ¹¹Ben-abinadab, in all the height of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); ¹²Baana 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 the other side of Jokmeam; ¹³Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); ¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; ¹⁵Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); ¹⁶Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; ¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; ¹⁸Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; ¹⁹Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

4:7 This shows Solomon's administrative wisdom. Each of these divisions had to provide all the king's food for one month (cf. vv. 27-28). Even food for his army and military animals.

It is interesting to note that these twelve administrative districts do not conform to tribal divisions (i.e., Joshua 12-19). The motive is uncertain.

1. to weaken tribal divisions
2. to equally divide the heavy responsibility

4:11 "(. . .the daughter of Solomon was his wife)" These twelve division leaders were powerful and influential men. This same note appears in v. 15.

This highlights the fact that these lists in this chapter were from different periods of Solomon's reign. This phrase must have been after Solomon's daughters became of marriageable age.

The MT has "in the Land." The LXX adds "of Judah." There is no administrator for Judah listed. Modern scholars speculate that "Land" is used in a specialized sense of the central province (i.e., Assyrian usage).

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 4:20
  ²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.

4:20 "Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore" This was one of the promises to Abraham. See full note at 1 Kgs. 3:8.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 4:21
  ²¹Now Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines and to the border of Egypt; they brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life.

4:21 "the River" This refers to the head waters of the Euphrates in Syria.

▣ "the border of Egypt" This refers to "the brook of Egypt," which was a dry wadi called "Wadi el-arish."

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 4:22-28
  ²²Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of meal, ²³ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. ²⁴For he had dominion over everything west of the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings west of the River; and he had peace on all sides around about him. ²⁵So Judah and Israel lived in safety, every man under his vine and his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ²⁶Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen. ²⁷Those deputies provided for King Solomon and all who came to King Solomon's table, each in his month; they left nothing lacking. ²⁸They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where it should be, each according to his charge.

This (BDB 499) can refer to a dry or liquid measure of about 10 bushels (NASB margin note). NET footnote says, "6 bushels," p. 559.

SPECIAL TOPIC: ANE WEIGHTS AND VOLUMES

There has been much speculation as to what type of grain-fed bird (BDB 141, KB 154, found only here).

1. geese
2. capon
3. hen
4. cuckoo (Arabic root)
5. swan
6. guinea-hen

Most modern scholars choose #4 because of the Hebrew root and the ancient note by Pliny that it was the sweetest of meat (Nat. His. 10.11.27).

4:24 "peace on all sides" Solomon had peace, not conflict. His nation was secured and blessed by YHWH.

4:25 "every man under his vine and his fig tree" This is an idiom of peace, abundance, and security (cf. Isa. 36:16; Micah 4:4; Zech. 3:10).

▣ "from Dan even to Beersheba" This was a common designation of the whole land by using the northern city of Dan and the southern city of Beersheba (cf. Jdgs. 20:1; 1 Sam. 3:20; 2 Sam. 3:10; 17:11; 24:2,15; 1 Chr. 21:21).

One of the prohibitions directed to the future king of God's people was "do not multiply horses" (Deut. 17:16) because Israel should trust in YHWH not its military might.

The number of horse stalls differs

1. in 2 Chr. 9:25 ‒ 4,000 stalls
2. in 2 Chr. 1:14 ‒ 1,400 two-horse chariots
3. in the MT ‒ 40,000 stalls

▣ "chariots" See SPECIAL TOPIC: CHARIOTS.

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: 4:29-34
  ²⁹Now God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment and breadth of mind, like the sand that is on the seashore. ³⁰Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations. ³²He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. ³³He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows on the wall; he spoke also of animals and birds and creeping things and fish. ³⁴Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

4:29-34 This paragraph lauds Solomon's wisdom (see NIDOTTE, vol. 4, pp. 1276-1284), riches, and power. His wisdom (i.e., God-given, not studies or educated) is characterized as

1. like the sand on the seashore
2. greater than all
   1. sons of the east (possibly Eden)
   2. Egypt
   3. singers of Israel (v. 31)
3. writer of 3,000 proverbs (only a small portion recorded in Scripture)
4. writer of 1,005 songs/psalms, this is a very specific number which gives credence to the claim
5. many leaders from the surrounding nations came to hear him

SPECIAL TOPIC: WISDOM LITERATURE

SPECIAL TOPIC: HEBREW POETRY

4:33 "cedar that is in Lebanon" These were tall, beautiful, strong trees often lauded in the OT. See NIDOTTE, vol. 1, pp. 510-511.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.

These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.

1. What was "forced labor"? (v. 6)
2. How does v. 20 reflect YHWH's promise to Abraham? (Gen. 12:1-3)
3. How does v. 23 reflect YHWH's promise to His people?
4. Do we have all of Solomon's poems and songs?

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