1 Kings 4–5

Solomon’s Officials and Governors

4So King Solomon ruled over the whole nation of Israel. ²Here are the names of his chief officials.

Azariah was the priest. He was the son of Zadok.

³Elihoreph and Ahijah were secretaries. They were the sons of Shisha.

Jehoshaphat kept the records. He was the son of Ahilud.

⁴Benaiah was the commander in chief. He was the son of Jehoiada.

Zadok and Abiathar were priests.

⁵Azariah was in charge of the local officials. He was the son of Nathan.

Zabud was a priest. He was the king’s personal adviser. He was the son of Nathan.

⁶Ahishar was in charge of the palace.

Adoniram was in charge of those who were forced to work for the king. He was the son of Abda.

⁷Solomon also had 12 local governors over the whole land of Israel. They provided supplies for the king and the royal family. Each governor had to provide supplies for one month out of each year. ⁸Here are their names and areas.

Ben-Hur’s area was the hill country of Ephraim.

⁹Ben-Deker’s area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh and Elon Bethhanan.

¹⁰Ben-Hesed’s area was Arubboth. Socoh and the whole land of Hepher were included in his area.

¹¹Ben-Abinadab’s area was Naphoth Dor. He got married to Solomon’s daughter Taphath.

¹²Baana’s area was Taanach, Megiddo and the whole territory of Beth Shan. Beth Shan was next to Zarethan below Jezreel. Baana’s area reached from Beth Shan all the way to Abel Meholah. It also went across to Jokmeam. Baana was the son of Ahilud.

¹³Ben-Geber’s area was Ramoth Gilead. The settlements of Jair, the son of Manasseh, were included in his area in Gilead. The area of Argob in Bashan was also included. That area had 60 large cities that had high walls around them. The city gates were made secure with heavy bronze bars.

¹⁴Ahinadab’s area was Mahanaim. He was the son of Iddo.

¹⁵Ahimaaz’s area was Naphtali. He had gotten married to Basemath. She was Solomon’s daughter.

¹⁶Baana’s area was Asher and Aloth. He was the son of Hushai.

¹⁷Jehoshaphat’s area was Issachar. He was the son of Paruah.

¹⁸Shimei’s area was Benjamin. He was the son of Ela.

¹⁹Geber’s area was Gilead. He was the only governor over the area. He was the son of Uri. Gilead had been the country of Sihon and Og. Sihon had been king of the Amorites. Og had been king of Bashan.

Solomon’s Daily Supplies

²⁰There were many people in Judah and Israel. In fact, they were as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. They ate, drank and were happy.

²¹Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines. He ruled as far as the border of Egypt. All of those countries brought the gifts he required them to bring him. And Solomon ruled over those countries for his whole life.

²²Here are the supplies Solomon required every day.

185 bushels of fine flour

375 bushels of meal

²³ten head of cattle that had been fed by hand

20 head of cattle that had been fed on grasslands

100 sheep and goats

deer, antelopes and roebucks

the finest birds

²⁴Solomon ruled over all of the kingdoms that were west of the Euphrates River. He ruled from Tiphsah all the way to Gaza. And he had peace and rest on every side.

²⁵While Solomon was king, Judah and Israel lived in safety. They were secure from Dan all the way to Beersheba. Each man had his own vine and fig tree.

²⁶Solomon had 4,000 spaces where he kept his chariot horses. He had a total of 12,000 horses.

²⁷The local officials provided supplies for King Solomon. They provided them for all who ate at the king’s table. Each official provided supplies for one month every year. The officials made sure the king had everything he needed. ²⁸They also brought barley and straw for the chariot horses and the other horses. Each of them brought the amounts that were required of them. They brought them to the proper places.

God Makes Solomon Very Wise

²⁹God made Solomon very wise. His understanding couldn’t even be measured. It was like the sand on the seashore. People can’t measure that either.

³⁰Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all of the people of the east. It was greater than all of the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹Solomon was wiser than any other man. He was wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite. He was wiser than Heman, Calcol and Darda. They were the sons of Mahol. Solomon became famous in all of the nations that were around him.

³²He spoke 3,000 proverbs. He wrote 1,005 songs. ³³He explained all about plants. He knew everything about them, from the cedar trees in Lebanon to the hyssop plants that grow out of walls. He taught about animals and birds. He also taught about reptiles and fish.

³⁴The kings of all of the world’s nations heard about how wise Solomon was. So they sent their people to listen to him.

Solomon Asks Hiram to Help Build the Temple

5Hiram was the king of Tyre. He heard that Solomon had been anointed as king. He heard that Solomon had become the next king after his father David. Hiram had always been David’s friend. So Hiram sent his messengers to Solomon.

²Then Solomon sent a message back to Hiram. It said,

³“As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control.

⁴“But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either. ⁵So I’m planning to build a temple. I want to build it for the Name of the Lord my God. That’s what he told my father David he wanted me to do. He said, ‘I will put your son on the throne in your place. He will build a temple. I will put my Name there.’

⁶“So give your men orders to cut down cedar trees in Lebanon for me. My men will work with yours. I’ll pay you for your men’s work. I’ll pay any amount you decide on. As you know, we don’t have anyone who is as skilled in cutting down trees as the men of Sidon are.”

⁷When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very pleased. He said, “May the Lord be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule over that great nation.”

⁸So Hiram sent a message to Solomon. It said,

“I have received the message you sent me. I’ll do everything you want me to. I’ll provide the cedar and pine logs. ⁹My men will bring them from Lebanon down to the Mediterranean Sea. I’ll make them into rafts. I’ll float them to the place you want me to. When the rafts arrive, I’ll separate the logs from each other. Then you can take them away.

“And here’s what I want in return. Provide food for all of the people in my palace.”

¹⁰So Hiram supplied Solomon with all of the cedar and pine logs he wanted.

¹¹Solomon gave Hiram 125,000 bushels of wheat as food for the people in his palace. He also gave him 115,000 gallons of oil that was made from pressed olives. He did that for Hiram year after year.

¹²The Lord made Solomon wise, just as he had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon. The two of them made a peace treaty.

¹³King Solomon forced men from all over Israel to work hard for him. There were 30,000 of them. ¹⁴He sent them off to Lebanon in groups of 10,000 each month. They spent one month in Lebanon. Then they spent two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the people who were forced to work. ¹⁵Solomon had 70,000 people who carried things. He had 80,000 who cut stones in the hills. ¹⁶He had 3,300 men who were in charge of the project. They also directed the workers.

¹⁷The people did what the king commanded. They removed large blocks of fine stone from a rock pit. They used them to provide a foundation for the temple. ¹⁸The skilled workers of Solomon and Hiram cut and prepared the logs and stones. They would later be used in building the temple. The people of Byblos helped the workers.