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. 4:21 (5:1)9 Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River10 to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime.11 4:22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed12 thirty cors13 of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, 4:23 ten calves fattened in the stall,14 twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds. 4:24 His royal court was so large because15 he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah16 to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors.17 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.18 4:26 Solomon had 4,00019 stalls for his chariot horses and 12,000 horses. 4:27 The district governors acquired supplies for King Solomon and all who ate in his royal palace.20 Each was responsible for one month in the year; they made sure nothing was lacking. 4:28 Each one also brought to the assigned location his quota of barley and straw for the various horses.21

4:29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding22 was as infinite as the sand on the seashore. 4:30 Solomon was wiser than all the men of the east and all the sages of Egypt.23 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.24 4:32 He composed25 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. 4:33 He produced manuals on botany, describing every kind of plant,26 from the cedars of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on walls. He also produced manuals on biology, describing27 animals, birds, insects, and fish. 4:34 People from all nations came to hear Solomon’s display of wisdom;28 they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.