Deeper Commentary
1Ki 4:1 King Solomon was king over all Israel-
The unity of Israel is associated with its glory. Israel's maximum
point of glory under Solomon was also its historically most united period.
1Ki 4:2 These were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the
priest-
Azariah was therefore a king-priest (cp. Rev. 5:10). The kingdom of
Solomon can indeed be viewed as a type of the future kingdom of the Lord
Jesus. The twelve deputy rulers (:7) correspond with Mt. 19:28; the
provision of food each month (:27) corresponds with Is. 66:23; Ez. 47:12
and Rev. 22:2. But in reality it was rather that Solomon had been
potentially empowered to be the Messianic seed with a Messianic kingdom as
promised to David, but he failed. And the Lord Jesus fulfilled the
potentials of the seed perfectly, leaving Solomon and his kingdom as a
failed, marred reflection of Him.
1Ki 4:3 Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the
son of Ahilud, the recorder-
Shisha was the Shavsha of 1 Chron. 18:16, the Sheva of 2 Sam. 20:25
and the Seraiah of 2 Sam. 8:17.
Jehoshaphat would have now been elderly (2 Sam. 8:16; 20:24); see on
:4.
1Ki 4:4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; Zadok and Abiathar
were priests-
This is only a description of things as they initially were. For
Abiathar was soon deposed by Solomon, and Benaiah was by now an old man
who would not have lived long into Solomon's reign.
1Ki 4:5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of
Nathan was chief officer, the king’s friend-
Solomon alludes to this in Prov. 27:9: "Perfume and incense bring joy
to the heart; so does earnest counsel from a man’s friend".
This is true, but Solomon may be using Divine truth to justify himself;
for he had appointed the son of Nathan the prophet, loyal to David his
father, as "the king's friend".
1Ki 4:6 Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was
over the men subject to forced labour-
The emphasis upon the forced labour brigades is significant (1 Kings
5:13,14; 12:18), and it was Solomon's brutal treatment of his people which
led to the complaint after his death that he had whipped the people and
abused them. This was exactly as Samuel had warned the people would happen
if they chose a human king rather than God as their king; for God is
kinder than men. We see therefore that Solomon was no better than Saul.
All his wisdom failed to make him value the meaning
of the human person. It
was therefore only held by him in theory not in practice.
1 Sam. 8:11-18 had warned Israel that their king would not be good, and would enslave them and make them serve his whims. The people groaned beneath him, as they told his son Rehoboam. And so exactly was fulfilled the threat: "You will cry out for relief from the king, but Yahweh will not hear’ (1 Sam. 8:16,17). The taxes which Samuel warned Israel of are described in 1 Kings 4:7,22,23,27,28. Solomon is being presented as exactly this king. This is to demonstrate that the positive descriptions of his kingdom in :20,25 are just a surface appearance. The point is made within otherwise apparently positive descriptions of his kingdom. This is to create the desired effect of giving the impression that Solomon's apparently wonderful kingdom was underlaid by a very unspiritual, unGodly foundation. As noted on :7 and 1 Kings 3:1, Solomon's wife likely influenced Solomon to use the Egyptian system of forced labour. But that was the very system that had been used to abuse Israel in Egypt. And Solomon uses it for his building projects, just as the Pharaoh of the Exodus did, also building treasure cities etc.
1Ki 4:7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for
the king and his household: each man had to make provision for a month in
the year-
See on :2. This implies a huge amount of food was required by Solomon
to feed his extended family. His 700 wives and 300 concubines would have
produced many children who all required feeding. Solomon's indulgence of
every sexual whim came at a cost, which he forced his people to meet; and
it gave him no family happiness, but rather led him to the cynical
reflection of Ecc. 5:11.
Solomon had a system of forced labour, and had 12 administrative districts [not following the 12 tribes] with 12 officers who each provided the king's food one month / year (1 Kings 4:7-20). All this was exactly how Egypt was organized under Amenhotep III and is surely the influence of having Pharaoh's daughter for his leading wife. See on 1 Kings 3:1.
1Ki 4:8 These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim-
It could be argued that Solomon's taxation system was effectively
taxing the other tribes apart from Judah. Yet the tax from the
other tribes paid for Solomon's extensive building projects, which were
all in Judah (the temple, the palace, the Millo and wall of Jerusalem,
Ezion-Geber, the copper mines, Debir, etc.). This was not so much wisdom
but a cunning establishment of the dominance of his own tribe and throne.
For the
1. Mount Ephraim
2. Makaz
3. Arubboth
4. Naphath-dor
5. Taanach and Megiddo
6. Ramoth-gilead
7. Mahanaim
8. Naphtali
9. Asher and Zebulun
10. Issachar
11. Benjamin
12. The land of Gad (1 Kings 4: 7-19)
This organization was not strictly according to the tribal divisions
but was more geographically based. Thus group 2 was from both Dan and
Ephraim; group 3 from both Manasseh and Ephraim. Perhaps this was an
intentional attempt to undermine tribalism, which Solomon saw as a
potential threat to his power base. If he had been obedient to God, he
could have been quietly assured that God and not his cunning would
establish and eternally maintain his kingdom. And yet the regional
governors imposed by Solomon were largely from Judah or somehow related to
David's "old guard". Thus group 9 was ruled by the son of
All this was an attempt by Solomon to establish the kingdom in his own
strength. The regional governors were not locals, but rather under the
direct control of Solomon in Jerusalem and appointed on the basis of
loyalty to him. No wonder that after his death, the other tribes wanted to
break free from Judah.
1Ki 4:9 Ben Deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth Shemesh, and Elon
Beth Hanan-
These were in Dan (Jud. 1:35). Beth Shemesh was a priestly city
(Josh. 21:16), but Solomon still required them to pay taxes to him in
Jerusalem, contrary to the spirit of the Mosaic law.
1Ki 4:10 Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh, and all the land
of Hepher)-
I suggest this Socoh is the one in Manasseh and not the one in Judah;
see on :8.
1Ki 4:11 Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath the
daughter of Solomon as wife)-
-
See on :8.
1Ki 4:12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth
Shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel
Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam-
The brother of Jehoshaphat (:3), again reflecting how the rulers of
the regions were not local men but part of Solomon's inner circle, or
their relatives. See on :8.
1Ki 4:13 Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (to him belonged the towns of Jair
the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him belonged the region of
Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars)-
They had begun as small towns (Num. 32:41)
but had grown since then. But they were all to pay their taxes to
Jerusalem; see on :8.
1Ki 4:14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim-
-
See on :8.
1Ki 4:15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of
Solomon as wife)-
-
See on :8. As no father’s name is mentioned we could conclude
that the well-known son of Zadok the priest is meant, who helped David was
fleeing before Absalom (2 Sam. 15:27). A pro house of David loyalist
was chosen in order to get the tax sent back to Solomon in Jerusalem, and
Solomon was his father in law.
1Ki 4:16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth-
-
See on :8.
1Ki 4:17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar-
See on :8.
1Ki 4:18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin-
Although Judah and Benjamin were always connected, as explained on
:8, Solomon expected Benjamin to pay taxes to him in Jerusalem. We note at
this point the clear omission of Judah as a taxable area.
1Ki 4:19 Geber 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 officer
who was in the land-
"Only" could mean "the greatest",
and "the land" may refer to the territory on the east of Jordan.
"Officer" translates a military term; the idea may be that he was the only
garrison officer stationed in that area, which had many Gentiles in it.
1Ki 4:20 Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in
multitude, eating and drinking and making merry-
The taxation system just described became heavy for Israel,
took men away from food production at home, was biased to make the north
provide labour and material resources for Judah, had administrators who
were pro Judah, undercut the tribal cantons and made Judah tax free. It
set up the complaint of Israel against Rehoboam that Solomon abused them,
and led to the division of the kingdom. But the result is apparently that
they were all well fed and merry. Apparently, the promises to Abraham of a
seed "many as the sand" had been fulfilled. But here again we see how the
statements describing a glorious kingdom are in fact glosses over a much
less pleasant reality. And this was the nature of Solomon and his kingdom-
a good surface appearance hiding much that was deeply wrong beneath it.
This is alluded to by Solomon in Prov. 14:28 GNB: "A king's greatness depends on how many people he rules; without them he is nothing". Solomon is again justifying himself, for the people at his time are described as very many at his time (1 Kings 4:20). Solomon is harnessing Divine truth to his own agenda of self justification. And we who claim to hold His truths must take warning.
We must remember that baptism means that we are now the seed of
Abraham, and the blessings of forgiveness, of all spiritual blessings in
heavenly places, and God's turning us away from our sins are right now
being fulfilled in us (Acts 3:27-29). Israel were multiplied as the sand
on the sea shore (2 Sam. 17:11; 1 Kings 4:20), they possessed the gates of
their enemies (Dt. 17:2; 18:6)- all in antitype of how Abraham's future
seed would also receive the promised blessings in their mortal experience,
as well as in the eternal blessedness of the future Kingdom.
"Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in
multitude, eating and drinking and making merry"
combines allusions to two different passages. Clearly there is
reference to the fact that the Abrahamic promises had a primary
fulfillment at this time. But the final phrase refers back to
Israel's idolatry with the golden calf. It is as if the dualism
within Solomon at this time - in being the primary fulfillment of the
seed, and yet also being apostate - was fulfilled in Israel. We see
elsewhere several indications that Solomon and Israel were closely
connected (cp. Christ and the church).
1Ki 4:21 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-
Israel was at its largest extent in Solomon's Kingdom; lost land was
restored, and the borders re-established (2 Chron. 9:26; 8:4 cp. Josh.
16:3,5); it was also at its political strongest; nations submitted to
Solomon (1 Kings 4:20); Israel was the chief of the nations and the
nations brought "presents" (s.w. sacrifices) to him (1 Kings 4:21).
All this looked ahead to the Messianic Kingdom; but see on :25. But
again
we have a surface appearance only. For as discussed above, Solomon only
received tax revenue from a very small part of the area mentioned here.
The "tribute" mentioned here would have been only at one time. He had no
effective 'rule' over the kingdoms or else they would have been brought
within the tax administration system described earlier in the chapter. It
was only for a brief period, and even then, not very powerful "rule". We
note from 1 Kings 9:15-19 that Solomon built fortified military bases
around the borders of his territory- and clearly his territory didn't
effectively stretch from the Euphrates to Egypt. Otherwise the location of
his fortifications would have been different. And if indeed the image of
peace were so true, why Solomon's huge number of chariots and war horses?
And it is rather overlooked that David had taken Damascus (2 Sam. 8:6),
but it was taken over by Solomon's enemy Rezon and never recovered by him
(1 Kings 11:23-25).
Further, there is ample evidence within the record that
throughout Solomon's reign, there were other kings within the area of the
land promised to Abraham. And with some of them Solomon traded, disagreed
with, or suffered their rebellions against him: King Hiram of Tyre (1
Kings 5:1), Hadad the Edomite (1 Kings 11:14), King Hadadezer of Zobah (1
Kings 11:23), the kings of the Hittites and Aram (1 Kings 10:29), and the
kings of Arabia (1 Kings 10:15). These significant areas were not exactly
ruled over by Solomon. Indeed Solomon sells the cities of Cabul to Hiram.
We therefore have to probe deeper the statement that he ruled so
extensively. One possibility is that this is how Solomon perceived things;
it was the impression he wanted to give. And the Biblical record presents
things as he wanted to see them, yet giving the actual facts of the matter
which contradicted Solomon's perception. And thereby shows the fallacy and
surface nature of the impression Solomon had and gave. He was convinced he
was ruling in the Messianic kingdom according to his father's projections
and expectations; when the reality was so far from that. We note that such
exaggerated claims of dominion are found in the records of other kings,
especially of Egypt, Babylon and Assyria. Indeed the 'glorious kingdom'
passages regarding Solomon's kingdom are very similar to the self
descriptions of other kings broadly contemporary with Solomon. We
therefore lean towards the possibility that the Biblical descriptions are
a case of focalization; the focus is upon Solomon and his perception of
himself and his kingdom. But the Biblical record gives ample reason to
perceive that his perceptions were false or at best, incomplete.
1Ki 4:22 Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine
flour, and sixty measures of meal-
Solomon in
Prov. 23:3 warned not to desire huge meals. But Solomon clearly revelled
in his food, and speaks in Ecclesiastes of how he tried to find fulfilment
in gluttony. He knew God's truth, but "it was far from me" personally, as
he laments in Ecclesiastes. There mere possession of Divine truth can in
fact lead a man to think it doesn't apply to him. This is why the word
must be made flesh in us, as it was in the Lord.
From the amount of flour used each day, it could be guessed that there were 14,000 people / day being fed. If Solomon had 1000 wives and children by them, this would make sense.
1Ki 4:23 ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of the
pastures, one hundred sheep, besides harts, gazelles, roebucks and
fattened fowl-
"Fattened fowl" has been translated as geese or swans. Not all these
animals were clean food, but Solomon (according to Ecclesiastes) wanted to
experiment with all human experience.
1Ki 4:24 For he had dominion over all on this side of the River, from
Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the River: and he
had peace on all sides around him-
In the context of this chapter, the "dominion" in view may mean that
all had to pay taxes to Solomon.
1Ki 4:25 Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under
his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon-
Clearly this language, and the great fertility of the land implied by
:22-28, is the language of the Messianic kingdom (Mic. 4:4; Ez.
34:28; Is. 35:1,2
31:1; Mic. 5:10). Samuel mentions chariots three times when warning
about the corruption of Israel's desired king (1 Sam. 8:11,12).
1Ki 4:26 Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and
twelve thousand horsemen-
Solomon's enthusiasm for Egyptian horses is clearly chronicled (1
Kings 4:26-28), although this was studied disobedience to Dt. 17:16. There
is a powerful point to be made here: we can deceive ourselves that God is
blessing us, when actually we are breaching explicit commands. Would
Solomon had understood the concept of self-examination.
1Ki 4:27 Those officers provided food for king Solomon, and for all who
came to king Solomon’s table, every man in his month-
“He that loves silver (as Solomon did, Ecc. 2:8; 1 Kings 10:21-29)
shall not be satisfied with silver (as he wasn’t- see Ecc. 2); nor he that
loves abundance (s.w. used about the abundance of Solomon’s wives, 2
Chron. 11:23) with increase. When goods increase, they are increased that
eat them (cp. the large numbers at his table, 1 Kings 4:27)” (Ecc.
5:10,11). The Hebrew word translated “not be satisfied” occurs around 25
times in the Proverbs, with Solomon warning of how the way of the flesh
couldn’t satisfy. Solomon said all this with an eye on himself. He
preached it to others, he felt deeply the truth of it, but he saw no
personal way out of it. All he had was the accurate knowledge of his
situation, but no real motivation to change- like the alcoholic or drug
abuser who knows every aspect of the harm of his habit.
Heb. ‘they let nothing be missing'. This is in the context of
describing the taxation system, whereby taxation was enforced and the
taxes were indeed gathered to Solomon.
1Ki 4:28 Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought
they to the place where the officers were, each man according to his duty-
Just as Solomon's abundance of wives led to having a few thousand
mouths to feed, and Israel needed to provide for that; so his obsession
with thousands of horses meant that there was a need for a huge amount of
fodder for them. And all Israel had to provide this- all for the sake of
Solomon's obsessive desires. That he reigned for as long as he did was
truly a sign of God's grace to him for the sake of his father David, and
is a tacit reflection of how much God loved David despite all his
failures.
1Ki 4:29 God gave Solomon great wisdom and understanding, and very great
perception, according to the sand which is on the seashore-
His
wisdom was to guide Israel, but it concerned the natural creation; as if
his expositions concerning this were teaching spiritual lessons (1 Kings
4:29,32,33)- as the Lord's parables. The "largeness of heart" (AV) was to
be experienced by all Israel, whose largeness of heart was to lead to the
Gentiles flowing to them (Is. 60:5). Paul's appeal to allow the Holy
Spirit to enlarge our hearts could be seen as alluding to the gift given
Solomon (2 Cor. 6:11,13).
The description of the "largeness" of heart in 1 Kings 4:29 uses the
same word used about the largeness of the land of Israel in Ex. 3:8; Neh.
9:35; his wisdom was "as the sand that is on the sea shore", as
Israel were described in Gen. 22:17. He wanted wisdom, but so as to teach
it to others, not to personalize it. Even in his spiritual
collapse at the time of Ecclesiastes, Solomon still
taught Israel true wisdom, and organized his
wisdom into more accessible books (Ecc. 12:9-12), giving himself the title
koheleth (‘the preacher’). And yet he himself tried alcohol, wealth,
women, indeed every addiction, in order to “see what was that good for the
sons of men, which they should do under the heaven” (Ecc. 2:3). And yet he
knew from childhood the conclusion of the matter- man’s duty is to fear
God and be obedient (Ecc. 12:13). He who had been given wisdom started out
in a search for it… showing clearly enough that what he knew was so much
theory, but never touched his own heart. Solomon taught wisdom to the
youngsters, but he gave himself over to search for some kind of vague
philosophical truth outside of God.
1Ki 4:30 Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the
east, and all the wisdom of Egypt-
If this is simply God's comment, then it would be axiomatic that
Solomon's Divinely given wisdom was better than that of the Gentiles. So
we should rather read this as stating how his wisdom was perceived amongst
the Gentiles. Despite having greater wisdom than "all the wisdom
of Egypt”, Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter. And yet Egypt gave
sanctuary to his rival Jeroboam and also let Jeroboam marry into the royal
family. About five years after his death, Egypt invaded Judah in the reign
of his son Rehoboam. So the point is made that despite possessing far more
wisdom than them, he allowed them to morally corrupt him. He likely
thought [wrongly] that the mere possession of such superior truth would
preserve him from such personal failure.
1Ki 4:31 For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman-
Ethan and Heman are mentioned together in 1 Kings 4:31 as men whom
Solomon's wisdom exceeded; and in 1 Chron. 15:19 they are both singers
whom David appointed. We can assume that they were famed for their wisdom;
but Solomon's wisdom exceeded theirs.
Calcol, Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations
all around-
Calcol and the other names mentioned in 1 Kings 4:31 as wise men are
all mentioned in 1 Chron. 2:6 as sons of Zerah, men of Judah. The idea of
1 Kings 4:30,31 is that Solomon's wisdom exceeded that of famous Gentile
wise men, and also of the wise men of Judah.
1Ki 4:32 He spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were one thousand
and five-
LXX says 5000 songs. David was famed as Israel's psalmist, and his
songs were distributed to the surrounding nations, appealing for them to
turn to Israel's God. Solomon's obsession with writing songs can be seen
as an attempt to live out his father's image.
1Ki 4:33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the
hyssop that springs out of the wall; he spoke also of animals, birds,
creeping things and fish-
We note that the things mentioned here refer more to
knowledge and science, than to the wisdom required to judge God's people
with grace and justice.
The greatest of trees in Palestine, the cedar, is contrasted with the smallest, the hyssop; the idea being that Solomon spoke of the entire range of plant life. But later Solomon sadly reflects in Ecc. 1:8 LXX that "a man will not be able to speak of them". And yet Solomon had spoken of all things by the wisdom given him (1 Kings 4:32,33), but now he says that the vanity of all human experience is beyond speaking of. Whilst Solomon retained his wisdom, he felt that it was not the full answer to the mystery of life; and the answer was, so far as he could see it, that all things are vain and wearisome. Life is not therefore particularly worth living. This is the attitude which arises when we fail to personalize wisdom, and refuse to accept that this life is not God's Kingdom; that is yet to come. This wisdom about plants and animals was given Solomon for the sake of God's people Israel. It was intended to boost their agriculture. See on 1 Kings 5:6.
1Ki 4:34 There came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all
kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom-
The repetition of the two phrases gives the impression that they heard of
his wisdom, and so they came to hear his wisdom. As exemplified by the
visit of the Queen of Sheba, it is one thing to hear wisdom; but there is
a natural desire to hear the word made flesh. This principle is so true
for our witness today. The presentation of God's truth as words on a
screen is far less persuasive than hearing them as a word made flesh, from
a live person. And that is why God did not leave His word as it was, but
made it flesh in the Lord Jesus; so that He speaks to us "in His Son".
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