The First Book of Kings

Chapter 4
 

¹So king Solomon was king over all Israel. ²And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, ³Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. ⁴And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests: ⁵And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend: ⁶And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. ⁷And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. ⁸And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: ⁹The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan: ¹⁰The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: ¹¹The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: ¹²Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: ¹³The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars: ¹⁴Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: ¹⁵Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife: ¹⁶Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: ¹⁷Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: ¹⁸Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: ¹⁹Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.

²⁰Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. ²¹And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. ²²And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, ²³Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl. ²⁴For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. ²⁵And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. ²⁶And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. ²⁸Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.

²⁹And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. ³⁰And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. ³²And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. ³³And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. ³⁴And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.