1 Kings 4

King Sulayman was king over all Israel. ²These were his princes: Azariah Ibn Zadok, the priest; ³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat Ibn Ahilud, the recorder; ⁴and Benaiah Ibn Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ⁵and Azariah Ibn Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud Ibn Nathan was chief minister, and the king's friend; ⁶and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram Ibn Abda was over the men subject to forced labour. ⁷Sulayman 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. ⁸These are their names: Bin Hur, in the hill-country of Ephraim; ⁹Bin Deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; ¹⁰Bin Hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh, and all the land of Hepher); ¹¹Bin Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath Bint Sulayman as wife); ¹²Baana Ibn 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; ¹³Bin Geber, in Ramoth-gilead (to him belonged the towns of Jair Ibn Manasseh, which are in Gilead; also to him belonged the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); ¹⁴Ahinadab Ibn Iddo, in Mahanaim; ¹⁵Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath Bint Sulayman as wife); ¹⁶Baana Ibn Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; ¹⁷Jehoshaphat Ibn Paruah, in Issachar; ¹⁸Shimei Ibn Ela, in Binyamin; ¹⁹Geber Ibn 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. ²⁰Judah and Israel were as many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. ²¹Sulayman 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 Sulayman all the days of his life. ²²Sulayman's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal, ²³ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fattened fowl. ²⁴For he had dominion over all the region 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. ²⁵Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Sulayman. ²⁶Sulayman had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. ²⁷Those officers provided food for king Sulayman, and for all who came to king Sulayman's table, every man in his month; they let nothing be lacking. ²⁸They brought barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. ²⁹God gave Sulayman wisdom and very great insight, and understanding as measureless as the sand on the sea-shore. ³⁰Sulayman's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. ³¹For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame spread to all the surrounding nations. ³²He spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were one thousand five. ³³He spoke of trees, from the cedar of Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of walls; he spoke also of animals, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. ³⁴There came men of all nations to hear the wisdom of Sulayman, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.