1 Kings 4:7

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

Contextual Overview

¹So King Solomon ruled over Israel, ²and these were his chief officials: Azariah son of Zadok was the priest; ³Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder; ⁴Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; ⁵Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king; ⁶Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram son of Abda was in charge of the labor force. ⁷Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,⁸and these were their names: Ben-hur in the hill country of Ephraim; ⁹Ben-deker in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan; ¹⁰Ben-hesed in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him);

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

officers: These are doubtless to be considered as general receivers; for, as Sir John Chardin observes, "the revenues of the princes of the East are paid in the fruits and productions of the earth: there are no other taxes on the peasants."

each man: 1 Chronicles 27:1-15

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 8:12 - and will set 1 Kings 4:5 - the officers 1 Kings 4:27 - those officers 1 Kings 5:14 - a month 1 Kings 12:4 - our yoke 1 Chronicles 27:28 - And over Ecclesiastes 5:9 - the king Ezekiel 48:19 - shall serve

Cross-References

Genesis 3:16
To the woman He said: "I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. You will desire your husband, and he will rule over you."

Genesis 4:6
"Why are you angry," said the LORD to Cain, "and why has your countenance fallen?

Genesis 4:8
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go out to the field." And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

Genesis 4:9
And the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" "I do not know!" he answered. "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Genesis 4:10
"What have you done?" replied the LORD. "The voice of your brother's blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Genesis 4:11
Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.

Genesis 4:12
When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."

Genesis 4:13
But Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.

Genesis 19:21
"Very well," he answered, "I will grant this request as well, and will not demolish the town you indicate.

Numbers 32:23
But if you do not do this, you will certainly sin against the LORD-and be assured that your sin will find you out.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel,.... Not with respect to the twelve tribes of Israel, for it does not appear that they had each of them a tribe under them, but some particular places in a tribe; but with respect to the twelve months of the year, in which each took his turn:

which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision; furnished food of all sorts out of the country in which they presided for the space of one month in a year; by which means there was always a plenty of provisions at court for the king's family, and for all strangers that came and went, and no one part of the land was burdened or drained, nor the price of provisions raised; these seem to be the twelve "phylarchi", or governors of tribes, Eupolemus r, an Heathen writer, speaks of, before whom, and the high priest, David delivered the kingdom to Solomon; though in that he was mistaken, that they were in being then, since these were officers of Solomon's creating.

r Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 30.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The requirement of a portion of their produce from subjects, in addition to money payments, is a common practice of Oriental monarchs. It obtained in ancient, and it still obtains in modern, Persia.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 4:7. Twelve officers — The business of these twelve officers was to provide daily, each for a month, those provisions which were consumed in the king's household; see 1 Kings 4:22-23. And the task for such a daily provision was not an easy one.