Solomon’s Officials

Now King Solomon was king over all Israel. These were his officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was (A)the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha were scribes; (B)Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was the secretary; and (C)Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and (D)Abiathar were priests; and Azariah the son of Nathan was over (E)the deputies; and Zabud the son of Nathan, a priest, was the king’s confidant; and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the forced labor.

Solomon had twelve deputies over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household; each deputy had to provide food for a month in the year. And these were their names: Ben-hur, in the (F)hill country of Ephraim; Ben-deker in Makaz and (G)Shaalbim, and (H)Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed in Arubboth ((I)Socoh was his and all the land of (J)Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab in all [a]the (K)hills of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud in (L)Taanach and Megiddo, and all (M)Beth-shean which is beside (N)Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to (O)Abel-meholah as far as the other side of (P)Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber in (Q)Ramoth-gilead ((R)the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead were his: (S)the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars were his); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo in (T)Mahanaim; 15 (U)Ahimaaz in Naphtali (he also married Basemath the daughter of Solomon); 16 Baana the son of (V)Hushai in Asher and [b]Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah in Issachar; 18 (W)Shimei the son of Ela in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri in the land of Gilead, (X)the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only deputy who was in the land.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:11 Or Naphoth-dor
  2. 1 Kings 4:16 Or in Aloth

So king Solomon was king over all Israel.

And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,

Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.

And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:

And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend:

And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.

And 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.

And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:

The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan:

10 The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:

11 The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

12 Baana 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:

13 The 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:

14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:

15 Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:

16 Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:

17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:

18 Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:

19 Geber 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.

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1-6 Here is a list of King Solomon’s cabinet members:

Azariah (son of Zadok) was the High Priest;

Elihoreph and Ahijah (sons of Shisha) were secretaries;

Jehoshaphat (son of Ahilud) was the official historian and in charge of the archives;

Benaiah (son of Jehoiada) was commander-in-chief of the army;

Zadok and Abiathar were priests;

Azariah (son of Nathan) was secretary of state;

Zabud (son of Nathan) was the king’s personal priest and special friend;

Ahishar was manager of palace affairs;

Adoniram (son of Abda) was superintendent of public works.

There were also twelve officials of Solomon’s court—one man from each tribe—responsible for requisitioning food from the people for the king’s household. Each of them arranged provisions for one month of the year.

8-19 The names of these twelve officers were:

Ben-hur, whose area for this taxation was the hill country of Ephraim;

Ben-deker, whose area was Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan;

Ben-hesed, whose area was Arubboth, including Socoh and all the land of Hepher;

Ben-abinadab (who married Solomon’s daughter, the princess Taphath), whose area was the highlands of Dor;

Baana (son of Ahilud), whose area was Taanach and Megiddo, all of Beth-shean near Zarethan below Jezreel, and all the territory from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and over to Jokmeam;

Ben-geber, whose area was Ramoth-gilead, including the villages of Jair (the son of Manasseh) in Gilead; and the region of Argob in Bashan, including sixty walled cities with bronze gates;

Ahinadab (the son of Iddo), whose area was Mahanaim;

Ahimaaz (who married Princess Basemath, another of Solomon’s daughters), whose area was Naphtali;

Baana (son of Hushai), whose areas were Asher and Bealoth;

Jehoshaphat (son of Paruah), whose area was Issachar;

Shimei (son of Ela), whose area was Benjamin;

Geber (son of Uri), whose area was Gilead, including the territories of King Sihon of the Amorites and King Og of Bashan.

A general manager supervised these officials and their work.

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