1 Reyes 4

VBL · Chapter 4/22

1El rey Salomón gobernó sobre todo Israel.

2Estos eran sus funcionarios: Azarías, hijo de Sadoc, era el sacerdote;

3Elijoref y Ahías, hijos de Sisá, eran los secretarios del rey. Josafat, hijo de Ajilud, llevaba los registros reales.

4Benaía, hijo de Joyadá, era el comandante del ejército. Sadoc y Abiatar eran sacerdotes.

5Azarías, hijo de Natán, estaba a cargo de los gobernadores. Zabud, hijo de Natán, era sacerdote y consejero del rey.

6Ajisar era el administrador del palacio. Adoniram, hijo de Abdá, estaba a cargo de los obligados a trabajar para el rey.

7Salomón tenía doce gobernadores de zona cuyas responsabilidades abarcaban todo Israel, proporcionando alimentos para el rey y su casa. Cada uno, a su vez, organizaba los suministros para un mes del año.

8Sus nombres eran: Ben-Jur, en la región montañosa de Efraín;

9Ben Decar en Macaz, Salbín, Bet-semes y Elon-bet-Janán;

10Ben Jésed en Arubot (Soco y toda la tierra de Héferle pertenecían);

11Ben Abinadab, en todo Nafat-dor (Tafat, la hija de Salomón, era su esposa);

12Baná, hijo de Ajilud, en Tanac y Meguido, en toda la zona de Bet Seán, cerca de Saretán, debajo de Jezrel, y desde Bet-seán hasta Abel-Mejolá y a través de Jocmeán;

13Ben-guéber, en Ramot de Galaad (las ciudades de Jair, hijo de Manasés, en Galaad le pertenecían, así como la región de Argob en Basán, con sesenta grandes ciudades con murallas y barras de bronce);

14Ajinadab, hijo de Idó, en Majanayin;

15Ajimaz, en Neftalí (se había casado con Basemat, hija de Salomón);

16Baaná, hijo de Husay, en Aser y en Alot;

17Josafat, hijo de Parúa, en Isacar;

18Simí, hijo de Elá, en Benjamín;

19Geber hijo de Uri, en la tierra de Galaad, (la antigua tierra de Sehón, rey de los amorreos, y de Og, rey de Basán. También había un gobernador que estaba sobre la tierra de Judá).

20Judá e Israel habían llegado a ser tan numerosos como la arena en la orilla de la fuente de metal. Comían, bebían y eran felices.

21Salomón dominaba todos los reinos desde el río Éufrates hasta el país de los filisteos, hasta la frontera de Egipto. Presentaron tributo a Salomón y le sirvieron durante su vida.

22La comida que necesitaba cada día la corte de Salomón era de treinta coros de la mejor harina y sesenta coros de harina;

23diez reses engordadas, veinte reses de pasto, cien ovejas, así como ciervos, gacelas, corzos y aves de corral engordadas.

24Porque Salomón gobernaba toda la región al oeste del Éufrates, desde Tifa hasta Gaza, sobre todos los reinos al oeste del Éufrates. Y tenía paz por todos lados a su alrededor. Tuvo paz en todas las fronteras.

25Durante la vida de Salomón, todos los habitantes de Judá e Israel vivían con seguridad, desde Dan hasta Beerseba. Cada uno tenía su propia vid e higuera.

26Salomón tenía 40.000 establos para los caballos de sus carros y 12.000 auriculares.

27Cada mes, los gobernadores de la zona proporcionaban por turnos comida al rey Salomón y a todos los que comían en su mesa. Se aseguraban de que no faltara nada.

28También entregaban cebada y paja donde se necesitaban para los caballos de los carros y las carretas.

29Dios le dio a Salomón sabiduría, un discernimiento muy grande y un entendimiento tan extenso como la arena de la orilla de la fuente de metal.

30La sabiduría de Salomón era mayor que la de todos los sabios de Oriente, mayor que toda la sabiduría de Egipto.

31Era más sabio que cualquiera, más sabio que Etán el ezraíta, más sabio que Hemán, Calcol y Darda, hijos de Mahol. Su fama se extendió por las naciones que le rodeaban.

32Salomón compuso tres mil proverbios y mil cinco canciones.

33Podía hablar del conocimiento de los árboles, desde el cedro del Líbano hasta el hisopo que crece en los muros. Enseñó sobre los animales, las aves, los reptiles y los peces.

34Gente de todas las naciones acudía a escuchar la sabiduría de Salomón. Eran enviadas por todos los reyes de la tierra, que habían oído hablar de su sabiduría.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The chapter lists the chief officials of Solomon's government and the twelve regional governors responsible for supplying the royal court. It describes the prosperity, peace, and international fame of Solomon's wisdom, which surpassed that of all the wise men of the East.

Explanation

This is an administrative summary showing how Solomon organized the kingdom systematically, dividing Israel into administrative districts independent of the traditional tribal borders — a decision that centralizes royal power but also creates regional resentments that would explode after his death (1 Kings 12). The phrase 'each man under his own vine and fig tree' describes an ideal of peace and domestic prosperity that the prophets later revisit as an image of the messianic kingdom. It is the material peak of the united kingdom of Israel's history.

Fun facts

  • According to this chapter, Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs — a literary output of which only a fraction has survived in the books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and possibly some Psalms.
  • The mention that Solomon 'spoke of trees... of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish' suggests an encyclopedic interest in nature, almost like an ancient natural science.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Reyes 4:1The chapter opens confirming what was already known: Solomon is firmly reigning over all Israel.
  2. 1 Reyes 4:2The list of officials shows a government machine already organized: priests, secretaries, a recorder, an army commander, and someone in charge of tribute. This office of tax collection reappears later as the direct target of the revolt against Solomon’s son.
  3. 1 Reyes 4:3Among Solomon’s officials are two secretaries, Elihoreph and Ahiah, and Jehoshaphat, in charge of the kingdom’s records.
  4. 1 Reyes 4:4Benaiah commands the army, while Zadok and Abiathar are listed as priests within the structure of government.
  5. 1 Reyes 4:5Azariah is in charge of the regional governors, and Zabud is a priest and the king’s personal friend — a position of direct trust.
  6. 1 Reyes 4:6Ahishar administers the royal household, and Adoniram is in charge of forced labor and tribute.
  7. 1 Reyes 4:7Solomon divided the country into twelve supply districts, each responsible for sustaining the court for one month of the year. It was a rotating tax system paid in kind — food, mainly — at a time when minted coinage did not yet exist.
  8. 1 Reyes 4:8This is one of Solomon’s twelve governors, responsible for the hill country of Ephraim.
  9. 1 Reyes 4:9Another governor oversees Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan — territory that helps sustain the royal court.
  10. 1 Reyes 4:10This one administers Aruboth, including Sochoh and all the land of Hepher, within the system of twelve districts that took turns supplying the king.
  11. 1 Reyes 4:11This one governs the whole region of Dor and is also the king’s son-in-law: he married Taphath, Solomon’s daughter.
  12. 1 Reyes 4:12This one controls a strategic strip — Taanach, Megiddo, and the whole region of Beth-shean near Jezreel, all the way to Abel-meholah and Jokneam.
  13. 1 Reyes 4:13This one administers Ramoth-gilead, including the villages of Jair and the region of Argob, with sixty fortified cities with walls and bronze bars.
  14. 1 Reyes 4:14This one is in charge of Mahanaim, one more of the twelve territories that guaranteed the court’s monthly supply.
  15. 1 Reyes 4:15This one administers Naphtali and is also the king’s son-in-law, married to Basmath, Solomon’s daughter.
  16. 1 Reyes 4:16This one is in charge of Asher and Aloth, another piece of the twelve-district system.
  17. 1 Reyes 4:17This one administers Issachar, fulfilling his month of supply to the king like the other eleven.
  18. 1 Reyes 4:18This one is in charge of Benjamin within the same administrative division.
  19. 1 Reyes 4:19This one governs the old land of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og, in the region of Gilead, and was the only governor responsible for that whole area.
  20. 1 Reyes 4:20Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand of the sea, eating, drinking, and rejoicing — the picture of a prosperous people under Solomon’s reign.
  21. 1 Reyes 4:21Solomon’s dominion stretched from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and the border of Egypt; those peoples paid tribute and served him all his life.
  22. 1 Reyes 4:22Thirty measures of fine flour and sixty of meal a day, plus dozens of oxen and sheep, give a sense of the size of the court that had to be fed daily. A measure held well over fifty gallons, so these numbers work more as a sign of splendor than as a literal menu.
  23. 1 Reyes 4:23The court’s daily consumption included ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep, plus deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl — a picture of the reign’s luxury.
  24. 1 Reyes 4:24Solomon ruled over the whole region west of the Euphrates, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kings of that area, and lived at peace on every side.
  25. 1 Reyes 4:25Judah and Israel lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon’s reign — the classic biblical symbol of peace and abundance.
  26. 1 Reyes 4:26The number of stalls here is much higher than the one given in the book of Chronicles for that same period, which speaks of four thousand. Scholars think it is an old copying error, since numbers in Hebrew were written with letters that are easy to confuse.
  27. 1 Reyes 4:27Each of the twelve governors, in his own month, provided food for Solomon and for everyone who sat at the king’s table, without letting anything be lacking.
  28. 1 Reyes 4:28They also supplied barley and straw for the horses and other animals, each one doing his part in the system.
  29. 1 Reyes 4:29God gave Solomon wisdom, immense understanding, and a mind as broad as the sand on the seashore.
  30. 1 Reyes 4:30Solomon’s wisdom surpassed that of all the wise men of the east and of all Egypt, the standards of knowledge in that age.
  31. 1 Reyes 4:31He was wiser than any man, even wiser than famous sages like Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda; his fame spread through all the surrounding nations.
  32. 1 Reyes 4:32Solomon is described not only as wise in the law, but as a kind of natural scientist of his time, able to speak about plants, animals, and poetic compositions. This kind of encyclopedic knowledge gave international prestige to an ancient court.
  33. 1 Reyes 4:33Solomon spoke about trees, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows on the wall, and also about beasts, birds, reptiles, and fish — an encyclopedic knowledge of nature.
  34. 1 Reyes 4:34People from every nation, including kings who heard about him, came just to listen to Solomon’s wisdom.

Chapters

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.