1 Kings 4:1-20 - Solomon's Wisdom: Political Administration

¹ King Solomon was king over all Israel. ² Now these are the officials who were his: Azariah the son of Zadok [was] the priest. ³ Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, [were] the secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud [was] the recorder. ⁴ Benaiah the son of Jehoiada [was] over the army, and Zadok and Abiathar were priests. ⁵ Azariah the son of Nathan [was] over the governors, and Zabud the son of Nathan was a priest, an advisor to the king. ⁶ Ahishar [was] over the palace, and Adoniram the son of Abda [was] over the forced labor.

⁷ Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel, and they sustained the king and his palace, {each one was to sustain for each month of the year}. ⁸ These [are] their names: Ben-Hur [was] in the hill country of Ephraim. ⁹ Ben-Deker [was] in Makaz and in Shaalbim and in Beth-Shemesh and Elon of Beth-Hanan. ¹⁰ Ben-Hesed [was] in the Arubbot; Socoh and all the land of Hepher [were] his. ¹¹ Ben-Abinadab [was] in all of Naphat of Dor; Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife. ¹² Baanah the son of Ahilud [was] in Taanach and Megiddo and all Beth-Shean which [is] beside Zarethan below Jezreel, of Beth-Shean up to Abel-Meholah up to the other side of Jokmeam. ¹³ Ben-Geber [was] in Ramoth-Gilead; the villages of Jair, the son of Manasseh which are in the Gilead [were] his, and the region of Argob which [is] in the Bashan, sixty great cities, with walls [having] crossbars of bronze, [were] his. ¹⁴ Ahinadab the son of Iddo [was in] Mahanaim. ¹⁵ Ahimaaz [was] in Naphtali; he moreover also had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife. ¹⁶ Baanah the son of Hushai [was] in Asher and Bealoth. ¹⁷ Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah [was] in Issachar. ¹⁸ Shimei the son of Ela [was] in Benjamin. ¹⁹ Geber the son of Uri [was] in the land of Gilead, the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and of Og, the king of Bashan; one governor which [was] over the land.

²⁰ Judah and Israel [were] as many as the sand which is on the seashore in abundance, eating and drinking and rejoicing!