1 King Solomon was king over all Israel, 2 and these were his high officials: Azariah the son of Zadok was the priest; 3 Elihoreph and Ahijah the sons of Shisha were secretaries; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder; 4 Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was in command of the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5 Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was priest and king’s friend; 6 Ahishar was in charge of the palace; and Adoniram the son of Abda was in charge of the forced labor.
7 Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for one month in the year. 8 These were their names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim; 9 Ben-deker, in Makaz, Shaalbim, Beth-shemesh, and Elonbeth-hanan; 10 Ben-hesed, in Arubboth (to him belonged Socoh and all the land of Hepher); 11 Ben-abinadab, in all Naphath-dor (he had Taphath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 12 Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach, Megiddo, and all Beth-shean that is beside Zarethan below Jezreel, and from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as the other side of Jokmeam; 13 Ben-geber, in Ramoth-gilead (he had the villages of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, and he had the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars); 14 Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he had taken Basemath the daughter of Solomon as his wife); 16 Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17 Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18 Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19 Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan. And there was one governor who was over the land. – 1 Kings 1:1-19 ESV
Through his record of Solomon’s deft handling of the dispute between the two prostitutes, the author has provided an example of Solomon’s Spirit-imbued wisdom. Solomon would put that wisdom to use in various ways, including the formation of his royal administration. His father’s death had left him as the sovereign authority over a large nation with a sizeable population spread over a vast area. To understand the nature of Solomon’s actions, as outlined in this passage, it is essential to recall the historical context that led to the establishment of the royal position in Israel.
Until the day Saul had been anointed the first king of Israel, the nation had functioned as a loose coalition of 12 tribes, with God as their King and sovereign. Israel was a theocracy. The tribes, while varying in size, each maintained independent control over the land they had been allotted by God. As the priestly tribe, the Levites were not given any land; instead, they were allocated cities within the territories of the other 11 tribes.
When the tribes first entered the land of Canaan, they had to defeat the existing inhabitants before they could occupy the land that had been awarded to them by God. To achieve this, the tribes formed alliances with one another, fighting side by side until they could settle in their respective territories. Once this task was accomplished, the tribes tended to operate independently of one another. There was no centralized governing body or system of government in place to provide guidance or regulate behavior. Over time, each of the tribes began to drift away from God and adopt the pagan practices of the land’s former inhabitants. They began worshiping false gods, a decision that forced Yahweh to judge them for their disobedience and unfaithfulness.
…the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies. – Judges 2:14 ESV
This led to a period in which God governed the tribes through the administration of judges. These judges were comprised of a diverse and disparate group of individuals sent by God to deliver His disobedient people from their enemies and call them back into fellowship with Him.
Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, the LORD was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. – Judges 2:18 ESV
This arrangement persisted for hundreds of years, until the day when the people demanded that God give them a king.
“Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” – 1 Samuel 8:5 ESV
Samuel, who had been God’s official spokesman and the last of the judges, was offended by their demand; he took it as a personal slight. But God told him, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7 ESV).
During their years as a confederation of independent tribes, Yahweh had been functioning as their sovereign authority. He had been their King. But as Samuel grew older and his two sons proved to be wicked, the people demanded a change in leadership. They wanted a human king, which meant they would be ruled over by a fallen, sin-prone man whose actions would have devastating implications. God had Samuel warn the Israelites of the consequences of their request.
“This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the LORD will not help you.” – 1 Samuel 8:11-18 NLT
They demanded a flesh-and-blood king, but God warned them that they would end up regretting their wish. But they refused to take God seriously and reiterated their demand for a king.
“Even so, we still want a king,” they said. “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.” – 1 Samuel 8:19-20 NLT
So, God gave them Saul, who was precisely what they had been looking for, a tall, good-looking man who had all the outward characteristics of a king.
Saul was the most handsome man in Israel—head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land. – 1 Samuel 9:2 NLT
Saul looked like a king, and after receiving his anointing by Samuel, he gave all the indications that he would rule wisely and effectively. But, in time, his true nature revealed itself. He would prove to be headstrong and stubbornly disobedient, refusing to rule according to God’s will. So, God was forced to remove him as king over Israel.
“I am sorry that I ever made Saul king, for he has not been loyal to me and has refused to obey my command.” – 1 Samuel 15:11 NLT
When faced with the prospect of his removal, Saul attempted to assuage God by begging His forgiveness, but it was too little, too late. Samuel had to break the news to Saul that his refusal to obey God was unforgivable and his kingship was irredeemable.
“What is more pleasing to the LORD:
your burnt offerings and sacrifices
or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,
and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,
and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.
So because you have rejected the command of the LORD,
he has rejected you asking.” – 1 Samuel 15:22-23 NLT
To make matters worse, Samuel told Saul that God had already chosen his replacement.
“The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to someone else—one who is better than you.” – 1 Samuel 15:28 NLT
God had shown the people what happens when they get what their hearts’ desire. He gave them a king who resembled the rulers of other nations. Now, they were going to see what a king looked like whose heart beat fast for God. God even warned Samuel that when looking for Saul’s replacement, he could not allow himself to be swayed by outward appearances. He had to look beneath the surface – at the heart.
“Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT
This wasn’t a beauty contest. It had nothing to do with good looks, pedigree, charisma, or natural abilities. Samuel was to look for a godly man, not just a good man. And God had already decided who that man would be.
…the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart. The LORD has already appointed him to be the leader of his people. – 1 Samuel 13:14 NLT
God chose David to be the next king. He wasn’t a perfect man, and he would prove to be anything but an ideal king. But he had a heart for God. He attempted to live his life in obedience to God, and God chose to make Solomon his successor. Early in his reign, Solomon also revealed himself to be a man after God’s own heart. He was faithful to Yahweh and attempted to operate his kingdom in submission to Yahweh's will. He utilized his God-given wisdom to establish a royal administration that provided structure and stability, enabling the nation to thrive. This entire section of Chapter 4, with its list of difficult-to-pronounce names and obscure titles, is meant to reveal how Solomon utilized his divinely ordained wisdom to establish a system of government that would enable him to rule justly and righteously over the people of God.
Solomon did not take his responsibilities lightly or use his kingly powers selfishly. He ruled with wisdom and discernment, and the end result was that “Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy” (1 Kings 4:20 ESV).
Solomon was demonstrating the truth of one of the proverbs he later recorded.
Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers. – Proverbs 11:14 NLT
Solomon surrounded himself with wise and capable men who shared his vision of building a strong kingdom that operated under Yahweh's divine authority. These verses detail Solomon's plans to establish a centralized government, operating out of the capital city of Jerusalem. He was replacing the former system of independent tribal authority and creating a more streamlined and responsive means of governance and administration. Under David's leadership, Israel had become a large nation with millions of inhabitants spread across a vast and extensive region. Solomon instituted a system of taxation and oversight to fund his royal administration.
“. . . this was a radical and decisive step, and that not only because it imposed upon the people an unprecedented burden. It meant that the old tribal system, already increasingly of vestigial significance, had been, as far as its political functioning was concerned, virtually abolished. In place of twelve tribes caring in turn for the central shrine were twelve districts taxed for the support of Solomon’s court!” – John Bright,
A History of Israel
But despite the burden these taxes placed on the people, they were content because their personal needs were met.
…they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. – 1 Kings 4:20 NLT
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
