Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

4:2 Among the high officials of the kingdom first described is the (chief) priest, who is surprisingly named not as Zadok (2:35) but as Azariah the son of Zadok. For some undisclosed reason Zadok himself is now in a lesser position, along with an apparently reinstated Abiathar (4:4; cf. 2:26-27). The new order, designed in God-given wisdom, is different from the old order, in which Zadok had replaced the (unjustly?) banished Abiathar.

4:3 The secretaries may have had general managerial responsibilities, or more specific tasks such as recording history or writing letters, while the recorder may in fact have been a herald or even the state prosecutor.

4:5 Azariah was in charge of the 12 officers over all Israel mentioned in vv. 7-19, while Zabud held the office of king's friend (i.e., personal adviser; cf. Hushai in 2 Sam. 15:37; 16:16; 17:5-16).

4:6 Ahishar was the royal steward (cf. 16:9; 18:3), while Adoniram . . . was in charge of the forced labor (cf. 5:13-18; 9:15-22).

4:7-19 twelve officers. The task of Solomon's representatives in the various regions of Israel was to provide for the king and his household on an annual rotation, each region being responsible for one month in each year. These officers may have been tax supervisors, whose job was to ensure that local government paid its dues to central government. Although the number "twelve" is the traditional number of the Israelite tribes, and some of the regions mentioned in vv. 7-19 may have been based on tribal areas (e.g., Naphtali, Issachar, and Benjamin), what is described here is not strictly a tribal system of support for central government (e.g., the hill country of Ephraim in v. 8 is not to be understood as corresponding to the tribal area "Ephraim"). Solomon's arrangements move beyond the tribal system, while having points of contact with it. The one governor who was over the land was most likely Azariah (v. 5), to whom the 12 district officers were responsible. This system apparently continued after the death of the king. Evidence for it is perhaps to be found at the excavations of Eshtemoa in the hill country of Judah. There five jars have been discovered, filled with over 60 pounds (27 kg) of silver. The pottery dates to the ninth or eighth century b.c. On two of the jars the word "fifth" appears; this probably refers to a tax that would equal 20 percent.

4:9 A double-sided board game has been found at the site of Beth-shemesh from the tenth century b.c. Carved into one side of the board is a man's name, "Hanan." That name also appears on an ostracon from Beth-shemesh dating to the twelfth century b.c. and on a tenth-century bowl found at nearby Tel Batash. The Bible lists the site of Elonbeth-hanan immediately after Beth-shemesh as part of Solomon's second economic district.

4:12 One of the earliest Hebrew inscriptions, found at Khirbet Raddana and dating to the twelfth century b.c., is a jar handle bearing the words "belonging to Ahilud."

4:20 Judah and Israel . . . ate . . . drank . . . were happy. Solomon's God-given wisdom has produced an economic system which, while it ensures that the royal household has enough to eat and drink, is not oppressive. This is true even though the people are as many as the sand by the sea (cf. Gen. 22:17; and note Solomon's concern in 1 Kings 3:8-9 that he would not be able to govern so many people). This is government by the righteous person under the blessing of God: when their leader thrives, the people rejoice (Prov. 29:2).