1 Kings 4:27

4:20-28 Never did the crown of Israel shine so bright, as when Solomon wore it. He had peace on all sides. Herein, his kingdom was a type of the Messiah's; for to Him it is promised that he shall have the heathen for his inheritance, and that princes shall worship him. The spiritual peace, and joy, and holy security, of all the faithful subjects of the Lord Jesus, were typified by that of Israel. The kingdom of God is not, as Solomon's was, meat and drink, but, what is infinitely better, righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. The vast number of his attendants, and the great resort to him, are shown by the provision daily made. Herein Christ far outdoes Solomon, that he feeds all his subjects, not with the bread that perishes, but with that which endures to eternal life.

And these officers provided victuals for King Solomon,.... The twelve before mentioned; and this is repeated here, after the account of his horses, to observe, that they provided for them also, as well as for the sake of what follows; that the large provision made by them was not only for Solomon's family and domestic servants, but for strangers from different arts, who came upon messages to him, or to visit him, and to behold the splendour of his court: and for all that came to Solomon's table; which was an open table for all comers, as there were some from all parts of the earth, 1 Kings 4:34; every man in his month; each of the twelve officers provided food in the month assigned to him: they lacked nothing; they always had enough to supply the king with, and they failed not in the performance of their duty, nor came short of their salaries, being fully and punctually paid them.

1 Kings 4:27-28 . Those officers — Named above, 1 Kings 4:7 . They lacked nothing — Or, rather, they suffered nothing to be lacking to any man that came to Solomon’s table, but plentifully provided all things necessary. This is repeated to show their diligence, exactness, and care, which was remarkable; especially since they took care of his stables as well as of his house, as it follows in the next verse. Barley also and straw — Barley was anciently horse-corn, as appears by many places in Homer. For the horses and dromedaries — The Hebrew word, rechesh, signifies swift horses, as Abarbinel thinks; see Esther 8:14 ; but others take them for mules. Where the officers were — Or, rather, Where the beasts were; for there is no word for officers in the Hebrew. Every man according to his charge — Which lasted for a month every year.

27 . And those officers ] Referring to the twelve enumerated in 1 Kings 4:8-19 . There is a degree of awkwardness in the way in which the fresh mention of them is introduced, and this no doubt led to the transposition in the LXX. which has been noticed above. they lacked nothing ] Rather, ‘they let nothing be missing.’ The notion of the verb is that of inspecting troops , and marking, and at once correcting, deficiencies.

In 2 Chronicles 9:25 , the number of stalls for Solomon's chariot horses is stated at 4,000, instead of 40,000. The number in the present passage is probably a corruption. Solomon's chariots were but 1,400 1 Kings 10:26 ; 2 Chronicles 1:14 , for which 40,000 horses could not possibly be required. The Assyrian chariots had at most three horses apiece, while some had only two. 4,000 horses would supply the full team of three to 1,200, and the smaller team of two to 200 chariots. The number 4,000 is in due proportion to the 12,000 horses for cavalry, and is in accordance with all that we know of the military establishments of the time and country. Compare 2 Chronicles 12:3 ; 2 Samuel 8:4 .

Verse 27. - And those [rather, these, i.e. , the officers mentioned vv. 7-19] officers provided victual for [Heb. nourished ] king Solomon and for all that came unto king Solomon's table [we can hardly see here (with Keil) "a further proof of the blessings of peace." The words were probably suggested by the mental wonder how the cavalry, etc., could be maintained, and so the author states that this great number of horses and horsemen depended on the twelve purveyors for their food] every man in his month; they lacked nothing [rather, suffered nothing to be lacking. So Gesen.; and the context seems to require it]. 1 Kings 4:27

"And" equals a still further proof of the blessings of peace - "those prefects ( 1 Kings 4:7 .) provided for king Solomon, and all who came to the king's table, i.e., who were fed from the royal table, every one his month (see at 1 Kings 4:7 ), so that nothing was wanting ( 1 Kings 4:28 ), and conveyed the barley (the ordinary food of cattle in Palestine and the southern lands, where oats are not cultivated) and the straw for the horses and coursers to the place where it ought to be. To שׁם יהיה אשׁר the lxx, Vulg., and others supply המּלך as the subject: wherever the king might stay. This is certainly more in harmony with the imperfect יהיה than it would be to supply הרכשׁ, as Bochart and others propose; still it is hardly correct. For in that case ולרכשׁ לסּוּסים could only be understood as referring to the chariot horses and riding horses, which Solomon kept for the necessities of his court, and not to the whole of the cavalry; since we cannot possibly assume that even if Solomon changed his residence according to the season and to suit his pleasure, or on political grounds, as Thenius supposes, though this cannot by any means be inferred from 1 Kings 9:18 and 1 Kings 9:19 , he took 16,000 horses about with him. But this limitation of the clause is evidently at variance with the context, since ולרכב לסּוּסים too plainly refer back to 1 Kings 4:6 .

Moreover, "if the king were intended, he would certainly have been mentioned by name, as so many other subjects and objects have come between." For these reasons we agree with Bttcher in taking יהיה indefinitely: "where it (barley and straw) was wanted, according to the distribution of the horses." רכשׁ probably denotes a very superior kind of horse, like the German Renner (a courser or race-horse). כּמשׁפּטו אישׁ, every one according to his right, i.e., whatever was appointed for him as right.

[Bible] 4:19. Gaber, the son of Uri, in the land of Galaad, in the land of Sehon, the king of the Amorrhites, and of Og, the king of Basan, over all that were in that land. 4:20. Juda and Israel were innumerable, as the sand of the sea in multitude; eating and drinking, and rejoicing. 4:21. And Solomon had under him all the kingdoms, from the river to the land of the Philistines, even to the border of Egypt: and they brought him presents, and served him all the days of his life. The river... Euphrates. 4:22. And the provision of Solomon, for each day, was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal; 4:23. Ten fat oxen, and twenty out of the pastures, and a hundred rams; besides venison of harts, roes, and buffles, and fatted fowls. 4:24. For he had all the country which was beyond the river, from Thaphsa to Gazan, and all the kings of those countries: and he had peace on every side round about. 4:25. And Juda, and Israel, dwelt without any fear, every one under his vine, and under his fig tree, from Dan to Bersabee, all the days of Solomon. 4:26. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of chariot horses, and twelve thousand for the saddle. 4:27. And the foresaid governors of the king fed them; and they furnished the necessaries also for king Solomon's table, with great care, in their time. 4:28. They brought barley also, and straw for the horses and beasts, to the place where the king was, according as it was appointed them. 4:29. And God gave to Solomon wisdom, and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, as the sand that is on the sea shore. 4:30. And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals, and of the Egyptians; 4:31. And he was wiser than all men: wiser than Ethan, the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Dorda, the sons of Mahol, and he was renowned in all nations round about. 4:32. Solomon also spoke three thousand parables: and his poems were a thousand and five.