1 Kings 4:19

_BAANAH THE SON OF HUSHAI WAS IN ASHER AND IN ALOTH:_ No JFB commentary on these verses....

1-19 In the choice of the great officers of Solomon's court, no doubt, his wisdom appeared. Several are the same that were in his father's time. A plan was settled by which no part of the country was exhausted to supply his court, though each sent its portion....

The meaning of the last clause is somewhat doubtful. On the whole, our King James Version may well stand as nearly correct. The writer has assigned to Geber a wide stretch of territory; and, anticipating surprise, assures his readers ” (there was but) one officer who (purveyed) in this land.”...

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S STATE AND COURT OFFICIALS.—The account of Solomon's marriage and entry upon his religious and judicious functions is appropriately followed by a description of his court, of the great functionaries of the realm, of his royal state and magnificence, and, lastly, of his varied and unprecedented wisdom. It must not be supposed, however, from the occurrence of the lists in this particular place, that they necessarily represent the appointments of the early part of Solomon's reign. The mention of two of the married daughters of the king (1 Kings 4:11, 1 Kings 4:15) has been generally thought to prove that the record belongs to a much later period, and it certainly affords a powerful presumption

GEBER THE SON OF URI [WAS] IN THE COUNTRY OF GILEAD,.... Which was beyond Jordan, and inhabited by the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh; this must be understood of all the country, excepting what was under the jurisdiction of the son of Geber, 1 Kings 4:13; and which had been THE COUNTRY OF SIHON KING OF THE AMORITES, AND OF OG KING OF BASHAN; until it was taken from them by Moses, Numbers 21:25; AND [HE WAS] THE ONLY OFFICER WHICH [WAS] IN THE LAND; which is not true of Geber; for there was another officer in the land of Gilead besides him, the son of Geber before observed, unless it should be rendered "in that land", in that part of the land he had; but then the same might have been observed of all the rest of the officers: the words may be re

3. SOLOMON'S PRINCES AND OFFICERS THE PROSPEROUS KINGDOM AND THE KING'S GREAT WISDOM CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The Princes (1 Kings 4:1)_ 2. The Officers (1 Kings 4:7) 3. The prosperous kingdom (1 Kings 4:20) 4. Solomon's great wisdom (1 Kings 4:29) “So King Solomon was king over all Israel.” A list of the princes and the twelve officers is given first. Their names fit in perfectly with the character of the kingdom, foreshadowing the coming and better kingdom of our Lord. We give the names of the princes with their meaning. Azariah, “Jehovah is help”; Elihoreph, “my God is reward”; Ahiah, “Brother of Jeho

1 KINGS 3:1 TO 1 KINGS 4:34. EARLY DAYS, REIGN, AND WISDOM OF SOLOMON. The sources of this section are various, and the arrangement of the narrative in the LXX should be noticed. There are (_a_) a statistical account of Solomon s reign, referred to, apparently in 1 Kings 11:41, as the book of the acts of Solomon; (_b_) a number of narratives about this reign; (_c_) several Deuteronomic additions_ e.g._ 1 Kings 3:6; 1 Kings 3:14, etc.: and (_d_) some very late passages, possibly originally explanatory notes. The history of Solomon's reign

HE. Geber. OFFICER. Not the same word as in 1 Kings 4:7. IN THE LAND. in the land [of Bashan]....

_in the country of Gilead_ Geber had the oversight of that part of Gilead which lay south of the district assigned to Ben-Geber (1 Kings 4:13). This comprised all the kingdom of Sihon and part of the kingdom of Og (Deut. chh. 2. 3), and was a very extensive province, but on account of its rugged character was probably thinly populated. The extent of it may account for the notice which follows that Geber was the _only_officer, though the country was so large....

AND HE WAS THE ONLY OFFICER— _Each officer presided over his land or province._ Houbigant....