1 Kings 4:2

_AND THESE WERE THE PRINCES WHICH HE HAD; AZARIAH THE SON OF ZADOK THE PRIEST,_ These were the princes - or chief officers. AZARIAH THE SON OF ZADOK THE PRIEST, х_ HAKOHEEN_ (H3548)]. This word koheen, priest, has been generally considered to be synonymous with prince. It is so interpreted in the Chaldee version (Genesis 41:45; Exodus 2:16; 2 Samuel 8:18: cf. 1 Chronicles 18:17; Psalms 110:4). 'From all these passages it appears that there were priests connected w

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....

Verse 1 Kings 4:2. _THESE_ WERE _THE PRINCES WHICH HE HAD; AZARIAH THE SON OF_ _ZADOK THE PRIEST._] These were his _great, chief_, or _principal_ men. None of them were _princes_ in the common acceptation of the word....

AZARIAH, THE SON OF ZADOK, THE PRIEST - “The priest” here belongs to Azariah, not to Zadok. The term used כהן _kôhên_ means sometimes a priest, sometimes a civil officer, with perhaps a semi-priestly character. (See 2 Samuel 8:18 note.) In this place it has the definite article prefixed, and can only mean “the high priest.” Azariah, called here the “son,” but really the “grandson,” of Zadok, seems to have succeeded him in the priesthood 1 Chronicles 6:10. His position as high priest at the time when this list was made out gives Azariah the foremost place in it....

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

AND THESE [WERE] THE PRINCES WHICH HE HAD,.... That were in office about him, in the highest posts of honour and trust: AZARIAH THE SON OF ZADOK THE PRIEST: or rather his grandson, since Ahimaaz was the son of Zadok, and Azariah the son of Ahimaaz, 1 Chronicles 6:8; though another Zadok may be meant, and his son not a priest but a prince, as the word may be rendered, and was Solomon's prime minister of state, and the rather, since he is mentioned first....

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

_Azariah the son of Zadok the priest_ The two last words are to be referred to Azariah and not to Zadok. The Vat. LXX. omits the title, but the Alex. text has ὁ ἱερεύς. On the contrary the Vulgate renders -Sadoc _Sacerdotis_." The Zadok here named is the son of Ahitub (1 Chronicles 6:8), and Azariah was really his grandson, the order being Zadok-Ahimaaz-Azariah. The use of -son" thus loosely for grandson is not uncommon in the Old Test. Thus (Genesis 29:5) Laban is called the _son_of Nahor. He was really the son of Bethuel. Similarly (Ezra 5:1) Zachariah the prophet is called the _son_of Iddo, though Barachiah was his father and Iddo his grandfather. The words -the priest" have caused much discussion, and on

II. THE MANAGEMENT OF THIS KINGDOM 4:1-20 In this section of Kings in which the author has been discussing the commencement of Solomon's reign, it is natural to find a description of his court and some intimation as to how he organized the government of the realm. The list of officials in 1 Kings 4:1-20 does not, however, necessarily represent the appointments of Solomon's early years. The mention of the king's two married daughters (1 Kings 4:11; 1 Kings 4:15) would seem to necessitate assigning this list to a later date in his reign.[141] The list is in two parts containing (1) Solomon's ministers of state (1 Kings 4:1-6); and (2) h