1 Kings 4:23

_TEN FAT OXEN, AND TWENTY OXEN OUT OF THE PASTURES, AND AN HUNDRED SHEEP, BESIDE HARTS, AND ROEBUCKS, AND FALLOWDEER, AND FATTED FOWL._ Fatted fowl, х_ UWBARBURIYM_ (H1257)]. Kimchi thinks capons are meant, but it was more probably geese....

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....

HARTS ... - The exact sorts of wild land animals here intended are very uncertain. Perhaps it would be best to translate “wild-goats, gazelles, and wild oxen,” which abounded in the wilder parts of Syria, from where Solomon would be supplied. (See 1 Kings 4:24.) (Yahmur, or the “roebuck,” gives its name to a valley in a wooded district, south of Carmel (Conder).) The use of game at the royal banquets of Assyria appears in the sculptures....

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S RULE, STATE, AND WISDOM.—The remainder of this chapter, which de-scribes to us the extent and character of Solomon's sway (1 Kings 4:20, 1 Kings 4:21, 1 Kings 4:24, 1 Kings 4:25), the pomp and provision of his household (1 Kings 4:22, 1 Kings 4:23, 1 Kings 4:26-11),

TEN FAT OXEN,.... Such as were kept up in the stall and fatted: AND TWENTY OXEN OUT OF THE PASTURES; which were killed as they were taken from thence, and not put up to be fed: AND AN HUNDRED SHEEP; out of the folds: BESIDE HARTS, AND ROEBUCKS, AND FALLOW DEER; which were clean creatures, according to the Levitical law, Deuteronomy 14:5; these were hunted in fields, or taken out of the park, or were presents from other countries; so that here was plenty of beef, mutton, and venison: for the spiritual application of this to the antitypical Solomon, and his provisions, see Matthew 22:4; AND FATTED FOWL; such as we call capons a; some Jewish writers b, because of the likeness of sound in the word here used, take them to be Bar

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

_roebucks_ The Hebrew word (צבי) is rendered δορκὰς by the LXX. i.e. a gazelle. It is akin to the proper name Tabitha, i.e. Δορκὰς (Acts 9:36). The rendering _roebuck_is better suited to the description of the next kind of animals mentioned and which A. V. translates _fallow deer_. _fatted fowl_ The word rendered -fowl," is found only in this passage. The Chaldee paraphrase, as well as the Syriac and the Vulgate interpret it thus, so that we have full support from Jewish tradition. Kimchi thinks common fowls are meant. Gesenius, connecting the word with a root signifying _pure_, thinks geese or swans may be intended....

AND FATTED FOWL— See Nehemiah 5:18....

II. THE WONDERMENT OF THIS REIGN 4:21-34 With 1 Kings 4:21 (1 Kings 5:1 in the Hebrew) the author takes up the thought introduced in 1 Kings 4:20, viz., that Solomon ruled over a vast and happy people. The disconnected details recorded in this section serve to underscore the fact that the age of Solomon was the golden age of Israel. Here the author discusses (1) the extent and power of Solomon's kingdom (1 Kings 4:21-28); and (2) Solomon's profound wisdom and fame (1 Kings 4:29-34). A. THE EXTENT AND POWER OF SOLOMON'S KINGDOM 4:21-28...