1 Kings 4:24

_FOR HE HAD DOMINION OVER ALL THE REGION ON THIS SIDE THE RIVER, FROM TIPHSAH EVEN TO AZZAH, OVER ALL THE KINGS ON THIS SIDE THE RIVER: AND HE HAD PEACE ON ALL SIDES ROUND ABOUT HIM._ From Tiphsah - i:e., Thapsaeus, a large and flourishing town on the west bank of the Euphrates, the name of which was derived from a celebrated ford near it, the lowest on that river. EVEN TO AZZAH - i:e., Gaza, on the southwestern extremity, not far from the Mediterranean. This period is a splendid parenthesis in the historic page of Israel....

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....

ON THIS SIDE THE RIVER - i. e., the region west of the Euphrates. Tiphsah, or Tiphsach, the place on the Euphrates called Thapsacus. The word means “ford,” or “passage,” being formed from פסח _pâsach_, “to pass over” (compare “paschal”). It is the modern Suriyeh, forty-five miles below Balls, at the point where the Euphrates changes its course from south to southeast by east. The stream is fordable here, and nowhere else in this part of its course. Solomon’s possession of Thapsacus would have been very favorable to his schemes of land commerce 1 Kings 9:19. TO AZZAH - i. e., Gaza. ALL THE KINGS - Compare Joshua 12:9. In Ph

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),

FOR HE HAD DOMINION OVER ALL [THE REGION] ON THIS SIDE THE RIVER,.... Or beyond the river Euphrates, in the sense before given, 1 Kings 4:21; which accounts for the plenty of provisions he had, and the revenue with which he supported such a table he kept: FROM TIPHSAH EVEN TO AZZAH; or Gaza, one of the five principalities of the Philistines. Tiphsah is thought to be the Thapsacus of Pliny d which both he and Ptolemy e place near the river Euphrates, since called Amphipolis; the former places it in Syria, the latter in Arabia Deserta; and which Strabo f, from Eratosthenes, describes as 4800 furlongs or six hundred miles from Babylon, and from the place where Mesopotamia begins not less than two thousand furlongs or two hundred and fifty miles: OVER ALL THE KINGS ON THIS SIDE THE RIVER; the river Euphrates, or beyond it, in the sense before explained, as

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

ON THIS SIDE, or beyond. SAFELY. confidently, DAN EVEN TO BEER-SHEBA. The two extremities. Compare Judges 20:1 and 1 Samuel 3:20, &c....

_on_this _side the river_ The side intended is of course here quite plain. It is the country west of the Euphrates towards Palestine. But the same Hebrew came to be used by those who were dwelling east of the Euphrates (cp. Ezra 4:6; Ezra 6:6; Ezra 7:21; Ezra 7:25; Ezra 8:36; Nehemiah 2:7) when they spake of Palestine. So _Cisalpina_was used of Gaul south of the Alps, not only by those living there, but by those who lived on the other side of the Alpine range. _Tiphsah_ i.e. Thapsacus on the w

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...