1 Kings 4:7-20

B. THE FINANCIAL OFFICERS 4:7-20

TRANSLATION

(7) And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, and they supplied provisions for the king and his household; a month in the year it fell upon one to make provision. (8) And these are their names: The son of Hur in Mt. Ephraim; (9) the son of Dekar, in Makaz, Shaalbin, Beth-shemesh, and Elon-bethhanan; (10) the son of Hesed, in Aruboth (he had charge of Sochoh and all the land of Hepher); (11) the son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor (Taphath the daughter of Solomon was his wife); (12) Baana the son of AhiludTaanach, Megiddo and all Beth-shean which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah unto beyond Jokneam; (13) the son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead who had charge of the towns of Jair, the son of Manasseh which are in Gilead and the region of Argob which is in Bashansixty great cities with walls and bronze bars: (14) Ahinadab the son of Iddo, Mahanaim; (15) Ahimaaz in Naphtali (also he married Basmath the daughter of Solomon); (16) Baanah the son of Hushai, in Asher and in Aloth; (17) Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; (18) Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin; (19) Geber the son of Uri, in the hill country of Gilead, the country of Sihon, king of the Amorites and Og, king of Bashan, and he was the only officer who was in the land. (20) Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is beside the sea in multitude, eating, drinking and rejoicing.

COMMENTS

Solomon is credited with originating the first scientific system of taxation. He divided his entire realm into twelve tax districts over which he set a governor or superintendent. Each governor was responsible during one month of the year to garner from his district the produce and meat necessary to sustain the king's household during that month (1 Kings 4:7). Since the office of district governor was quite prestigious, those who were appointed over the several districts are accorded the honor of being listed in the inspired word. Rather than a verse by verse discussion, a few general comments regarding the list as a whole is more in order.

1. The boundaries of Solomon's taxation districts correspond roughly to the old tribal boundaries which were devised in the days of Joshua. Such alterations in these borders as do exist were probably made in order to balance the economic resources of the districts.
2. Rather than being alphabetical or geographical, the list is chronological, i.e., the governors are listed in the order in which they were responsible for the royal provisions during the year.
3. No doubt the districts were mapped out and months assigned according to the capacity of the country to produce the monthly provisions of the king.
4. Of the twelve governors, five are only known by their patronymics (name of their fathers). No satisfactory explanation of this curious circumstance has yet been given.[145]

[145] Hammond (PC, p. 69) has proposed that part of the document from which the author copied this list had been destroyed.

5. Two of the governors are reported to have married daughters of Solomon (1 Kings 4:11; 1 Kings 4:15). While the appointments to these offices may have been made early in the reign of Solomon, the list could not have been compiled sooner than the middle of his reign when his daughters would have been old enough to marry. These men were officers in the districts farthest away from Solomon. This may have been part of Solomon's strategy to assure the loyalty of these officers.

6. Nine of the administrative districts were on the west and three on the east of the Jordan.
7. Judah is omitted from the list of districts. Apparently Judah was exempt from providing supplies for the court and military. This favoritism no doubt engendered jealousy among the tribes.[146]

[146] It could be that Judah had already been organized by David on a separate basis and hence is omitted here from the list. See de Vaux, AI, pp. 133-35.

8. The success of these administrative measures is brought out in 1 Kings 4:20. The population of the nation was so numerous that it was easy for the people to pay and for the governors to collect the royal tribute. The expression numerous as the sand of the sea indicates that the promises made to the patriarchs (Genesis 22:17; Genesis 32:12) had been fulfilled. Apparently Solomon's exactions did not deprive the people of necessary food; they had plenty to eat and drink.