1 Kings 4:21-25

4:21 (5:1) ¹  Solomon ruled all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River ²  to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These kingdoms paid tribute as Solomon’s subjects throughout his lifetime. ³  4:22 Each day Solomon’s royal court consumed ⁴  thirty cors ⁵  of finely milled flour, sixty cors of cereal, 4:23 ten calves fattened in the stall, ⁶  twenty calves from the pasture, and a hundred sheep, not to mention rams, gazelles, deer, and well-fed birds. 4:24 His royal court was so large because ⁷  he ruled over all the kingdoms west of the Euphrates River from Tiphsah ⁸  to Gaza; he was at peace with all his neighbors. ⁹  4:25 All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon’s lifetime. ¹⁰ 

[4:21]  ¹ sn Beginning with 4:21, the verse numbers through 5:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 4:21 ET = 5:1 HT, 4:22 ET = 5:2 HT, etc., through 5:18 ET = 5:32 HT. Beginning with 6:1 the numbering of verses in the English Bible and the Hebrew text is again the same.

[4:21]  ² tn Heb “the River” (also in v. 24). This is the standard designation for the Euphrates River in biblical Hebrew.

[4:21]  ³ tn Heb “[They] were bringing tribute and were serving Solomon all the days of his life.”

[4:22]  ⁴ tn Heb “the food of Solomon for each day was.”

[4:22]  ⁵ tn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.

[4:23]  ⁶ tn The words “in the stall” are added for clarification; note the immediately following reference to cattle from the pasture.

[4:24]  ⁷ tn Heb “because.” The words “his royal court was so large” are added to facilitate the logical connection with the preceding verse.

[4:24]  ⁸ sn Tiphsah. This was located on the Euphrates River.

[4:24]  ⁹ tn Heb “for he was ruling over all [the region] beyond the River, from Tiphsah to Gaza, over all the kingdoms beyond the River, and he had peace on every side all around.”

[4:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Judah and Israel lived securely, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beer Sheba, all the days of Solomon.”