Search

1King Solomon was king over all Israel. 2These were the princes whom he had: Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; 3Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; 4Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the army; Zadok and Abiathar were priests; 5Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; Zabud the son of Nathan was chief minister, the king’s friend; 6Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the men subject to forced labor.

7Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the king and his household. Each man had to make provision for a month in the year. 8These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim; 9Ben Deker, in Makaz, in Shaalbim, Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan; 10Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (Socoh and all the land of Hepher belonged to him); 11Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (he had Taphath, Solomon’s daughter, as wife); 12Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abel Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam; 13Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead, belonged to him; and the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars, belonged to him); 14Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim; 15Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon as wife); 16Baana the son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth; 17Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar; 18Shimei the son of Ela, in Benjamin; 19Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer who was in the land.

20Judah and Israel were numerous as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. 21Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River to the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt. They brought tribute and served Solomon all the days of his life. 22Solomon’s provision for one day was thirty cors of fine flour, sixty measures of meal, 23ten head of fat cattle, twenty head of cattle out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, in addition to deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. 24For he had dominion over all on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River; and he had peace on all sides around him. 25Judah and Israel lived safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. 26Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen. 27Those officers provided food for King Solomon, and for all who came to King Solomon’s table, every man in his month. They let nothing be lacking. 28They also brought barley and straw for the horses and swift steeds to the place where the officers were, each man according to his duty. 29God gave Solomon abundant wisdom, understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand that is on the seashore. 30Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31For he was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations all around. 32He spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered one thousand five. 33He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he also spoke of animals, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish. 34People of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, sent by all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

Person

Jacob (Israel)

Also called Israel
Lived
1836 BC – 1689 BC (approximate)
Died
Egypt
Father Isaac
Mother Rebekah
Spouse BilhahLeahRachelZilpah
Children GadDanLevi (patriarch)Benjamin (patriarch)IssacharReubenDinahAsherZebulunSimeonJudah (patriarch)Joseph (son of Jacob)Naphtali
Siblings Esau (Edom)
 Biography | Hershel Wayne House

Jacob was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, born immediately after Esau, and Abraham was his grandfather. He achieved the right of the firstborn by trickery, in offering his older brother, Esau, food in exchange for the birthright, who cared little for this position. He also received the blessing of firstborn from his father Isaac before his death by cunning, and with the assistance of his mother Rebekah.

After his deception of Esau, receiving the blessing from his father, Jacob escaped to his uncle Laban, who in turn deceived Jacob into working for fourteen years for the marriage of Jacob to Leah, and then his beloved Rachel. Laban also sought to deceive Jacob of wages, but God intervened to ensure he would prosper. In a time of trial, when he feared the wrath of Esau, upon returning to the land of Canaan, Jacob had an encounter with God, and his name was changed to Israel, the one who wrestles with God. Even though his early life was characterized by deception, God worked through the situation to ensure that Jacob would be the one in the line of the patriarchs, to create a great nation and ultimately fulfill His purposes in the earth, especially through the future Messiah. The Messiah would guarantee the promise of the land to Abram and a person who would rule over Abraham's descendants, but also He would bring blessings to all the people of the earth (Gen 12:1-3).

In spite of Jacob's early failure by deception, God worked through him, and finally, Jacob became a different type of man after his struggle with God. As one has said,

"Despite Jacob’s faults, God chose him to be the leader of a great nation that still bears his name today. But for this, it is unlikely that we would know much about Jacob, who appears to be in the middle of events while the key players are those around him. There is no great wisdom or bravery in Jacob to speak of, and we are tempted to see him as little more than God’s passive instrument. If we are tempted to think that, because we aren’t in the spotlight performing great acts for God, we are unimportant to Him, then we should consider the life of Jacob and know that, in spite of our failings, God can and will still use us in His plan."

For more on Jacob, see "Who was Jacob in the Bible?", https://www.gotquestions.org/life-Jacob.html

Copyright © 2026 Hershel Wayne House. All rights reserved.
Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.