1 Reis 4

1 Reis 4

MacArthur - The borders of the kingdoms which Solomon influenced echoed the Lord's promise to Abram in Ge 15:18. However, Solomon's reign was not the fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant for 3 reasons: (1) Israel still only lived in the land "from Dan even to Beersheba" (1Ki 4:25). Abraham's descendants did not inhabit all the land promised to Abraham. (2) The non-Israelite kingdoms did not lose their identity and independence, but rather recognized Solomon's authority and brought him tribute without surrendering title to their lands. (3) According to Nu 34:6, the Mediterranean Sea (SEE MAP ABOVE) is to be the western border of the Land of Promise, indicating that Tyre was to be a part of the Promised Land. However, Hiram king of Tyre was a sovereign who entered into a bilateral or parity treaty (between equals) with Solomon (1Ki 5:1-12). (See The MacArthur Bible Commentary) R D Patterson makes an excellent point that "The countries that David had conquered remained subject to Solomon and brought him tribute throughout his reign. This was one of the noteworthy signs of God’s blessing in keeping with the Davidic covenant. The usual experience of ancient empire builders was that when the old king died, the subject nations would withhold tribute and challenge the new king in rebellion. This necessitated repeated punitive expeditions to reinforce the former king’s terms and to prove the ability of the new king to enforce his will. Solomon did not have to do this. God granted him a peaceful reign in which he could focus his energies on the temple and other building projects. He was also able to devote himself to administrative matters, to the building up of extensive and expanding foreign trade, and to his pursuit of wisdom and knowledge." (Borrow Expositor's Bible Commentary page 52) Tribute (grain offering) (04503) minchah means a gift (given to another without compensation = Ge 32:13, 2Ki 8:8), tribute ( payment by one ruler or nation to another in acknowledgment of submission or as the price of protection = Jdg 3:14, 2Sa 8:2; Hos 10:6) or offering (as a gift offered to God). The most common sense by far in the OT is as an offering (usually "grain offering" in the NAS but it could refer to animal offerings Ge 4:3-5 or "sacrifices" in general Isa 19:21). In nonreligious contexts, the term spoke of a gift, often to someone who was being honored (Ge 33:10), such as a king (1Sa 10:27; 1Kgs 10:25; 2Chr 17:5), or tribute, an expected or enforced “gift” (Jdg 3:15–18; 2 Sam 8:2). “Gift” seems to have been the basic meaning, becoming more specific if used in a religious or in a sociopolitical context 1 Kings 4:22 Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of meal, kors:1Ki 4:22 Approximation of King Solomon's Daily Ration of Meal! A FEW DAILY RATIONS! Solomon's provision for one day was thirty kors of fine flour and sixty kors of meal - 1 Kor = 10 Ephahs = 220 Liters = 6.2 Bushels. In modern terms, a kor is roughly 220 liters (about 58 gallons - see ancient kor conversion). This makes it one of the largest biblical units for measuring dry goods. For comparison a single ephah, which is a smaller unit, about 22 liters. In sum, 30 kors would be 6,600 liters (or about 1,745 gallons of flour daily). 60 kors of meal would be 60 × 220 liters equating to 13,200 liters (or about 3,480 gallons of meal daily). This enormous quantity highlights the scale and grandeur of Solomon’s kingdom and his royal court and reflects the prosperity and wealth during his reign, as well as the logistical requirements to sustain such a large household and administrative infrastructure (Israel did not have huge metal storage bins as in the depiction above!) The size of these provisions gives us a sense of the splendor, size and majesty of Solomon's court! Depiction of King Solomon's Daily Bread Ration! Patterson - Thenius (cited by Keil, p. 53) calculates that this amount of flour would produce 28,000 pounds of bread, sufficient for fourteen thousand people. (Borrow Expositor's Bible Commentary page 52) 1 Kings 4:23 ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl. Ten fat: Ne 5:17,18 roebucks: De 15:22. Ten fat oxen, twenty pasture-fed oxen, a hundred sheep besides deer, gazelles, roebucks, and fattened fowl - Remember that these are Solomon's provision for one day! These were all Levitically "clean" animals that could be eaten. And remember this not hyperbole, but these numbers represent just ONE DAY's supply! Imagine the logistics of keeping this number of animals ready for the butcher every day! The writer is clearly trying to give us a picture of the majesty and grandeur of Solomon's reign! Warren