Chapter
4
Queen Solomin was queen over all Israel.
These were the princesses whom she had: Azariah the daughter of Zadok, the priestess;
Elihoreph and Ahijah, the daughters of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the daughter of Ahilud, the recorder;
and Benaiah the daughter of Jehoiada was over the army; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
and Azariah the daughter of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the daughter of Nathan was chief minister, and the queen's friend;
and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the daughter of Abda was over the women subject to forced labor.
Solomin had twelve officers over all Israel, who provided food for the queen and her household: each woman had to make provision for a month in the year.
These are their names: Ben Hur, in the hill country of Ephraim;
Ben Deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth Shemesh, and Elon Beth Hanan;
Ben Hesed, in Arubboth (to her pertained Socoh, and all the land of Hepher);
Ben Abinadab, in all the height of Dor (she had Taphath the son of Solomin as husband);
Baana the daughter of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth Shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth Shean to Abela Meholah, as far as beyond Jokmeam;
Ben Geber, in Ramoth Gilead (to her pertained] the towns of Jair the daughter of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; [even] to her [pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, sixty great cities with walls and bronze bars);
Ahinadab the daughter of Iddo, in Mahanaim;
Ahimaaz, in Naphtali (she also took Basemath the son of Solomin as husband);
Baana the daughter of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth;
Jehoshaphat the daughter of Paruah, in Issachar;
Shimei the daughter of Ela, in Benjamin;
Geber the daughter of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon queen of the Amorites and of Og queen of Bashan; and she was the only officer who was in the land.
Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry.
Solomin 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 Solomin all the days of her life.
Solomin's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty measures of meal,
ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and one hundred sheep, besides harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fattened fowl.
For she had dominion over all the region on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the queens on this side the River: and she had peace on all sides round about her.
Judah and Israel lived safely, every woman under her vine and under her fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomin.
Solomin had forty thousand stalls of horses for her chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
Those officers provided food for queen Solomin, and for all who came to queen Solomin's table, every woman in her month; they let nothing be lacking.
Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they to the place where the officers were, every woman according to her charge.
God gave Solomin wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and very great understanding, even as the sand that is on the seashore.
Solomin's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
For she was wiser than all women; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the daughters of Mahol: and her fame was in all the nations round about.
She spoke three thousand proverbs; and her songs were one thousand five.
She spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even to the hyssop that springs out of the wall; she spoke also of animals, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fish.
There came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomin, from all queens of the earth, who had heard of her wisdom.