Глава 4

1–19. Courtiers and senior officials of Solomon's administration. 21–34 (Heb. 5:1–14). Contents of Solomon's Court: His Extreme Wisdom. 1 Kings 4:1. And King Solomon was king over all Israel. Introductory note to the list of Solomon's servants (cf. 2 Samuel 8:15). 1 Kings 4:2. And these were the leaders that he had: Azariah, the son of Zadok the priest; In the accepted text of the LXX (Αζαρίας υἱὸς Σαδώκ) there is no word for "priest" ´ιερεύς, Heb. cohens ; member: gakogen often denoted. high priest (Ex.29:30; Lev.21:10, etc.); but in many texts of the LXX (44, 92, 106, 120, 123, 134, 144, 236, 242, 244, 247 in Golmes), in Compl., Aldinsk., in Aquila, Symmachus, in the Vulg. and Slav.-Russian this word exists: according to Heb. t., Greek codd. and glory Azariah himself was a priest (or high priest); according to Vulg. and Russian, - only the son of Zadok (priest or high priest). According to (1 Chron. 6:9; Heb. 5:35), Azariah was the grandson, not the son, of the high priest Zadok. It is possible that in Art. 2 of this chapter, Zadok is not identical with the high priest of this name: the latter was often encountered (2 Kings 15:33; Nehemiah 3:4,29,13:13). 1 Kings 4:3. Elichoreth and Ahijah, sons of Ziba, scribes; Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, writer; “Scribes” (Heb. soferim, Greek γραμματεῖς, Latin scribae) were in charge of the entire written part of the court - writing, correspondence, decrees, diplomatic correspondence. “Writer” (Heb. mazkir, Greek ἀναμιμνήσκων, Latin a commentariis, Slavic “reminder”), probably a speaker, chancellor. Together with the “scribes” he was in charge of the state archive. 1 Kings 4:4. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, military commander; Zadok and Abiathar are priests; Vanya, Wed. 1 Kings 2:35. Abiathar, removed by Solomon (1 Kings 2:26–27), is called as if he were a real high priest, either because at the beginning of Solomon’s reign he was such (Philippson), or because “Solomon took away the leadership from Abiathar (ἀρχὴ), but did not deprive him of the priesthood ( ῾Ιερωσὐνη), because they then had the rank of priesthood not by ordination, but by family succession” (Blessed Theodore, question 15); the assumption of Cleric and others about the pardon of Abiathar by Solomon is incredible. 1 Kings 4:5. Azariah, the son of Nathan, the chief of the guards, and Zebuf, the son of Nathan the priest, a friend of the king; Azariah and Zebuf are the sons not of the prophet Nathan, but of David’s son Nathan (2 Samuel 5:14), therefore, Solomon’s nephews (Accepted vol. LXX: Ορνία, according to codd. 11, 44, 55, 56, 64, 71–74, 106, 119, 121, 121, 134, 144, 158, 245, 246, 247. Compl: ῾Αζαρίας ). The first was the chief of the provincial "supervisors" (below, vv. 7-19); the second (called in Hebrew the kohen, priest, probably in the broad sense in which this name was sometimes used: (2 Sam. 8:17)), bore the title “friend of the king,” which Hushai bore under David (2 Sam. 15:37, 16:16). 1 Kings 4:6. Ahisar is the ruler over the royal house, and Adoniram, the son of Abda, is over the taxes. “Ahisar is the ruler of the (royal) house”: the position of this, so to speak, minister of the court, did not exist under David (cf. 2 Samuel 8:16–18,20:23–26); the increasingly complex management of Solomon and subsequent kings (cf. 1 Kings 18:3; 2 Kings 18:18) caused the establishment of this position. Next up is LXX and Slav. there is an increase against the so-called Hebrew: ῾Ελιάβ ὐιος Σαφ (ατ) ῾επὶ τῆς πατρίας, slav. “Eliab, the son of Shaphat over the fatherland,” perhaps a detachment of bodyguards. The overseer of taxes and public works is mentioned earlier - under David (2 Samuel 20:24), and later - under Rehoboam ((1 Kings 12:18): Adoram, as in (2 Samuel 20:24); cf. (2 Chronicles 10:18): Adoniram); it is unknown whether the same person is understood in all three cases. 1 Kings 4:7. And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, and they provided food for the king and his house; each had to supply food for one month of the year. To support the king and his numerous court staff, it was necessary to impose a tax in kind on the population of the country, the most common in the East (for example, in Persia). This tax was in charge of special “officers”, nitzavim, καθεσταμἐνοι, praefecti (in I. Flav. ήγεμόνες καὶ στατηγοί). It is not clear whether they were actually regional governors, so that supplying the king and his court with food was only one of the functions of their activity, or whether the latter had a narrower circle. What is indisputable is that the division of the country into districts, headed by them, did not coincide with the tribal division, but was a purely administrative division, determined by the degree of fertility of certain areas. The districts and their commanders are listed (vv. 8-19), probably in the order of the time they delivered provisions to the court, and not in the geographical order of the localities. There were 12 all bailiffs, as well as districts, according to the number of months of the year: each sent service in the month indicated to him. Of the guards, five are named not by their names, but by their patronymics: the latter custom, common among the Arabs, was not alien to the Jews (“son of Jesse” - David (1 Sam. 20:27,30,22:7,9); “son of Timaeus” - Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46)). Vulg. and the Russian translation, leaving the Hebrew without translation. Ben, Greco-slav. ὐιός, "son". From the fact that two of the guards - Ben-Avinadab (v. 11) and Ahimaaz (v. 15) were Solomon's sons-in-law - were married to his daughters, they conclude that their list dates back to the middle of Solomon's reign. 1 Kings 4:8. These are their names: Ben-Hur - on Mount Ephraim; “Mount Ephraim” (Joshua 17:15,19:50; Judges 7:24,19:16) is one of the most fertile areas of western Palestine, lying almost in the middle of it (Jer.50:19). In the LXX translation and in the Slavic text at the end of the verse they have the addition εἴς, “one”. 1 Kings 4:9. Ben Deker - in Makats and in Shaalbim, in Bethshemesh and Elon and in Beth Hanan; Shaalbim and others, the areas mentioned here, lay in the tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:42–43, 21:16). (See Onomastic. 663). Bethshemesh is a Levitical city in the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:10), near the Philistine border (1 Sam. 6:9–12), now Ain-Sems. 1 Kings 4:10. Ben Chesed - in Arubof; Soko and all the land of Hepher belonged to him; Aryuboth - is not found anywhere in the Bible, but probably, like Socho (Joshua 15:48–49), and Hepher (Joshua 12:17), ῾Οφερ, Epher., slav. “land of Opher” - in the south of the tribe of Judah. 1 Kings 4:11. Ben-Avinadav - over all Nafaf-Dor; Tafaf, Solomon's daughter, was his wife; Nafath-Dor (Joshua 11:2,12:23), assigned to the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 17:11), but not occupied by it (ibid. 12), near the Mediterranean Sea, near Carmel, in 9 Romans. miles from Caesarea on the way to Tire (Onomastic. 397), during the struggle of the Jews with the Ptolemies, a strong fortress (1 Mac. 15: 11–14), later fortified even more by the Romans (I. Flav. Jewish Ancients. XV, 5, 3). 1 Kings 4:12. Bahanah the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and in all Beth-shan, which is near Zartan below Jezreel, from Beth-shan to Abel-mehol, and even beyond Jokmeam; The fifth district is formed by the Jezreel Valley with its continuation, the Beth-Sana Valley. Taanach - formerly the capital of one of the Canaanite kings (Josh. 12:21), now Táanak, which lies south (1 1/4 hours' journey) of the village, Leggun (probably ancient Megiddo, with which Taanach is almost exclusively mentioned in the Bible), (Judges 1:27,5:19; Josh. 17:11; 1 Chron. 7:29). Megiddo (LXX: Μαγεδδώ (ν)), in the tribe of Issachar, was already fortified in ancient times, and together with Taanach dominated the valley, the main road to the Jordan (Onomastic. 657); Solomon further strengthened Megiddo (1 Kings 9:15). According to the Tell Amarna letters, Pharaoh Thutmosis at Megiddo (Egyptian Makida) defeated the Canaanites. Beth-shean (Beth-San) - in the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 17:11,16; Judgment 1:27; 1 Samuel 31:10), Greek. Σκυθόπολις; (Scythopolis) or Νύσσα - at the connection of Jezreel with the Jordan Valley near the high road from Damascus to Egypt (see (Judith.3:10; 2Mac.12:29); Jewish War II, 18, 1,3,4). In the Jordan Valley lay Tsartan and Abel-Mehola (Judges 7:22), the homeland of the prophet Elisha (1 Kings 19:16), as well as Jokmeam (1 Chronicles 6:68) - according to LXX: Μαεβέρ - Λουκὰμ, gl. "Maever Lukam." 1 Kings 4:13. Ben Geber - in Ramoth-gilead; he had the villages of Jairus the son of Manasseh, which was in Gilead; He also has the region of Argov, which is in Bashan, sixty large cities with walls and copper gates; The sixth district is in Transjordan; its center is the city of Ramoth-gilead or Mizpah (Joshua 13:26; Judges 10:17,11:29) - a Levitical city beyond the Jordan in the tribe of Gad, now es-Salt. Bashan is one of the most fruitful areas of Palestine, along with Carmel, Lebanon, the Valley of Sharon (Isa.2:13,33:9; Jer.50:19; Nahum.1:4), later Bataneth (Onomostic. 224). Argov in Bashan, see (Deut. 4:43; Josh. 13:30; 2 Kings 10:33; Mic. 7:14). 1 Kings 4:14. Achinadab son of Giddo, in Mahanaim; The center of the seventh, also East Jordanian district, is the city of Mahanaim (Gen. 32:2; Josh. 13:26,30; 2 Sam. 17:24,27), it is close to the current Birket-Mahne. 1 Kings 4:15. Ahimaaz - in the land of Naphtali; he took Basematha, Solomon's daughter, as his wife; The eighth district is again on the western side of the Jordan, west of Lake Gennesaret (cf. 2 Kings 15). 1 Kings 4:16. Bahana the son of Hushai, in the land of Asher and in Baaloth; The ninth district is in the tribe of Asser, north of the tribe of Issachar (Deut. 33:24); Hushai may be the same person as David's friend Hushai (2 Sam. 15:32). 1 Kings 4:17. Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in the land of Issachar; The tenth district is in the land of Issachar, between the tribe of Zebulun in the north and Manasseh in the south (Joshua 19:17), between the Sea of ​​Tiberias and the Jezreel Valley. 1 Kings 4:18. Shimei the son of Elah, in the land of Benjamin; The eleventh district in the tribe of Benjamin, between Ephraim in the north and Judah in the south. 1 Kings 4:19. Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. He was the steward of this land. The twelfth district, like the sixth and seventh, lay on the eastern side of the Jordan - in Gilead; Gilead - in a broad sense (as in (Numbers 32:29; Joshua 22:9; Judges 10:8,20:1; 2 Kings 24:6), etc.), with the exception of those mentioned in vv. 13–14. cities. (In the accepted text LXX: Γάδ, but in many codd.: Γαλαάδ). On the conquest by the Jews of the lands of Sihon of the Amorites and Og of Bashan, see (Num. 21:21–35; Deut. 2:30–35, 3:1–13). 1 Kings 4:20. Judah and Israel, as numerous as the sand by the sea, ate, drank and were merry. The image for the hyperbole of the multitude of Israel is found as early as (Gen. 22:17,32:12); the depiction of the happiness of the Jews under Solomon resembles the corresponding expression (Deut. 14:26). 1 Kings 4:21. Solomon owned all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines and to the borders of Egypt. They brought gifts and served Solomon all the days of his life. 1 Kings 4:22. Solomon's food for each day was: thirty cows of wheat flour and sixty cows of other flour, 1 Kings 4:23. ten fattened oxen and twenty oxen from pasture, and one hundred sheep, besides deer, and chamois, and saigas, and fattened birds; 1 Kings 4:24. for he ruled over all the land on this side of the river, from Tipsah to Gaza, over all the kings on this side of the river, and he had peace with all the surrounding countries. Verses 21–34 in the Hebrew Bible form the first half of already Chapter V. Opposite LXX, Vulg., glorious. they place these verses as a continuation of the speech about Solomon’s courtiers and guards, while the fifth chapter in these translations looks like a solid, complete story about Solomon’s preparations for building the church. The LXX division has an obvious advantage over the Euro. Masor. 21–24, Heb. 5:1–4. “River”, nagar in the Old Testament in general, especially when indicating the boundaries of Palestine, usually means the Euphrates (Gen.31:21; Exod.23:31; Num.22:5; Josh.24:2; Ps.71:8; Mic.7:12). The land of the Philistines and the borders of Egypt are another, southwestern border of Palestine, just as the Euphrates is the northeastern border. "Tipsah", LXX: Φάψα, slav.: "Phapsa" (Hebrew word for transition), - a large city on the western bank of the Euphrates, which served as a station for caravans. "Gaz a", Heb. Azzah, Assyrian Hazzatu, in Herodotus Καδύτις; (II, 59; III, 6) - one of the five cities Philistine coast (Judges 16:1,21; 1 Kings 6:17; 2 Kings 18, etc.) – Expression (1 Kings 4:24) (Heb. 5:4) eber gannagar., LXX: πέραν τοῦ ποτοψιοῦ, Vulg.: trans flumen, glav.: “about it is half a river,” - from the point of view of the inhabitants of Palestine, which lies west of the Euphrates, usually means the eastern countries beyond the Euphrates (Josh. 24: 2,14; 2 Kings 10:16; 1 Kings 14:15; Isaiah 7:20), here this name refers to the western Euphrates countries (western Syria, Palestine, Philistia). From this, some researchers concluded that the writer of the 3rd book of Kings lived in Babylonia, beyond the Euphrates (in the same meaning the mentioned expression is used in (1 Ezra 6:6; Neh. 2:7,9; 1 Mac. 7:8). It is possible, however, that this expression, which began in captivity, was subsequently used without strict geographical accuracy. The enormous amount of food of Solomon’s court, amazing at first glance, becomes understandable due to the extremely large number of Solomon’s court staff (according to some sources, 10,000 people, cf. Blessed Theodoret, question 16). Similar figures are found in the description of the table of Cyrus and Alexander the Great, and in our time - the Turkish Sultan (Philippson, 510-511). “Kor” (LXX: κόρος, Vulg.: “corus”) otherwise “homer” is the largest Hebrew measure of free-flowing bodies, from 10 eff (Isa.5:10; Hos.3:2; Lev.27:16; Num.11:32, etc.); by I. Flav. (Jewish Ancients XV, 9, 2) is equal to 10 Attic medimnus. According to our measure - about a quarter or 8 fours (see D. Prozorovsky, Biblical metrology, “The Wanderer”, 1863, April, p. 13. According to Prof. Gulyaev, p. 203, about 18 fours). “Fatted birds” (Hebrew: barburim aousim): interpreters mean pheasants, geese or ducks, and finally, quails. 1 Kings 4:25. And Judah and Israel lived quietly, each under his vineyard and under his fig tree, from Dan to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon. Art. 25 (Heb. 5:5). The figurative image of the peaceful life of the Jews under Solomon (cf. 2 Kings 18:31) is based on the actual structure of an eastern house, in the courtyard of which there were usually trees, grapes and figs; however, this idyll does not prove that Israel remained an agricultural people even under Solomon: on the contrary, now trade began among the Jews (1 Kings 9:28,10:11,22,28–29). “From Dan to Beersheba” - from the north of Palestine to its southern border (Judges 20:1; 1 Kings 3:20; 2 Kings 3:10,17:11). Of course, from this picture of popular contentment the prophets borrowed the features of the Messianic kingdom (Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10). 1 Kings 4:26. And Solomon had forty thousand stalls for the horses of the chariots, and twelve thousand for the cavalry. 40,000 horse stalls urot sushim, Vulg.: “praesipia equorum”; and LXX, glory. otherwise: τοκάδες, “mares”), probably an erroneous figure: according to (1 Kings 10:26) - 1,400 chariots, next, and there were stalls about that. 1 Kings 4:27. And those officers delivered to King Solomon everything that belonged to the king’s table, each in his own month, and did not allow a shortage of anything. 1 Kings 4:28. And barley and straw for the horses and mules were each delivered in turn to the place where the king was. More specifically, it is said that the “officers” delivered to Solomon’s court (v. 7). "To the place where the king was": Heb. the text does not have the last word inserted LXX, Vulg., Slav.-Russian. translation. The insertion has no basis: it cannot be assumed that the king, on his travels around the country, transported with him both the entire court staff and the entire cavalry; according to (1 Kings 10:26) and according to I. Flav. (Jewish Ancients VIII, 2, 3), the cavalry was stationed in individual cities. The multiplication of horses and chariots by Solomon clearly went against the deliberate prohibition of the law (Deut. 17:16). 1 Kings 4:29. And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding, and a vast mind, like the sand on the seashore. 1 Kings 4:30. And the wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east and all the wisdom of the Egyptians. 1 Kings 4:31. He was wiser than all the people, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalkol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his name was in glory among all the surrounding nations. 1 Kings 4:32. And he spoke three thousand parables, and his songs were a thousand and five; 1 Kings 4:33. and he spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; spoke about animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish. 1 Kings 4:34. And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. Until now we have been talking about the organs of Solomon’s government and the external features of his life. Now we are talking about Solomon himself and his extraordinary wisdom - not only in the sense of practical, for example, judicial wisdom (cf. 1 Kings 3:16-28), but also in the sense of religious wisdom of life (chokmah), sharpness, insight of understanding (tebunah), breadth of mental horizons (rochav-lev) - the ability to embrace the most diverse objects with his mind. In wisdom Solomon surpassed all the “sons of the East” Bene-Kodem, Vulg.: “orientalium”; LXX, slav.: ἀρχαίων ἀνθρώπων, “ancient people”; so did I. Flav., but a comparison of the “ancients” and Egypt would be inappropriate): the eastern tribes: Arab, Syrian, Chaldean, were famous for their tributary wisdom (Jer.49:7; Hab.1:8; Bar.3:22–23); Egypt was famous for its natural science, and its wisdom in this regard became proverbial ((Is. 19:11; Acts 7:22); I. Flav. Jewish Ancients. VIII, 2, 5). Of the Jewish people themselves, “at that time some were famous for their wisdom; why the writer mentioned them, calling them by name” (Blessed Theodoret, question 17), they are: “Ephan” (LXX: Γαιθάν, slav.: “Gephan”), “Eman”, “Chalkol” and “Darda”. All these persons (with the addition of a certain Zimri) are called in (1 Chronicles 2:6) the sons of Zerah (Heb. Zerah, hence the name Heman and Ethan - Ezrahites). Ethan and Heman were Levite singers (1 Chronicles 15:17-19), in addition, the inscription of the name of the first is in the title (Ps. 89:1) (Heb. 89), and the second - (Ps. 87:1) (Heb. 88). Probably both Khalkol and Darda were singers and poets. In accordance with the three named categories of sages, the works of Solomon's wisdom are indicated: 1) parables, 2) songs and 3) works of natural history. Parable, Heb. "mashal", Greek. παραβολὴ, παροιμία - a short expressive saying that concisely expresses a thought applicable to many cases in life - a saying that has a mostly didactic purpose (Prov. 1:1-8, 10:1, 25:1-28, 26:7,9; Eccl. 12:9; Job 13:12). The round and definite number of Solomon's Proverbs of 3000 shows that they were written down in a book, but the biblical book of Proverbs (Mishlet) of Solomon may contain only a small part of all the proverbs of Solomon (there are only 915 verses in the book of Proverbs), therefore the rest have not survived. Even fewer of the songs (shir, ὠδή, carmen) of Solomon have been preserved, of which there were 1005 (according to LXX glory. – 5000): book. The Song of Songs (shir-ha-shirim) presents Solomon as a character, and is not a purely lyrical work of his inspiration; the attribution of the psalms inscribed with his name to Solomon (Ps. 71 and Ps. 126) (Heb. 72 and 127) is disputed on the grounds that this inscription does not indicate the authorship of Solomon, but their dedication to him (in modern times, interpreters consider Solomon to be a writer of songs ( Ps. 2 and Ps. 131). In any case, Solomon declared himself to be creative in two main types of Hebrew poetry: didactic (mashal) and lyrical (shir). But Solomon’s wisdom was expressed not only in spiritual, religious and moral creativity, but also in natural science - information on botany and zoology. Lev.14:4,6; Num.19:6,18; Ps.50:9); in the second place, about all four categories of the animal kingdom recognized by the ancient Jews: four-legged animals, birds, reptiles, fish (see Gen. 6:20,7:8). From here those who wrote medical books borrowed a lot, taking what Solomon wrote as their first source” (Blessed Theodoret, question 18). Of course, the exact extent of Solomon's knowledge of botany and zoology is unknown (cf. Wisdom 7:17–20). The art of communicating with demons for the benefit of people, attributed to Solomon by I. Flavius (Jewish Ancients VIII, 2, 5), as well as spells and magical formulas with the name of Solomon (Jewish War I, 32, 2; II, 6, 3; VII, 6, 3) already belong to the field of mythology, which found full development in the Talmud (tract. “Gittin”) and then in the Koran (chapter 27, art. 15 ff.: according to the Koran, Solomon understood the language of demons, animals, birds, ants). In general, all the mystical literature of the East placed itself in a genetic connection with the name of Solomon. Solomon's wisdom attracted to him not only his compatriots, but also foreigners, even kings, like the Queen of Sheba (v. 34) cf. (1 Kings 10:1). You might be interested in: