1st Kings Chapter 4 verse 19 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 19. - Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead [i.e., he presided over the parts not already assigned to Bengeber (perhaps his son) and Ahinadab. Gilead is often used (see Deuteronomy 34:1; Judges 20:1) to designate all the country east of the Jordan. And so apparently here, for] the country of Sihon king of, the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan] embraced the whole trans-Jordanic region, Deuteronomy 3:8; Numbers 21:24-35: cf. Psalm 135:11; Psalm 136:19, 20]; and he was the only officer which was in the land. [This cannot mean "the only officer in Gilead," notwithstanding the great extent of territory - the usual interpretation - for that would contradict vers. 13, 14. Nor can can it mean the only officer in his district, or portion, of Gilead, for that is self-evident, and the remark would apply equally to all the other prefects. And we are hardly justified in translating נְצִיב אֶחָד "he was the first (i.e., superior), officer" (set over those mentioned above, vers. 13, 14), as Schulze. סך אֶחָד used as an ordinal number, but it is only in connexion with days and years (Gesen. s.v.) Some, following the LXX. (εῖς ἐν γῇ Ἰούδα) would detach Judah from ver. 20, where it must be allowed it occurs with a suspicious abruptness, and where the absence of the copula, so usual in the Hebrew, suggests a corruption of the text, and would connect it with this verse, which would then yield the sense, "and he was," (or "there was") "one officer which purveyed in the land of Judah." it is to be observed, however, that though no mention has as yet been made of Judah in any of the districts, yet the prefecture of Ben Hesed (ver. 10) appears to have extended over this tribe, and the remark consequently seems superfluous. (Can it be the object of the writer to show that the royal tribe was not favoured or exempted from contributing its share?) On the whole, the difficulty would seem still to await a solution. We can hardly, in the teeth of ver. 7, suppose with Ewald, al. that a thirteenth officer is here intended. CHAPTER 4:20-34. SOLOMON'S RULE, STATE, AND WISDOM. - The remainder of this chapter, which de-scribes to us the extent and character of Solomon's sway (vv. 20, 21, 24, 25), the pomp and provision of his household (vv. 22, 23, 26-28), and his profound and varied wisdom (vv. 29-34), has every appearance of a compilation from different sources. It scarcely has the order and coherence which we should find in the narrative of a single writer.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(19) The twelfth division was on the east of Jordan, south of the seventh, including the pastoral country of Reuben and part of Gad on the borders of Moab, probably occupied by the royal flocks and herds.In place of the reading of the text, "and he was the only officer in the land"--which yields very little meaning, for in each of the divisions there was but one governor--the LXX. here reads, "and Naseph (or an officer), one only in the land of Judah." The reading seems probable; for it will be noticed that in the enumeration the territory of Judah is otherwise altogether omitted. It supplies accordingly here the mention of a special governor, over and above the twelve, for the royal tribe. It has been thought that as Judah was the home province, it was under no other government than that of the king's officers at Jerusalem; but for purposes of revenue it seems hardly likely that it should have been excepted from the general system. Possibly Azariah, who was over the officers residing at the Court, may have been its territorial governor.In some MSS. of the Greek Version, 1Kings 4:27-28 immediately follow 1Kings 4:19, and (as 1Kings 4:20-21 are omitted) they form a link between 1Kings 4:7-19 and 1Kings 4:22-23, in a very natural order. . . .