1 Kings 4:20

1 Kings 4:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and rejoicing.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore. They were very contented, with plenty to eat and drink.

Context of 1 Kings 4:20

18Shimei son of Ela—in Benjamin; 19Geber son of Uri—in Gilead (the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and the country of Og king of Bashan). He was the only governor over the district. The people of Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand on the seashore; they ate, they drank and they were happy. 21And Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the Euphrates River to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. These countries brought tribute and were Solomon’s subjects all his life. 22Solomon’s daily provisions were thirty cors of the finest flour and sixty cors of meal,

1 Kings 4:20 word by word

יְהוּדָ֤ה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל֙ רַבִּ֔ים כַּח֥וֹל אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַיָּ֖ם לָרֹ֑ב אֹכְלִ֥ים וְשֹׁתִ֖ים וּשְׂמֵחִֽים׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• and Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• as the sandחוֹלchôl · sandH2344
• by the seaיָםyâm · seaH3220
• in multitudeרֹבrôb · abundanceH7230
• eatingאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• and drinkingשָׁתָהshâthâh · to drinkH8354
• and making merryשָׂמֵחַώâmêach · gladH8056

Cross-references for 1 Kings 4:20

• 1 Kings 3:8Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.
• Genesis 13:16I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.
• Genesis 15:5He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
• Genesis 22:17I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,
• Proverbs 14:28A large population is a king’s glory, but without subjects a prince is ruined.
• 1 Samuel 30:16He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah.
• 1 Chronicles 12:39The men spent three days there with David, eating and drinking, for their families had supplied provisions for them.
• Job 1:18While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, “Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother’s house,
• Psalms 72:3May the mountains bring prosperity to the people, the hills the fruit of righteousness.
• Ecclesiastes 2:24A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
• Isaiah 22:13But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”
• Micah 4:4Everyone will sit under their own vine and under their own fig tree, and no one will make them afraid, for the Lord Almighty has spoken.
• Zechariah 3:10“ ‘In that day each of you will invite your neighbor to sit under your vine and fig tree,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
• Zechariah 9:15and the Lord Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
• Acts 2:46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,

Commentaries on 1 Kings 4:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Eating and drinking, and making merry - They were very comfortable, very rich, very merry, and very corrupt. And this full feeding and dissipation led to a total corruption of manners.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20There is some doubt about the proper arrangement of the remainder of this chapter. The best alteration, if we alter the Hebrew order at all, would be to place 1 Kings 4:20-21 after 1 Kings 4:25. Many … - See 1 Kings 3:8 note; and compare Psalm 127:1-5, which is traditionally ascribed to Solomon, and which celebrates the populousness and security of Israel in his day.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 Never did the crown of Israel shine so bright, as when Solomon wore it. He had peace on all sides. Herein, his kingdom was a type of the Messiah's; for to Him it is promised that he shall have the heathen for his inheritance, and that princes shall worship him. The spiritual peace, and joy, and holy security, of all the faithful subjects of the Lord Jesus, were typified by that of Israel. The kingdom of God is not, as Solomon's was, meat and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21God promised Abraham land (Genesis 15:18–21; 17:8; 22:17). This promise came true with Solomon's blessing. The lands that David and Solomon (2 Chronicles 8:3) conquered stayed loyal to Solomon. They sent him tribute money and served him throughout his long reign.Read the comment

Topics related to 1 Kings 4:20

• Rulers
• Solomon
• Tax

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Judah
• the sea, the Great Sea, the western sea
• Region
• Solomon
• Abishag
• Deer
• Genealogy
• Horse
• Kings, Books of

Commentaries on 1 Kings 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings