1 Kings 4:27

1Ki 4:27 And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon’s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.

Ver. 27. And for all that came unto king Solomon’s table.] Who were not a few, not only natives, but foreigners; not ambassadors only, but others, who came from all parts to hear his wisdom, {1Ki 4:34} and so to be proselyted haply. But Josephus relateth of the Jews, that they were very careful how they received proselytes in Solomon’s time; because then the state of the Jews flourished.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki_4:22-23; 1Ki_4:27-28

Solomons provisions for one day.

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Solomons feast

This would seem to be part of the Parable of the Prodigal Son before its time. This typical feast of Solomons has no reference to gluttony. We have read of Caligula, who would never eat bread unless it was gilded--had a coating of gold over the crust; but we are not commending such men in representing Solomons feast as the feast of fat things and wine upon the lees well refined, as being part of the viands and provision of the table of God, which is so abundantly--yea, lavishly--spread. When did God give just enough? When was there less at the end than there was at the beginning? When He had five loaves and fed five thousand, how many basketfuls of fragments took ye up? Let God be judged by the fragments, whoever found the loaves; let God be judged by the harvest, whoever lent the seed out of which it sprang. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 4:27-28. Those officers — Named above, 1Ki 4:7. They lacked nothing — Or, rather, they suffered nothing to be lacking to any man that came to Solomon’s table, but plentifully provided all things necessary. This is repeated to show their diligence, exactness, and care, which was remarkable; especially since they took care of his stables as well as of his house, as it follows in the next verse. Barley also and straw — Barley was anciently horse-corn, as appears by many places in Homer. For the horses and dromedaries — The Hebrew word, rechesh, signifies swift horses, as Abarbinel thinks; see Est 8:14; but others take them for mules. Where the officers were — Or, rather, Where the beasts were; for there is no word for officers in the Hebrew. Every man according to his charge — Which lasted for a month every year.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

27. And those officers] Referring to the twelve enumerated in 1Ki_4:8-19. There is a degree of awkwardness in the way in which the fresh mention of them is introduced, and this no doubt led to the transposition in the LXX. which has been noticed above.

they lacked nothing] Rather, ‘they let nothing be missing.’ The notion of the verb is that of inspecting troops, and marking, and at once correcting, deficiencies.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east,.... The Arabians, and Persians, famous for wisdom, and who lay to the east of the land of Judea; whose wisdom lay in the knowledge of the stars, in divination by birds, and soothsaying (m):

and all the wisdom of Egypt; which it was eminent for in the times of Moses, and in which he was learned and well-skilled, Act 7:22; and hence in later times the philosophers of the Gentiles travelled to get knowledge, as Pherecydes, Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Plato, and others to Egypt, said to be the mother of arts and sciences (n).

(m) Midrash Kohelet. fol. 76. 3. (n) Macrob. in Som. Scip. c. 19. 21. & Saturnal l. 1. c. 15.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Fed them and is omitted in Hebrew and Septuagint. (Haydock)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Those officers; named above, 1Ki 4:7, &c.

They lacked nothing; or rather, they suffered nothing to be lacking to any man that came thither, but plentifully provided all things necessary.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

27. Those officers — That is, the officers named in 1Ki_4:7-19.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And those rather, these, i.e., the officers mentioned vv. 7-19 officers provided victual for Heb. nourished king Solomon and for all that came unto king Solomon"s table we can hardly see here (with Keil) "a further proof of the blessings of peace." The words were probably suggested by the mental wonder how the cavalry, etc., could be maintained, and so the author states that this great number of horses and horsemen depended on the twelve purveyors for their food every man in his month; they lacked nothing rather, suffered nothing to be lacking. So Gesen.; and the context seems to require it.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The officers - Named above. They lacked - Or rather, they suffered nothing to be lacking to any man that came thither, but plentifully provided all things necessary.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.