The Meaning of 1 Kings 9:23 Explained

1 Kings 9:23

KJV: These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

YLT: These are the heads of the officers who are over the work of Solomon, fifty and five hundred, those ruling among the people who are labouring in the work.

Darby: These were the chief superintendents that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, that ruled over the people that wrought in the work.

ASV: These were the chief officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, who bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

These [were] the chief  of the officers  that [were] over Solomon's  work,  five  hundred  and fifty,  which bare rule  over the people  that wrought  in the work. 

What does 1 Kings 9:23 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Kings 9:15-28 - Prosperity And Wealth
Solomon was a great builder and employed vast numbers of Canaanites, the old inhabitants of the land, as forced laborers. They performed the drudgery, while the Israelites filled the more honorable and lucrative posts. See Isaiah 60:10. There are Amorites and Perizzites in our lives. Let us not be mastered by them, but compel them to subserve our own growth in grace.
Millo was the key to the fortifications of Jerusalem; Hazor and Megiddo, Baalath and Tadmor guarded the northern frontier. On the extreme south, the navies visited distant realms, and returned laden with gold. Such were Israel's midsummer days. But as, in the latter days of summer, there is the faint odor of decay in the air, and we know that the autumn comes apace, so beneath all this splendor and imperial glory, as we turn to the earlier chapters of Ecclesiastes, we learn that decadence was at its heart.
1 Kings 9:1-28 - Breaking Three Commandments
From a worldly point of view Naboth might have done a good stroke of business by selling his estate to. Ahab. A royal price and assured favor might have been his-but he had a conscience! Above the persuasive tones of the monarch's offer sounded the voice of God: "The land shall not be sold for ever, for the land is mine." See Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 36:7; Ezekiel 46:18.
Ahab knew perfectly well that Jezebel could not give him the property of another except by foul means, but he took pains not to inquire. Though the direct orders for Naboth's death did not come from him, yet, by his silence, he was an accomplice and an accessory; and divine justice penetrates all such specious excuses. God holds us responsible for wrongs which we do not arrest, though we have the power. The crime was blacker because of the pretext of religion, as suggested by a fast. See also 2 Kings 9:26. The blood of murdered innocence cries to God, and his requital, though delayed, is inevitable. See Revelation 6:9-10. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Kings 9

1  God's covenant in a vision with Solomon
10  The mutual presents of Solomon and Hiran
15  In Solomon's works the Gentiles were his bondmen, the Israelites servants
24  Pharaoh's daughter removes to her house
25  Solomon's yearly solemn sacrifices
26  His navy fetches gold from Ophir

What do the individual words in 1 Kings 9:23 mean?

These [were] chiefs of the officials who [were] over work of Solomon fifty and five hundred who ruled over the people who did the work
אֵ֣לֶּה ׀ שָׂרֵ֣י הַנִּצָּבִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־ הַמְּלָאכָה֙ לִשְׁלֹמֹ֔ה חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים וַחֲמֵ֣שׁ מֵא֑וֹת הָרֹדִ֣ים בָּעָ֔ם הָעֹשִׂ֖ים בַּמְּלָאכָֽה

אֵ֣לֶּה ׀  These  [were] 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אֵהֶל 
Sense: these.
שָׂרֵ֣י  chiefs 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: סָרַר 
Sense: prince, ruler, leader, chief, chieftain, official, captain.
הַנִּצָּבִ֗ים  of  the  officials 
Parse: Article, Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: הֻצַּב 
Sense: to stand, take one’s stand, stand upright, be set (over), establish.
אֲשֶׁ֤ר  who  [were] 
Parse: Pronoun, relative
Root: אֲשֶׁר 
Sense: (relative part.).
עַל־  over 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
הַמְּלָאכָה֙  work 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְלָאכָה  
Sense: occupation, work, business.
לִשְׁלֹמֹ֔ה  of  Solomon 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שְׁלֹמֹה  
Sense: son of David by Bathsheba and 3rd king of Israel; author of Proverbs and Song of Songs.
חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים  fifty 
Parse: Number, common plural
Root: חֲמִשִּׁים 
Sense: fifty.
וַחֲמֵ֣שׁ  and  five 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Number, feminine singular construct
Root: חָמֵשׁ  
Sense: five.
מֵא֑וֹת  hundred 
Parse: Number, feminine plural
Root: מֵאָה 
Sense: hundred.
הָרֹדִ֣ים  who  ruled 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָדָה 
Sense: to rule, have dominion, dominate, tread down.
בָּעָ֔ם  over  the  people 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
הָעֹשִׂ֖ים  who  did 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: עָשָׂה 
Sense: to do, fashion, accomplish, make.
בַּמְּלָאכָֽה  the  work 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מְלָאכָה  
Sense: occupation, work, business.

What are the major concepts related to 1 Kings 9:23?

Loading Information...