Provided victuals for the king and his household. — This denotes the collection of revenue — mostly, no doubt, in kind — for the maintenance of the Court and household and guards of the king; and perhaps may have included also the management of the royal domain lands, such as is described under David’s reign in 1 Chronicles 26:25-31. It is curious that in five cases only the patronymic of the officer is given, probably from some defect in the archives from which this chapter is evidently drawn. The office must have been of high importance and dignity, for in two cases (1 Kings 4:11; 1 Kings 4:15) the holders of it were married into the royal house. The provinces over which they had authority — nine on the west and three on the east of Jordan — coincide only in a few cases with the lands assigned to the several tribes. It is not unlikely that by this time much of the tribal division of territory had become obsolete although we see from 1 Chronicles 27:16-22, that for chieftainship over men, and for levy in war, it still remained in force.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 4:7
1 Kings 4:7
7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.