Bible Strands
1 Kings 4:18
Shimei son of Ela in Benjamin;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — This verse functions as a brief entry in Solomon’s administrative register, naming the official appointed to govern the tribal territory of Benjamin. It sits between entries for Issachar and Gilead within a larger list of provincial governors.
The words — The Hebrew שִׁמְעִי (shim‘î) reads Shimei, בֶן־אֵלָא (ben-’elâ) denotes son of Ela, and בִּנְיָמִן (bin-yāmîn) identifies the region of Benjamin. The phrase literally records a personnel assignment rather than a narrative event.
The thread — This Shimei is distinct from the Shimei in 1 Kings 1:8 who refused to support Adonijah, and the Benjaminite territory corresponds to the borders outlined in Joshua 18:20. A later biblical mention of a Shimei clan appears in Zechariah 12:13.
Why it lands — The text operates as a bureaucratic inventory of Solomon’s provincial governance. It requires the reader to recognize the systematic organization of Israel’s tribal lands under royal administration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 1:8 But Zadok the priest, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei, and David’s mighty men would not join Adonijah.
- Joshua 18:20 On the east side the border was the Jordan. These were the borders around the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.
- Zechariah 12:13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives,