Solomon’s Reapportioning of Israel

4:7–19 King Solomon organized Israel into twelve administrative districts, with a governor over each district (1 Kin. 4:7). A primary job of the governors was to “provide food for the king and his household” (4:7, 27). They must have needed to collect plenty of taxes, as Solomon’s expansive household needs (4:22–23), large military (4:26, 28), and vast building projects (6:37–7:12; 9:15–19) required a great amount of money and other resources.
The districts were generally identified by their principal cities (4:8–19). Notably absent from the list was the territory of Judah. Apparently Solomon regarded his own tribe as distinct from the rest of Israel (4:20) and may have even exempted it from taxation.
Solomon’s administrative plan was an efficient way of governing. But perhaps Solomon’s outlays exceeded what his governors could bring in. That could be why he gave twenty cities in Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre (9:10–14). The heavy taxes also left a bitter legacy, as Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, would find out (12:1–19).