Solomon’s Twelve Administrative Districts

1 Kings 4:7: “Solomon also had twelve district governors over all Israel, who supplied food for the king and the royal household. Each one had to provide supplies for one month in the year.”

“All Israel” refers to the territories of the eleven tribes outside of the tribe of Judah. The northern tribes, led by Sheba, had already attempted to break away from the central government (2 Samuel 20:1-2). Therefore, Solomon established twelve administrative districts directly under the control of the central government throughout “all Israel.” These twelve districts were not strictly divided according to the borders of the eleven tribes, which strengthened centralized management for easier tax collection and conscription of labor. However, these twelve administrative districts did not include the tribe of Judah. Solomon’s differential treatment of the tribe of Judah and the other tribes became one of the reasons for the later rebellion of the ten northern tribes against the house of David.