1 Kings 4:20

Contextual Overview

²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand by the sea; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing. ²⁰ Yehudah and Yisra'el were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. ²⁰ Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. ²⁰ Judah and Israel were as many as the sand by the sea. They ate and drank and were happy. ²⁰ There were as many people in Judah and Israel as grains of sand on the seashore. The people ate, drank, and were happy. ²⁰ The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy. ²⁰[The people of] Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is in abundance by the sea; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing.²⁰ Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating, drinking, and rejoicing.²⁰ Iudah and Israel were many, as the sand of the sea in number, eating, drinking, and making merry. ²⁰Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and being glad.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

as the sand: 1 Kings 3:8, Genesis 13:16, Genesis 15:5, Genesis 22:17, Proverbs 14:28

eating: 1 Samuel 30:16, 1 Chronicles 12:39, Job 1:18, Psalms 72:3-7, Ecclesiastes 2:24, Isaiah 22:13, Micah 4:4, Zechariah 3:10, Zechariah 9:15, Acts 2:46

Reciprocal: Genesis 49:11 - he washed Numbers 1:46 - General Joshua 11:4 - as the sand 2 Samuel 17:11 - as the sand 1 Kings 4:29 - as the sand 1 Kings 12:4 - our yoke 2 Kings 18:31 - eat ye 1 Chronicles 22:9 - I will give 2 Chronicles 10:4 - grievous Psalms 68:13 - the wings Psalms 72:16 - of the city Psalms 80:9 - and it Isaiah 10:22 - though thy Isaiah 36:16 - eat ye Jeremiah 22:15 - eat Zechariah 10:8 - and they Hebrews 11:12 - as the sand Revelation 20:8 - the number

Cross-References

Genesis 4:2
Again she gave birth, to Kayin's brother Hevel. Hevel was a keeper of sheep, but Kayin was a tiller of the ground.

Genesis 4:2
And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

Genesis 4:2
Then she bore his brother Abel. And Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the ground.

Genesis 4:2
After that, Eve gave birth to Cain's brother Abel. Abel took care of flocks, and Cain became a farmer.

Genesis 4:2
Then she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground.

Genesis 4:2
And [later] she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel kept the flocks [of sheep and goats], but Cain cultivated the ground.

Genesis 4:2
And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.

Genesis 4:2
And againe she brought foorth his brother Habel, & Habel was a keeper of sheepe, and Kain was a tiller of the ground.

Genesis 4:2
And again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a cultivator of the ground.

Genesis 4:2
Later she had another son and named him Abel. Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Judah and Israel [were] many, as the sand which [is] by the sea in multitude,.... Being blessed with great fruitfulness in their families, and having no pestilential disease among them, nor wars to lessen their number, and so the promise to Abraham was fulfilled, Genesis 22:17; and which was an emblem of Christ's spiritual subjects, especially in the latter day, whom Solomon was a type of, see Hosea 1:10;

eating, and drinking, and making merry; having a large increase of the fruits of the earth, and in no fear of any enemies; expressive of the spiritual joy of believers in the kingdom of Christ, and under the word and ordinances, Song of Solomon 2:3.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There is some doubt about the proper arrangement of the remainder of this chapter. The best alteration, if we alter the Hebrew order at all, would be to place 1 Kings 4:20-21 after 1 Kings 4:25.

Many ... - See 1 Kings 3:8 note; and compare Psalms 127:1-5, which is traditionally ascribed to Solomon, and which celebrates the populousness and security of Israel in his day.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 1 Kings 4:20. Eating and drinking, and making merry. — They were very comfortable, very rich, very merry, and very corrupt. And this full feeding and dissipation led to a total corruption of manners.