Solomons Second Administrative District Over Makaz Shaalbim and Beth-shemesh

1 Kings 4:7-19 catalogs Solomon's reorganization of the kingdom into twelve administrative districts that each took one month per year supplying the lavish royal court: "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." The second district fell to Ben-deker: "The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan" (1 Kings 4:9). The reorganization broke older tribal boundaries in favor of a more efficient fiscal grid, encompassing the western Shephelah cluster between the Judean highlands and the Philistine coast.

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