Solomon
Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
( 1 Kings 4:3). Chabad-Lubavitch Media Center website, ''Recorder'' /ref> The next recorder mentioned was Joah (son of Asaph), in the reign of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:18,37; Isaiah 36:3,22); during the reign of Josiah another Joah (son of Joahaz) filled this office (2 Chronicles 34:8). Bible Gateway website, ''Recorder'' /ref>
The "recorder" was the chancellor or vizier of the kingdom. He brought all weighty matters under the notice of the king, "such as complaints, petitions, and wishes of subjects or foreigners. He also drew up papers for the king's guidance, and prepared drafts of the royal will for the scribes. All treaties came under his oversight; and he had the care of the national archives or records, to which, as royal historiographer, like the same state officer in
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
and Egypt, he added the current annals of the kingdom."
The role was similar to the Persian ''wauka nuwish'' and the Roman ''magister memoriae''.