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Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 4:29-34

Solomon's wisdom was more his glory than his wealth, and here we have a general account of it. I. The fountain of his wisdom: God gave it him, 1 Kgs. 4:29. He owns it himself. Prov. 2:6; The Lord giveth wisdom. He gives the powers of reason (Job 38:36), preserves and improves them. The ordinary advances of them are owing to his providence, the sanctification of them to his grace, and this extraordinary pitch at which they arrived in Solomon to a special grant of his favour to him in answer to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:29

And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much ,.... In things natural, moral, divine, and spiritual, and that not slight and superficial, but exceeding deep, and large beyond expression; and this he had not from the acuteness of his genius merely, nor from his industry and diligence; but by the gift of God, as whatsoever solid wisdom and understanding is in any man, it is from the liberal hand of God, the fountain of wisdom, James 1:5 ; and largeness of heart, even as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:30

And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east ,.... The Arabians, and Persians, famous for wisdom, and who lay to the east of the land of Judea; whose wisdom lay in the knowledge of the stars, in divination by birds, and soothsaying F13 Midrash Kohelet. fol. 76. 3. : and all the wisdom of Egypt ; which it was eminent for in the times of Moses, and in which he was learned and well-skilled, Acts 7:22 ; and hence in later times the philosophers of the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:29

God gave Solomon wisdom , etc. - He gave him a capacious mind, and furnished him with extraordinary assistance to cultivate it. Even as the sand that is on the sea-shore - Lord Bacon observes on this: "As the sand on the sea-shore encloses a great body of waters, so Solomon's mind contained an ocean of knowledge." This is a happy and correct illustration. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:30

The children of the east country - That is the Chaldeans, Persians, and Arabians, who, with the Egyptians, were famed for wisdom and knowledge through all the world. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:29

And God gave Solomon [in fulfilment of the promise of 1 Kings 3:12 ] wisdom and understanding ( חָכְמָה , wisdom, knowledge ; תְּבוּנָה , discernment, penetration. The historian, after describing the prosperity of the realm, proceeds to speak of the personal endowments of its head] and largeness of heart exceeding much [the Easterns speak of the heart where we should talk of head or intellect ( 1 Kings 3:9 , 1 Kings 3:12 ; 1 Kings 10:24 . Cf. Matthew 15:19 ; Ephesians... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:30

And Solomon's wisdom excelled [or exceeded; same word as in 1 Kings 4:29 ] the wisdom of all the children of the east country [By the Beni-Kedem we are hardly to understand (with Rawlinson) a distinct tribe on the banks of the Euphrates. It is true that the land of the Beni-Kedem is identified with Haran or Mesopotamia ( Genesis 29:1 ), and the mountains of Kedem ( Numbers 23:7 ) are evidently those of Aram. It is also true that "the children of the East" are apparently... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 4:29

Largeness of heart - What we call “great capacity.” The expression which follows is common in reference to numerical multitude 1 Kings 4:20, but its use here to express mere amplitude or greatness is unique. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 4:30

Children of the east country - Rather, “of the East” - the Beni Kedem - a distinct tribe, who occupied both sides of the Euphrates along its middle course (marginal reference). They were mostly nomads, who dwelt in tents Jeremiah 49:28-29. Job belonged to them Job 1:3, as did probably his three friends; and, perhaps, Balsam Numbers 23:7. They must have been either Arabs or Aramaeans. We may see in the Book of Job the character of their “wisdom.” Like Solomon’s, it was chiefly gnomic but... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - 1 Kings 4:29-30

1 Kings 4:29-30. God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much Knowledge of a great variety of things, and prudence in the administration of the government. And largeness of heart Vastness of understanding, or a very comprehensive mind, capable of receiving the knowledge of all things, both divine and human. As the sand that is on the sea-shore As the sand there encloses a vast body of waters, so his mind contained an ocean of knowledge, as the Lord Bacon somewhere speaks. ... read more

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