1 Kings 4:24-34 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 4:20-28

Such a kingdom, and such a court, surely never any prince had, as Solomon's are here described to be. I. Such a kingdom. Never did the crown of Israel shine so brightly as it did when Solomon wore it, never in his father's days, never in the days of any of his successors; nor was that kingdom ever so glorious a type of the kingdom of the Messiah as it was then. The account here given of it is such as fully answers the prophecies which we have concerning it in Ps. 72:1-20, which is a psalm for... read more

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 4:24

For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river ,.... Or beyond the river Euphrates, in the sense before given, 1 Kings 4:21 ; which accounts for the plenty of provisions he had, and the revenue with which he supported such a table he kept: from Tiphsah even to Azzah ; or Gaza, one of the five principalities of the Philistines. Tiphsah is thought to be the Thapsacus of Pliny F4 Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 24. which both he and Ptolemy F5 Geograph. l. 5. c. 19. ... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:25

And Judah and Israel dwelt safely ,.... Without fear of any injury done to their persons or properties by any enemy; which is, and will be, more abundantly fulfilled in Christ, the antitype of Solomon, Jeremiah 23:5 ; every man under his vine, and under his fig tree ; which were principal trees in the land of Judea, put for all the rest; and the phrase denotes the happy, safe, quiet, full, and peaceable enjoyment of all outward blessings, and is used of the times of the Messiah, Micah... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:26

And Solomon had forty thousand stalls for horses ,.... In 2 Chronicles 9:25 ; it is only four thousand; and therefore some think that here is a mistake of the copier, of "arbaim", forty, for "arbah", four; which it is thought might be through divine permission, in such lesser matters, without any prejudice to the authority of the Scriptures in matters of faith and practice; but without supposing this, a reconciliation may be made, by observing, that here the writer, as Ben Gersom notes,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:27

And these officers provided victuals for King Solomon ,.... The twelve before mentioned; and this is repeated here, after the account of his horses, to observe, that they provided for them also, as well as for the sake of what follows; that the large provision made by them was not only for Solomon's family and domestic servants, but for strangers from different arts, who came upon messages to him, or to visit him, and to behold the splendour of his court: and for all that came to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:28

Barley also, and straw for the horses and dromedaries ,.... Or rather mules, by comparing the passage with 2 Chronicles 9:24 ; the particular kind of creatures meant is not agreed on; though all take them to be a swifter sort of creatures than horses; or the swifter of horses, as race horses or posts horses: barley was for their provender, that being the common food of horses in those times and countries, and in others, as Bochart F8 Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 9. col. 158, 159. Vid.... 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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:31

For he was wiser than all men ,.... Not only that lived in his time, but in ages past since the fall of Adam, and in times to come, especially in natural wisdom and knowledge, in all the branches of it; for though some men excel in some part of knowledge, yet not in all, as Solomon did: than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol ; men of the same names are said to be sons of Zerah, grandson of Judah, 1 Chronicles 2:6 ; wherefore these are either other... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 4:20-28

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:24

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:25

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:26

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:27

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:28

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

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:31

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