1 Kings 4:30-31 NIV

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 4:30

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

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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:31

He was wiser than all men - He was wiser than any of those who were most celebrated in his time, among whom were the four after mentioned, viz., Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda. Ethan was probably the same as is mentioned in some of the Psalms, particularly Psalm 89:1 , title; and among the singers in 1 Chronicles 6:42 . There is a Heman mentioned in the title to Psalm 88:1 . In 1 Chronicles 2:6 ; we have all the four names, but they are probably not the same persons, for... 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

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:31

For (Heb. and ) he was wiser than all men [Keil adds "of his time," but we have no right to restrict the words to his contemporaries (see note on 1 Kings 3:12 ). It is very doubtful whether the names mentioned presently are those of contemporaries] than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda [It is impossible to say whether these are the same persons as the Ethan and Heman and Chalcol and Dara of 1 Chronicles 2:6 , or the Ethan and Heman who were David's singers.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:31

The greatest, wisest, meanest of mankind. It is a spirited and glowing description which the historian here gives of Solomon's wisdom. We may believe that it was not without a pardonable pride that he recounted the rich endowments and the widespread fame of Israel's greatest monarch. But it is really one of the saddest chapters in the whole of Scripture—and one of the most instrucfive. Manifold as were his gifts, marvellous as was his wisdom, they did not preserve him from falling. It is a... 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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 4:31

It is most probable that the persons with whom Solomon is compared were contemporaries, men noted for “wisdom,” though there is no other mention of them.His fame was in all nations - See below, 1 Kings 10:0. read more

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

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

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

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:31

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:30

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:31

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:31

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

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 4:31

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