1 Kings 4:30-33

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:32

And he spake three thousand proverbs ,.... Wise sayings, short and pithy sentences, instructive in morality and civil life; these were not written as the book of Proverbs, but spoken only, and were taken from his lips, and spread by those that heard them for the use of others, but in process of time were lost; whereas the above book, being written under divine inspiration, is preserved: and his songs were a thousand and five ; some things that were useful to improve the minds and morals... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:33

And he spake of trees ,.... Of all trees, herbs, and plants, of the nature, virtues, and use them: from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon : a mountain on the northern border of Judea, famous for cedars, the tallest and largest of trees: even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall ; which grew about Jerusalem, and in the mountains of it, as an Arabic writes testifies F16 Isaac Ben Omram apud Bochart. Hierozoic. par. 1. l. 2. c. 50. Colossians 590 . , the lowest and... 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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:32

He spake three thousand proverbs - The book of Proverbs, attributed to Solomon, contain only about nine hundred or nine hundred and twenty-three distinct proverbs; and if we grant with some that the first nine chapters are not the work of Solomon, then all that can be attributed to him is only about six hundred and fifty. Of all his one thousand and five songs or poems we have only one, the book of Song of Solomon, remaining, unless we include Psalm 127:1-5 , Except the Lord... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:33

He spake of trees - beasts - fowl - creeping things , and of fishes - This is a complete system of natural history, as far as relates to the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and the first intimation we have of any thing of the kind: Solomon was probably the first natural historian in the world. O, how must the heart of Tournefort, Ray, Linne, Buffon, Cuvier, Swammerdam, Blosch, and other naturalists, be wrung, to know that these works of Solomon are all and for ever lost!... 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

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