1 Kings 4:32-34 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 4:32

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

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:34

And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon , from all kings of the earth ,.... Who sent their ambassadors to his court to know the truth of what was reported, and bring them some proofs and specimens, by which they might judge of the truth of the relations that had been told them; which perhaps might seem to them to be beyond all belief: which had heard of his wisdom ; for the fame of it was spread everywhere by merchants and travellers, and such sort of persons, who... 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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:34

There came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon - We learn from 1 Kings 10, that the queen of Sheba was one of those visitants, and perhaps the most remarkable, as we have the particulars of her visit, but not of the others. It is astonishing that of a person so renowned for wisdom, so little should be left to prove the truth of a fact of which all the civilized nations of the world have heard, and of which scarcely any man has ever doubted. The people that came... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:32

And he spake three thousand proverbs : and his songs were a thousand and five. [Of the former, less than one-third are preserved in the Book of Proverbs (see Proverbs 1:1 ; Proverbs 25:1 ); the rest are lost to us. The Book of Ecclesiastes, even if the composition of Solomon, can hardly be described as proverbs. Of his songs all have perished, except the Song of Solomon, and possibly Psalms 72:1-20 ; Psalms 127:1-5 . (see the titles), and, according to some, 128. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:33

And he spare of [ i.e; discoursed, treated, not necessarily wrote] trees [In his proverbs and songs he exceeded the children of the East. But his knowledge was not only speculative, but scientific. In his acquaintance with natural history he outshone the Egyptians, 1 Kings 4:20 ], from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon [A favourite illustration. The Jews had a profound admiration for all trees, and of these they justly regarded the cedar as king. Cf. 9:15 ; Psalms 80:10 ; ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:33

The voice of Nature speaking for God. This is given as an example of the wisdom for which Solomon was justly famed. His information was at once accurate and far reaching. Nothing escaped the notice of his observant eye, nothing was too insignificant to deserve his attention. The" hyssop" which was remarkable neither for size nor beauty, neither for fragrance nor utility, as well as the noble "cedar," was the subject of his research and discourse. I. THE GERM OF HIS KNOWLEDGE ... read more

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

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

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

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 1 Kings 4:34

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

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - 1 Kings 4:34

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:32

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:33

The Pulpit Commentary - 1 Kings 4:33

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