1 Kings 4:29

SOLOMON'S WISDOM

"And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all the nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of birds, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all the peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom."

"Three thousand proverbs" (1 Kings 4:32). Of these, only a relative handful have survived in the Book of Proverbs; and of the thousand and five songs, "We have only the Song of Solomon, Psalms 72; Psalms 132; and Psalms 127." The fact of the vast majority of Solomon's songs having fallen victim to the ravages of time was mentioned by Jamieson as follows: "The greater part fell prey to the ravages of time or perished during the Babylonian captivity, probably because they were not inspired."[12]

The description of Solomon's wisdom here in such superlative language is in all likelihood due to the sacred narrator's use of hyperbole, which, as we have often noted, is a well-known and frequently utilized Biblical figure of speech.

Whatever Solomon's wisdom actually was, it must be allowed as an amazing fact that it did not produce in himself any remarkable love of God or fidelity to the Divine commandments, except in the very earliest days of his monarchy.