Verse 1
"The words of Lemuel; the oracle which his mother taught him."
This verse is rendered differently in some translations: "The word of Lemuel, king of Massa, which his mother taught him."[1] "These are the solemn words which King Lemuel's mother said to him."[2] If these renditions should be allowed (and we seriously doubt it), then Lemuel was not even an Israelite. "Massa was an Arab tribe descended from Abraham through Ishmael (Genesis 25:14)";[3] but there is no record whatever of any such thing as a state called Massa ruled by a king. See the comment on Proverbs 30:1 regarding the importance of translating the word here as "oracle," indicating the authority of the passage. "There is no need to suppose that Lemuel was the author of that beautiful poem on the perfect wife that follows."[4] That Lemuel himself was indeed a king appears in his mother's words, although, "king of what," no one knows.
McGee and others have supposed that Lemuel was the same as King Solomon. "Lemuel was Bathsheba's `pet name' for her son Solomon."[5] There's nothing in this passage that sounds like Bathsheba to this writer.
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