1 Kings 4:30 BSB — MannaFest

1 Kings 4:30

Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

KJV

And Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.

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Commentary

3 voices

Origen of Alexandria

COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS PROLOGUE 3 (253)

[Greek philosophers] took these ideas from Solomon, since it was long before them in age and time that he first gave these teachings through the Spirit of God. The Greeks have brought them forth as their own discoveries, and they have also included them in their books of instructions and left them to be handed down to their successors.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

If nature excels art, much more does grace. The knowledge which God gives by special favour goes beyond that which man gets by his own labour. Some wise men there were in Solomon's time, who were in great repute, particularly Heman, and others who were Levites, and employed by David in the temple-music, 1 Chron. xv.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country--that is, the Arabians, Chaldeans, and Persians (Ge 25:6). all the wisdom of Egypt--Egypt was renowned as the seat of learning and sciences, and the existing monuments, which so clearly describe the ancient state of society and the arts, show the high culture of the Egyptian people.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

10 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַתֵּ֙רֶב֙	va.Te.rev	and it was great	H7235 →
חָכְמַ֣ת	cha.khe.Mat	[the] wisdom of	H2451 →
שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה	she.lo.Moh	Solomon	H8010 →
מֵֽחָכְמַ֖ת	me.cha.khe.Mat	more than [the] wisdom of	H2451 →
כָּל־	kol-	all	H3605 →
בְּנֵי־	be.nei-	[the] people of	H1121 →
קֶ֑דֶם	Ke.dem	[the] east	H6924 →
וּמִכֹּ֖ל	u.mi.Kol	and more than all	H3605 →
חָכְמַ֥ת	cha.khe.Mat	[the] wisdom of	H2451 →
מִצְרָֽיִם׃	mitz.Ra.yim	Egypt	H4714 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Job 1:3
and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
leads to
- Judges 6:3
  Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Job 29:25
  I chose their course and presided as chief. So I dwelt as a king among his troops, as a comforter of the mourners.
- Job 42:12
  So the LORD blessed Job’s latter days more than his first. He owned 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
- Numbers 23:7
  And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and…
- Proverbs 10:22
  The blessing of the LORD enriches, and He adds no sorrow to it.
Through
Genesis 25:6
But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
leads to
- Genesis 21:14
  Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of…
Through
Daniel 1:20
In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
leads to
- Exodus 8:19
  “This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
- 1 Kings 4:29–34
  And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore.

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The Judgment of Solomon — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

1 Kings: the study guide →Read chapter 4 →The featured study →

PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About 1 Kings

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About 1 Kings