1 Kings 4:30
in 1 Kings 4Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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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This verse in 1 Kings 4
Commentary
12 notes on this verse[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.
This site's exposition
wisdom and understanding exceeding much
on 1 Kings 4:29-31
God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, the sand-of-the-shore language of verse 20 now measuring the king rather than the nation he ruled. Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman carry the same names given in the titles of Psalms 89 and 88, and while the identification is not certain, the bench has long weighed whether these are the very men Solomon is said to surpass. His fame reaches nations round about before a single proverb is quoted, so the chapter states the wisdom's reputation before it opens the collection of it.
This site's exposition
all the men of the East
John Wesley reads the men of the East as Chaldeans, Persians and Arabians, and Albert Barnes as the Bene Kedem, desert tribes of the middle Euphrates to whom Job belonged. Their wisdom ran to proverbs and nature, like Solomon's. Egypt's learning took in geometry, medicine, astronomy and magic.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
But that the object of Christianity is that we should become wise can be proved from the ancient Jewish writings, which we also use, as well as from those that were composed after the time of Jesus and that are believed among the churches to be divine. Now, in the fiftieth psalm, David is described as saying in his prayer to God these words: "The unseen and secret things of your wisdom you have manifested to me." Solomon, too, because he asked for wisdom, received it; and if anyone were to peruse the Psalms, he would find the book filled with many maxims of wisdom; and the evidences of Solomon's wisdom may be seen in his treatises, which contain a great amount of wisdom expressed in few words, and in which you will find many praises of wisdom and encouragements towards obtaining it. So wise, moreover, was Solomon, that the queen of Sheba, having heard his name and the name of the Lord, came to try him with difficult questions and spoke to him all things, whatsoever were in her heart; and Solomon answered her all her questions. There was no question omitted by the king that he did not answer her. And the queen of Sheba saw all the wisdom of Solomon and the possessions that he had, and there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, "The report is true that I heard in my own land regarding you and your wisdom; and I did not believe them who told me, until I had come, and my eyes have seen it. And, lo, they did not tell me the half. You have added wisdom and possessions above all the report that I heard." It is also recorded of him that "God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
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.
East country - The Chaldeans, Persians, and Arabians, who all lay eastward from Canaan, and were famous in ancient times for their wisdom and learning. Egypt - The Egyptians, whose fame was then great for their skill in the arts and sciences, which made them despise the Grecians as children in knowledge.
And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east,....
Thus great was Solomon, but our Lord Jesus was greater than he ( Matt. xii. 42 ), though he took upon him the form of a servant; for divinity, in its lowest humiliation, infinitely transcends royalty in its highest elevation. 1 So king Solomon was king over all Israel.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The fruits of it; by these the tree is known: he did not bury his talent, but showed his wisdom, 1. Those in divinity, written by divine inspiration, are not mentioned here, for they are extant, and will remain to the world's end monuments of his wisdom, and are, as other parts of scripture, of use to make us wise unto salvation.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
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.
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Children of the east country - Rather, “of the East” - the Beni Kedem - a distinct tribe, who occupied both sides of the Euphrates along its middle course (marginal reference). They were mostly nomads, who dwelt in tents Jer 49:28-29. Job belonged to them Job 1:3, as did probably his three friends; and, perhaps, Balsam Num 23:7. They must have been either Arabs or Aramaeans. We may see in the Book of Job the character of their “wisdom.” Like Solomon’s, it was chiefly gnomic but included some knowledge of natural history. The “wisdom of Egypt” was of a different kind. It included magic Gen 41:8; Exo 7:11, geometry, medicine, astronomy, architecture, and a dreamy mystic philosophy, of which metempsychosis was the main principle. It is not probable that Solomon was, like Moses (marginal reference), deeply versed in Egyptian science. The writer only means to say that his wisdom was truer and more real than all the much-praised wisdom of Egypt.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתֵּ֙רֶב֙ | vaterev | and it was great | H7235 → | 227 times |
| חָכְמַ֣ת | chakhemat | [the] wisdom of | H2451 → | 153 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| מֵֽחָכְמַ֖ת | mechakhemat | more than [the] wisdom of | H2451 → | 153 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| בְּנֵי־ | benei- | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| קֶ֑דֶם | kedem | [the] east | H6924 → | 87 times |
| וּמִכֹּ֖ל | umikol | and more than all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חָכְמַ֥ת | chakhemat | [the] wisdom of | H2451 → | 153 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וַתֵּ֙רֶב֙and it was great
vaterevH7235 →227 times
חָכְמַ֣ת[the] wisdom of
chakhematH2451 →153 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
מֵֽחָכְמַ֖תmore than [the] wisdom of
mechakhematH2451 →153 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
בְּנֵי־[the] people of
benei-H1121 →4930 times
קֶ֑דֶם[the] east
kedemH6924 →87 times
וּמִכֹּ֖לand more than all
umikolH3605 →5413 times
חָכְמַ֥ת[the] wisdom of
chakhematH2451 →153 times
מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Job 1:3and 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.
it 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 separate 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.
- Judges 6:3
Through
Genesis 25:6But 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.
it 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…
- Genesis 21:14
Through
Daniel 1:20In 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.
it 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.
- Exodus 8:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS PROLOGUE 3 and Origen of Alexandria, AGAINST CELSUS 3.45.