Skip to content
mannafest.faith

1 Kings 4:31

in 1 Kings 4

He was wiser than all men—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and wiser than Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread throughout the surrounding nations.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

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.

KJV

For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.

This verse in 1 Kings 4

Commentary

8 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.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Origen of Alexandria

AGAINST CELSUS 3.45 · Written before 253.

proposed

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 Awakening2 voices

For he was wiser than all men,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

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.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Heman-- (1Ch 15:17-19) --the chief of the temple musicians and the king's seers (1Ch 25:5); the other two are not known. the sons of Mahol--either another name for Zerah (1Ch 2:6); or taking it as a common noun, signifying a dance, a chorus, "the sons of Mahol" signify persons eminently skilled in poetry and music.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

He was wiser than all men - He was wiser than any of those who were most celebrated in his time, among whom were the four after mentioned, viz., Ethan, Heman, Chalcol, and Darda. Ethan was probably the same as is mentioned in some of the Psalms, particularly Psa 89:1, title; and among the singers in 1Ch 6:42. There is a Heman mentioned in the title to Psa 88:1. In 1Ch 2:6 we have all the four names, but they are probably not the same persons, for they are there said to be the sons of Zerah, and he flourished long before Solomon’s time. Some suppose that בני מחול beney machol should be rendered masters of dancing or music, as מחול machol signifies not only a dance or choir, but also an instrument of music of the pipe kind. Perhaps a reference is here made to Solomon’s skill in music and poetry, as he is compared to persons who appear to have been eminent poets and musicians.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

It is most probable that the persons with whom Solomon is compared were contemporaries, men noted for “wisdom,” though there is no other mention of them. His fame was in all nations - See below, 1 Kings 10.

The words behind it

15 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֶּחְכַּם֮and he was wise

    vaiyechkamH2449

  • מִכָּל־more than any

    mikolH36055413 times

  • הָֽאָדָם֒<the> human

    haadamH120551 times

  • מֵאֵיתָ֣ןmore than Ethan

    meeitanH387

  • הָאֶזְרָחִ֗יthe Ezrachite

    haezrachiH250

  • וְהֵימָ֧ןand Heman

    veheimanH1968

  • וְכַלְכֹּ֛לand Kalkol

    vekhalkolH3633

  • וְדַרְדַּ֖עand Darda

    vedarda'H1862

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of

    beneiH11214930 times

  • מָח֑וֹלMahol

    macholH4235

  • וַיְהִֽי־and it was

    vayhi-H19613559 times

  • שְׁמ֥וֹname his

    shemoH8034864 times

  • בְכָֽל־among all

    vekhal-H36055413 times

  • הַגּוֹיִ֖םthe nations

    hagoyimH1471561 times

  • סָבִֽיב׃around

    savivH5439336 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    1 Kings 3:12

    behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.

    it leads to

    • 1 John 5:14–15

      And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

    • Ecclesiastes 1:16

      I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”

    • Matthew 12:42

      The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One…

    • 1 Kings 5:12

      And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

    • 1 Kings 10:23–24

      So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 6:33

    These are the men who served, together with their sons. From the Kohathites:

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 6:28

      The sons of Samuel: Joel his firstborn and Abijah his second son.

    • 1 Chronicles 15:17

      So the Levites appointed Heman son of Joel; from his brothers, Asaph son of Berechiah; from their brothers the Merarites, Ethan son of Kushaiah;

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 15:19

    The musicians Heman, Asaph, and Ethan were to sound the bronze cymbals.

    it leads to

    • 1 Chronicles 25:6

      All these were under the direction of their fathers for the music of the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and…

Where this verse is studied

On this page

About 1 Kings

The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
The Judgment of Solomon, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
This page draws on 9 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); 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.