1 Kings 4:34

29-34 Solomon's wisdom was more his glory than his wealth. He had what is here called largeness of heart, for the heart is often put for the powers of the mind. He had the gift of utterance, as well as wisdom. It is very desirable, that those who have large gifts of any kind, should have large hearts to use them for the good of others. What treasures of wisdom and knowledge are lost! But every sort of knowledge that is needful for salvation is to be found in the holy Scriptures. There came persons from all parts, who were more eager after knowledge than their neighbours, to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Solomon was herein a type of Christ, in whom are hid all treasures of wisdom and knowledge; and hid for us, for he is made of God to us, wisdom. Christ's fame shall spread through all the earth, and men of all nations shall come to him, learn of him, and take upon them his easy yoke, and fi...

Verse 1 Kings 4:34. _THERE CAME OF ALL PEOPLE TO HEAR THE WISDOM OF_ _SOLOMON_] We learn from 1 Kings 10, that the queen of Sheba was one of those visitants, and perhaps the most remarkable, as we have the particulars of her visit, but not of the others. It is astonishing that of a person so renowned for wisdom, so little should be left to prove the truth of a fact of which all the civilized nations of the world have heard, and of which scarcely any man has ever doubted. The people that came from all kings of the earth were probably ambassadors, who came to form and maintain friendship between their sovereigns and the Israelitish king. We cannot understand the place as speaking of people who, either through an idle or laudable curiosity, came to see and converse with Solomo

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S RULE, STATE, AND WISDOM.—The remainder of this chapter, which de-scribes to us the extent and character of Solomon's sway (1 Kings 4:20, 1 Kings 4:21, 1 Kings 4:24, 1 Kings 4:25), the pomp and provision of his household (1 Kings 4:22, 1 Kings 4:23, 1 Kings 4:26-11),

AND THERE CAME OF ALL PEOPLE TO HEAR THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON, FROM ALL KINGS OF THE EARTH,.... Who sent their ambassadors to his court to know the truth of what was reported, and bring them some proofs and specimens, by which they might judge of the truth of the relations that had been told them; which perhaps might seem to them to be beyond all belief: WHICH HAD HEARD OF HIS WISDOM; for the fame of it was spread everywhere by merchants and travellers, and such sort of persons, who had been at Jerusalem, and were masters of various anecdotes relating to Solomon; which they industriously spread in the several parts of the world they had dealings in....

3. SOLOMON'S PRINCES AND OFFICERS THE PROSPEROUS KINGDOM AND THE KING'S GREAT WISDOM CHAPTER 4 _ 1. The Princes (1 Kings 4:1)_ 2. The Officers (1 Kings 4:7) 3. The prosperous kingdom (1 Kings 4:20) 4. Solomon's great wisdom (1 Kings 4:29) “So King Solomon was king over all Israel.” A list of the princes and the twelve officers is given first. Their names fit in perfectly with the character of the kingdom, foreshadowing the coming and better kingdom of our Lord. We give the names of the princes with their meaning. Azariah, “Jehovah is help”; Elihoreph, “my God is reward”; Ahiah, “Brother of Jeho

1 KINGS 3:1 TO 1 KINGS 4:34. EARLY DAYS, REIGN, AND WISDOM OF SOLOMON. The sources of this section are various, and the arrangement of the narrative in the LXX should be noticed. There are (_a_) a statistical account of Solomon s reign, referred to, apparently in 1 Kings 11:41, as the book of the acts of Solomon; (_b_) a number of narratives about this reign; (_c_) several Deuteronomic additions_ e.g._ 1 Kings 3:6; 1 Kings 3:14, etc.: and (_d_) some very late passages, possibly originally explanatory notes. The history of Solomon's reign

PEOPLE. peoples. Compare 1 Kings 10....

_from all kings of the earth_ It is most likely that what is meant is that embassies were sent from various kingdoms. The visit of the queen of Sheba (chap. 10) is preserved us probably as one of the more distant visits, and made, as could not often be the case, by the monarch in person. Here the LXX. (_Vat._) adds some words which partly repeat 1 Kings 3:1 -And Solomon took to him the daughter of Pharaoh to wife, and brought her into the city of David until he had finished the house of the Lord, and his own house and the wall of Jerusalem." After this follows from 1 Kings 9:16 -Then Pharaoh king of Egypt went up and took Gazer, and set fire to it, and the Canaanite that dwelt in Mergab. And Pharaoh gave them as presents to his daughter, Solomon's wife. And Solomon built up Gazer." At...

AND THERE CAME OF ALL PEOPLE TO HEAR, &C. _FROM ALL KINGS_— It is a conceit of one of the Jewish interpreters, that all the kings of the neighbouring countries went to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and that, upon their return, their subjects came to them, to hear what he had said: but, as we hear of none, except the queen of Sheba, who came to visit Solomon, we cannot but think, that if any other crowned heads had resorted to him, the history would have recorded them as well as her. The words denote no more, than that the kings of all the neighbouring nations sent their ambassadors; and people of every land, who had heard of Solomon's fame, came to see him: for, as an ingenious writer observes, "no spectacle is more lovely and grateful than a wise and good king: all men flock to see him, and to partake of his pious and prudent mind. They who see him are loth to leave him, and they who hear...

C. SOLOMON'S PROFOUND WISDOM AND FAME 4:29-34 TRANSLATION (29) And God gave wisdom to Solomon and understanding exceedingly much and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is upon the seashore. (30) The wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the sons of the east and greater than the wisdom of Egypt. (31) And he was wiser than all menthan Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman and Calcol, Darda, the sons of Mahol; and his fame was in all the nations round about. (32) And he spoke three thousand proverbs, and his songs were a thousand and five. (33) And he spoke concerning trees, from the cedar which is in Lebanon to the hyssop which springs out in the wall; and he spoke concerning beasts, birds, creeping things, and fish. (34) And some from all peoples came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom. COMMENTS In fulfillment of the pro...