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Fame of Solomon’s Wisdom

29 God gave Solomon very great wisdom, discernment, and breadth of understanding as vast as the sand on the seashore,(A) 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.(B) 31 He was wiser than anyone else, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, children of Mahol; his fame spread throughout all the surrounding nations.(C) 32 He composed three thousand proverbs, and his songs numbered a thousand and five.(D) 33 He would speak of trees, from the cedar that is in the Lebanon to the hyssop that grows in the wall; he would speak of animals, and birds, and reptiles, and fish. 34 People came from all the nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.(E)

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Solomon’s Fame

29 God gave Solomon wisdom and great discernment. His insights were as numerous as sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon was wiser than any of the eastern leaders and wiser than anyone in Egypt. 31 He was wiser than anyone of his day—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, and wiser than Mahol’s sons Calcol and Darda.

His reputation was known throughout the surrounding nations. 32 Solomon wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. 33 He described trees—everything from cedars[a] that grow in Lebanon to hyssop that grows on a garden wall. He described animals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 34 People came from everywhere to hear Solomon’s advice. Every king on the earth heard of his wisdom.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Kings 4:33 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae; and so throughout the book