1 Kings 4:32

32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.

1 Kings 4:32 in Other Translations

32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.

32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005.

32 He composed some 3,000 proverbs and wrote 1,005 songs.

32 He created three thousand proverbs; his songs added up to 1,005.

32 Solomon composed 3,000 proverbs, and his songs numbered 1,005.

1 Kings 4:32 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 4:32

And he spake three thousand proverbs
Wise sayings, short and pithy sentences, instructive in morality and civil life; these were not written as the book of Proverbs, but spoken only, and were taken from his lips, and spread by those that heard them for the use of others, but in process of time were lost; whereas the above book, being written under divine inspiration, is preserved: and

his songs were a thousand and five;
some things that were useful to improve the minds and morals of men he delivered in verse, to make them more pleasant and agreeable, that they might be the more easily received and retained in memory; but of all his songs, the most: excellent is the book of Canticles, called "the Song of Songs", being divine and spiritual, and dictated by the inspiration of the Spirit of God: he was both a moral philosopher and poet, as well as a botanist and naturalist, and well-skilled in medicine, as the following words suggest, ( 1 Kings 4:33 ) .

1 Kings 4:32 In-Context

30 Solomon’s wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.

32 He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five.

33 He spoke about plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also spoke about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.

34 From all nations people came to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Cross References

• 1. Proverbs 1:1; Proverbs 10:1; Proverbs 25:1; Ecclesiastes 12:9
• 2. Psalms 78:63; Song of Songs 1:1; Ezekiel 33:32