1 Kings 4:31

31 He was wiser than anyone, more wise than Ethan the Ezrahite or Mahol's sons: Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His reputation was known throughout the region.

1 Kings 4:31 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 4:31

For he was wiser than all men
Not only that lived in his time, but in ages past since the fall of Adam, and in times to come, especially in natural wisdom and knowledge, in all the branches of it; for though some men excel in some part of knowledge, yet not in all, as Solomon did:

than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of
Mahol;
men of the same names are said to be sons of Zerah, grandson of Judah, ( 1 Chronicles 2:6 ) ; wherefore these are either other men, or their father had two names; or Mahol here may be an appellative, and describe the character of these then, and point at what they were famous for, as that they were sons of music, piping, and dancing, as Mahol may signify; the Jews have a tradition ^F15, that Ethan is Abraham, and Heman Moses, and Chalcol Joseph:

and his fame was in all nations round about;
not for his riches and grandeur only, but chiefly for his wisdom.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2 Reg. fol. 80. 1.

1 Kings 4:31 In-Context

29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and very great understanding—insight as long as the seashore itself.

30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than all the famous Easterners, greater even than all the wisdom of Egypt.

31 He was wiser than anyone, more wise than Ethan the Ezrahite or Mahol's sons: Heman, Calcol, and Darda. His reputation was known throughout the region.

32 Solomon spoke three thousand proverbs and one thousand five songs.

33 He described the botany of trees, whether the cedar in Lebanon or the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He also described cattle, birds, anything that crawls on the ground, and fish.