1 Kings 4:31

31 He was wiser than anyone - wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, wiser than Calcol and Darda the sons of Mahol. He became famous among all the surrounding nations.

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 God gave Solomon wisdom - the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn't handle.

30 Solomon's wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt.

31 He was wiser than anyone - wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, wiser than Calcol and Darda the sons of Mahol. He became famous among all the surrounding nations.

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

33 He knew all about plants, from the huge cedar that grows in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows in the cracks of a wall. He understood everything about animals and birds, reptiles and fish.