Who Was The Wisest Man in the Old Testament?

Solomon 1 Kings 4v29-34

1Ki 4:29-34.      And God gave Solomon exceptionally much wisdom and understanding, and breadth of mind like the sand of the seashore.

Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt.

For he was wiser than all other men--than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol. His fame was in all the nations round about.

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

He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall; he spoke also of beasts, of birds, of creeping things, and of fish.

Men came from all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all kings of the earth who had heard of his wisdom.

4:29

Largeness of heart - What we call “great capacity.” The expression which follows is common in reference to numerical multitude 1Ki 4:20, but its use here to express mere amplitude or greatness is unique.

1 Kings 4:30

Children of the east country - Rather, “of the East” - the Beni Kedem - a distinct tribe, who occupied both sides of the Euphrates along its middle course (marginal reference). They were mostly nomads, who dwelt in tents Jer 49:28-29. Job belonged to them Job 1:3, as did probably his three friends; and, perhaps, Balsam Num 23:7. They must have been either Arabs or Aramaeans. We may see in the Book of Job the character of their “wisdom.” Like Solomon’s, it was chiefly gnomic but included some knowledge of natural history. The “wisdom of Egypt” was of a different kind. It included magic Gen 41:8; Exo 7:11, geometry, medicine, astronomy, architecture, and a dreamy mystic philosophy, of which metempsychosis was the main principle. It is not probable that Solomon was, like Moses (marginal reference), deeply versed in Egyptian science. The writer only means to say that his wisdom was truer and more real than all the much-praised wisdom of Egypt.

1 Kings 4:31

It is most probable that the persons with whom Solomon is compared were contemporaries, men noted for “wisdom,” though there is no other mention of them.

His fame was in all nations - See below, 1 Kings 10.

1 Kings 4:32

Proverbs - In the collection which forms the “Book of Proverbs,” only a small portion has been preserved, less certainly than one thousand out of the three. Ecclesiastes, if it is Solomon’s, would add between one hundred and two hundred more proverbs. But the great bulk of Solomon’s proverbs has perished.

Songs - Of these, Canticles is probably one (marginal reference): Ps. 72; Psa 127:1-5 may also be of the number. Probably the bulk of Solomon’s songs were of a secular character, and consequently were not introduced into the canon of Scripture.

1 Kings 4:33

Trees ... - A keen appreciation of the beauties of nature, and a habit of minute observation, are apparent in the writings of Solomon that remain to us. The writer here means to say that Solomon composed special works on these subjects. The Lebanon cedars were the most magnificent of all the trees known to the Hebrews, and hence, represent in the Old Testament the grandest of vegetable productions. (Psa 104:16; Son 5:15; Eze 31:3, etc.) For the hyssop, see Exo 12:22 note.

Of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes - This is the usual Biblical division of the animal kingdom Gen 1:26; Gen 9:2; Psa 148:10.

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.

1 Kings 4v34

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 Solomon; to give free access to such people would ill comport with the maintenance of his dignity.

1 Kings 10:14-29