I Kings 4:30
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Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
Solomon's Ministers of State. His Regal Splendour and Wisdom - 1 Kings 4-5:14 1 Kings 4 contains a list of the chief ministers of state (Kg1 4:2-6), and of the twelve officers placed over the land (Kg1 4:7-20), which is inserted here to give an idea of the might and glory of the kingdom of Israel under Solomon's reign. So far as the contents are concerned, this list belongs to the middle portion of the reign of Solomon, as we may see from the fact that two of the officers named had daughters of Solomon for their wives (Kg1 4:11, Kg1 4:15), whom they could not possibly have married till the later years of Solomon's life.
Open source ↗An instance of the wisdom God granted to Solomon we had in the close of the foregoing chapter. In this we have an account of his wealth and prosperity, the other branch of the promise there made him. We have here, I. The magnificence of his court, his ministers of state (Kg1 4:1-6), and the purveyors of his household (Kg1 4:7-19), and their office (Kg1 4:27, Kg1 4:28). II. The provisions for his table (Kg1 4:22, Kg1 4:23). III. The extent of his dominion (Kg1 4:21-24). IV. The numbers, case, and peace, of his subjects (Kg1 4:20-25). V. His stables (Kg1 4:26). VI. His great reputation for wisdom and learning (Kg1 4:29-34). Thus great was Solomon, but our Lord Jesus was greater than he (Mat 12:42), though he took upon him the form of a servant; for divinity, in its lowest humiliation, infinitely transcends royalty in its highest elevation.
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
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But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
So Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.
In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.
When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, according to the time he had learned from the Magi.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,
When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.