1st Kings Chapter 4 verse 32 Holy Bible
And he spake three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five.
read chapter 4 in ASV
He was the maker of three thousand wise sayings, and of songs to the number of a thousand and five.
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And he spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were a thousand and five.
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And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
read chapter 4 in KJV
And he spoke three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
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He spoke three thousand proverbs; and his songs were one thousand five.
read chapter 4 in WEB
And he speaketh three thousand similes, and his songs `are' five, and the chief one;
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Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 32. - And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. [Of the former, less than one-third are preserved in the Book of Proverbs (see Proverbs 1:1; Proverbs 25:1); the rest are lost to us. The Book of Ecclesiastes, even if the composition of Solomon, can hardly be described as proverbs. Of his songs all have perished, except the Song of Solomon, and possibly Psalm 72, 127. (see the titles), and, according to some, 128.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(32) Proverbs.--The word "proverb" (mashal), from a root signifying "comparison," has the various meanings of (a) parable or allegory, (b) proverb in the modern sense, (c) riddle or enigmatical poem, (d) figurative and antithetical poetry, like the "parable" of Balaam. The Book of Proverbs belongs mainly, but not exclusively, to the second class. Its main part consists of two series of "Proverbs of Solomon" (Proverbs 10-24, 25-29), composed or collected by him; falling, however, far short of the number given in this verse. The earlier portion (see especially 1Kings 1:20-33; 1Kings 1:2; 1Kings 1:8) partakes more of the character of the first and fourth classes; and in Ecclesiastes 12:3-6, and perhaps Proverbs 30:15-16; Proverbs 30:24-31, we have specimens of the third. If the "three thousand" of the text be intended to be taken literally, it is obvious that only a small part of Solomon's proverbs has been preserved. His declension into idolatry might induce care in selection. by such prophetic compilers as "the men of Hezekiah" (Proverbs 25). . . .
