Proverbs 31:1

A. The introduction of Lemuel 31:1

King Lemuel was evidently not a king of Israel or Judah. No king by this name appears in Kings or Chronicles. Some scholars have suggested that "Lemuel" (lit. "Devoted to God") may have been a pen name for Solomon. There is no evidence for this. Yet this is the only reference to a king by name in Proverbs, an unusual feature in wisdom literature from the ancient Near East. [Note: Leah L. Brunner, "King and Commoner in Proverbs and Near Eastern Sources," Dor le Dor 10 (1982):210-19.]

"Since such a king is unattested in Israel’s history, he is probably a proselyte to Israel’s faith." [Note: Waltke, The Book . . . 31, p. 503.]

The use of foreign loanwords in this poem supports this view. Proverbs generally contains the counsel of aged courtiers to the sons who were in line to succeed them as government officials, as previously mentioned. We have also noted that both parents normally shared the training of these young men. [Note: See my comments on 1:8-19.] In chapter 31, we have King Lemuel’s recollections of the instruction he had received from his mother earlier in life. Perhaps his father had died, or was unable to instruct him, or gave him other teaching not recorded here. According to Jewish legend, Lemuel was Solomon and his mother was Bathsheba. [Note: Greenstone, p. 329.] There is no factual basis for this tradition, however.