3 Kings 4:32
Solomon also spoke three thousand parables: and his poems were a thousand and five.
The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Locutus est quoque Salomon tria millia parabolas : et fuerunt carmina ejus quinque et mille.
- Septuagint (Swete) shown from 3 Kings 4:28
- καὶ ἐλάλησεν Σαλωμὼν τρισχιλίας παραβολάς, καὶ ἦσαν ᾠδαὶ αὐτοῦ πεντακισχίλιαι.
- Hebrew (WLC) shown from 3 Kings 5:12
- וַיְדַבֵּ֕ר שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת אֲלָפִ֖ים מָשָׁ֑ל וַיְהִ֥י שִׁיר֖וֹ חֲמִשָּׁ֥ה וָאָֽלֶף
Haydock's commentary
Three thousand parables. These works are all lost, excepting some part of the parables extant in the book of Proverbs; and his chief poem called the Canticle of Canticles. (Challoner)
The title of Psalm cxxvi., attributes it to Solomon. But its authority is not sufficiently established. The book of Proverbs contains at present only 658, (Cornelius a Lapide) or 800 parables. (Clarius)
Josephus exaggerates, when he reads 3000 volumes of parables.
Five. Septuagint read, "5000 odes," which is adopted by many interpreters. Josephus (Calmet) and the Chaldean agree with the Hebrew. (Menochius)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St Hippolytus On the Song of Songs
2. And where is all this rich knowledge? and where are these mysteries? and where are the books? For the only ones extant are Proverbs, and Wisdom, and Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Songs. What then? Does the Scripture speak falsely? God forbid. But the matter of his writings was various, as is shown in the phrase “Song of Songs;” for that indicates that in this one book he digested the contents of the 5,000 songs. In the days moreover of Hezekiah, there were some of the books selected for use, and others set aside. Whence the Scripture says, “These are the mixed Proverbs of Solomon, which the friends of Hezekiah the king copied out.” And whence did they take them, but out of the books containing the 3,000 parables and the 5,000 songs? Out of these, then, the wise friends of Hezekiah took those portions which bore upon the edification of the Church. …
St Dionysius of Alexandria Exegetical Fragments, Chapter I
I was vainly puffed up, and increased wisdom; not the wisdom which God has given, but that wisdom of which Paul says, “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” For in this Solomon had also an experience surpassing prudence, and above the measure of all the ancients. Consequently he shows the vanity of it, as what follows in like manner demonstrates: “And my heart uttered many things: I knew wisdom, and knowledge, and parables, and sciences.” But this was not the genuine wisdom or knowledge, but that which, as Paul says, puffeth up. He spake, moreover, as it is written, three thousand parables. But these were not parables of a spiritual kind, but only such as fit the common polity of men; as, for instance, utterances about animals or medicines. …
Origen Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John, Chapter IV
4. I feel myself growing dizzy with all this, and wonder whether, in obeying you, I have not been obeying God, nor walking in the footsteps of the saints, unless it be that my too great love to you, and my unwillingness to cause you any pain, has led me astray and caused me to think of all these excuses. We started from the words of the preacher, where he says: “My son, beware of making many books.” With this I compare a saying from the Proverbs of the same Solomon, “In the multitude of words thou shalt not escape sin; but in sparing thy lips thou shalt be wise.” Here I ask whether speaking many words of whatever kind is a multitude of words (in the sense of the preacher), even if the many words a man speaks are sacred and connected with salvation. …