The Book of Proverbs is an anthology of wise sayings, compiled by King Solomon, and many of these pearls of wisdom were written by Solomon himself. The authorship of the Book of Proverbs is given in Proverbs 1:1, which states: “The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel.” Chapters at the end of the Book of Proverbs appear to have been added in the time of Hezekiah. Proverbs 25:1 states: “These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.” The final chapter in the Book of Proverbs is chapter 31, which begins: “The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him.”
Who were King Lemuel and his mother?
The name of Lemuel does not appear among the kings of Israel or Judah. There is also no record of any king called Lemuel in the surrounding nations. With this in mind, it seems highly likely that the name of Lemuel is a pseudonym – but for whom?
Since Proverbs 1:1 and Proverbs 25:1 attribute authorship of the Book of Proverbs to King Solomon, he must be the prime candidate for ‘Lemuel’, although we might wonder why Solomon would choose to use this name. The Messianic Pastor Daniel Yahav, of Peniel Fellowship in Tiberias (Israel), has taught his congregation that he believes Lemuel was a ‘pet name’ or family name for Solomon – and I will try to explain Pastor Daniel’s logic.
Some names are very difficult for a young child to pronounce. My late wife’s name was Elizabeth, and her mother told me that Elizabeth struggled to pronounce her own name when she was very young. The young Elizabeth always shortened her name and generally omitted the initial letter ‘E’. We might presume that Her Majesty the Queen had a similar problem, for it is an open secret that the young Princess Elizabeth was known as ‘Lilibet’.
The correct Hebrew name for Solomon is Shlomoh. Can you imagine a small infant getting his tongue around the initial double-consonant sound of the letters Shin (Sh) and Lamed (L)? It is easy to understand that most toddlers would omit the initial letter (just like my late wife did), thus saying ‘Lomoh’ instead of Shlomoh. This is certainly what Pastor Daniel believes.
Now imagine how Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, would speak to her young son in baby-talk. If speaking in English, Bathsheba might have said, “Hello Babba-Lomoh. How is Babba-Lomoh today?” Switching into Hebrew, ‘Babba-Lomoh’ would become ‘Lomoh-ul’. [עוּל (ul) or עוֹלָל (olal) = baby, infant]. As the baby Solomon grew into the young boy Solomon, it would be natural for the baby-name of ‘Lomoh-ul’ to be changed just very slightly into the closest possible real name of ‘Lemuel’. And thus it seems very likely that Lemuel is indeed a ‘pet name’ or family name for Solomon.
Why use the name Lemuel here?
Why would Solomon choose to call himself ‘Lemuel’ in this final chapter of his anthology of proverbs? Possibly because of the context – that Bathsheba taught the contents of this chapter to Solomon whilst he was still quite young, when Bathsheba called him her ‘Lemuel’.
Although Solomon was wise in many ways, he seriously overestimated his own ability to cope with a vast number of wives – especially the foreign women who turned his heart towards their foreign gods (See 1 Kings 11:1-8). Maybe there came a time when Solomon began to realise that his ever-increasing household of foreign women was getting beyond his control, and then he thought back to what his mother had taught him. Perhaps, recalling Bathsheba’s advice to her little ‘Lemuel’, Solomon remembered what his mother had said about women and wives, and he wrote it down so that others could learn from his mistakes. I believe that could well be the context of Proverbs 31:1-3, which states: “The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him. What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women [emphasis mine], nor your ways to that which destroys kings.”
Justice for all
We might notice that Bathsheba calls Solomon the “son of my vows”. This probably refers to vows given by Bathsheba to God after her first baby son had died, when she would naturally have asked God for another son. Bathsheba would have understood that God took her first child because of her adultery with King David, and also because David had murdered her first husband. Bathsheba learned the hard way that God’s laws were to be obeyed and that there should be justice for everyone. Just as we know that David repented of his sin, I believe that Bathsheba would also have repented of her part in that sin. Thus the next section of Proverbs 31 really deals with the righteous cause of God’s justice for all.
Proverbs 31:4-9 states: “It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, nor for princes to crave strong drink, lest they drink and forget the law, and pervert the justice of all the oppressed. Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those whose life is bitter. Let them drink and forget their poverty, and remember their misery no more. But you, speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the poor and needy.”
There is evidence that Solomon did indeed remember this teaching of Bathsheba that he should rule with righteousness and have a heart towards those who were poor and who had no one to speak for them. When he became king, Solomon asked God for these very things, saying to God, “Give to your servant an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of yours?” (1 Kings 3:9).
The excellent wife
The remainder of Proverbs 31 is a wonderful acrostic poem with which many readers will no doubt be familiar, each verse beginning with a different Hebrew letter from the 22-letter alphabet (in standard alphabetic order). It is a woman’s portrayal of the perfect wife.
Some commentators find it difficult to believe that this description of an excellent wife could have been taught by Bathsheba. They suggest that words like “the heart of her husband safely trusts her” (Proverbs 31:11) and “she does him good and not evil all the days of her life” (Proverbs 31:12) could not have been uttered by Bathsheba (nor written down by Solomon) after the foul murder of Bathsheba’s first husband. However, I would make three points here. First, never underestimate the power of repentance. Secondly, how much was Bathsheba really at fault, given that it would have been very difficult (if not impossible) for her to have resisted King David’s ‘invitation’ (2 Samuel 11:4)? And finally, no one except the Lord himself is perfect. These 22 verses describe the perfect role model to which to aspire, rather than someone who actually exists. Indeed, the opening words of the poem ask the question: “Who can find a virtuous wife?” (Proverbs 31:10).
At this point I wish to make it abundantly clear that I am sure there are many wonderful Christian wives in this world, ladies of great virtue and excellence who come very close to the perfection described in this passage from Scripture. I was married to one of them. Proverbs 31:29 makes the same point: “Many daughters have done well, but you [the perfect role model] excel them all.”
The final two verses make a powerful point. “Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised [emphasis mine]. Give her the reward of her labour, and let her own works praise her in the gates” (Proverbs 31:30-31).
Solomon married far too many women – and for all the wrong reasons. Maybe he married some women for their deceptive charm and fleeting beauty, as many men do, but he certainly made marriages for political reasons. 1 Kings 3:1 tells us: “Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter.” Whilst this might have seemed a good idea to Solomon, it was not a ‘God idea’. In Deuteronomy 7:2-4, God tells the Israelites that they are not to make covenants with the nations around them, and not to intermarry with the people from these nations. God quite clearly said: “Do not make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following me, to serve other gods.” Solomon broke that commandment. Instead of marrying foreign women, he should only have married “a woman who fears the Lord”.
The same is true today. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, we can read the words of the apostle Paul: “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what does righteousness have in common with lawlessness? And what fellowship does light have with darkness?” Obviously if someone becomes a Christian after being married then that is different, and Paul is writing here to Christian singles. Let us choose our spouses with God’s guidance. And, both husbands and wives, let us truly value a spouse who fears the Lord.
