Difference between revisions of "Lemuel"

<p> '''Lem'uel.''' ''(dedicated to God).'' The name of an unknown king, to whom his mother addressed the prudential maxims contained in &nbsp;Proverbs 31:1-9. The rabbinical commentators identified Lemuel with Solomon. Others regard him as king or chief of an Arab tribe dwelling on the borders of Palestine, and elder brother of Agur, whose name stands at the head of &nbsp;Proverbs 30:1. </p>

<p> <strong> [[Lemuel.]] </strong> The name of a king, otherwise unknown, to whom &nbsp; Proverbs 31:1-9 is addressed by his mother. His identity has been much discussed; he has been identified (by the Rabbinical commentators) with Solomon, (by Grotius) with Hezekiah. Cf. also <strong> [[Massa]] </strong> . It is possible that the name is a fanciful title to represent any virtuous king, invented for the purpose of conveying certain maxims. </p> <p> [[T.]] [[A.]] Moxon. </p>

<p> (Hebrew Lemnuel', לְמוּאֵל ''',''' &nbsp;Proverbs 31:1; Sept. ὑπὸ θεοῦ '','' [[Vulgate]] ''Lamuel; also Lemoë l, לְמוֹאֵל'' &nbsp;Proverbs 31:4; Sept. πάντα ποιεῖ ''',''' Vulgate ''Lamuel'' )'','' an unknown prince, to whom the admonitory apothegms of &nbsp;Proverbs 31:2-9 were originally addressed by his mother. Most interpreters understand [[Solomon]] to be meant either symbolically (the name signifying ''to God,'' i.e. created by him) or by a pleasing epithet (see Rosenmü ller, ''Scholia acl Prov.'' p. ''718'' )''.'' The Rabbinical commentators identify Lemuel with Solomon, and tell a strange tale that when he married the daughter of Pharaoh, on the day of the dedication of the Temple, he assembled musicians of all kinds, and passed the night awake. On the morrow he slept till the fourth hour, with the keys of the [[Temple]] beneath his pillow, when his mother entered, and upbraided him in the words of &nbsp;Proverbs 31:2-9. Others (e.g. Grotius) refer it to [[Hezekiah]] (by a precarious etymology), while still others (e.g. Gesenius) think that no [[Israelite]] is referred to, but some neighboring petty [[Arabian]] prince. On the other hand, according to [[Eichhorn]] (''Einleitulq,'' v. 106), Lemuel is altogether an imaginary person (so Ewald; comp. Bertholdt, v. 2196 sq.). Prof. Stuart (''Comment. on Prov.'' p. 403 sq.) renders the expression "Lemuel, the king of Massa," and regards him as the brother of Agur, whom he makes to have been likewise a son of the queen of Massa, in the neighborhood of Dumah. (See [[Agur]]); (See [[Ithiel]]). </p> <p> In the reign of Hezekiah, a roving band of Simeonites drove out the Amalekites from Mount Seir and settled in their stead (&nbsp;1 Chronicles 4:38-43), and from these exiles of [[Israelitish]] origin Hitzig conjectures that Lemuel and Agur were descended, the former having been born in the land of Israel; and that the name Lemuel is an older form of Nemuel, the firstborn of [[Simeon]] (Die Sprü che Salomo's, p. 310-314). But this interpretation is far-fetched; and none is more likely than that which fixes the epithet upon Solomon. (See Proverbs). </p>

<p> ''''' lem´ū́ ''''' - ''''' el ''''' ( למוּאל , <i> ''''' lemū'el ''''' </i> , or למואל , <i> ''''' lemō'ēl ''''' </i> ): [[A]] king whose words, an "oracle (taught him by his mother)," are given in &nbsp; Proverbs 31:1-9; and possibly the succeeding acrostic poem (31:10-31) is from the same source. Instead of translating the word after this name as "oracle" some propose to leave it as a proper name, translating "king of Massa," and referring for his kingdom to Massa (&nbsp;Genesis 25:14 ), one of the sons of Ishmael, supposedly head of a tribe or sheikh of a country. It is to be noted, however, that the words of Agur in the previous chapter are similarly called <i> '''''massā'''''' </i> , "oracle" with not so clear a reason for referring it to a country. See for a suggested reason for retaining the meaning "oracle" in both places, Proverbs , Book Of , [[Ii.,]] 6. </p>