He spake three thousand proverbs That is, short, deep, and useful sentences, whereof a great part are contained in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. Songs Whereof the most divine and chief are in the Canticles. And he spake of trees That is, of all plants, of their nature and qualities. From the cedar-tree unto the hyssop From the greatest to the least. That springeth out of the wall Dr. Waterland renders the original here, Hyssop that runneth out to the wall: the wall of Jerusalem may be meant, which was encompassed with mountains that produced abundance of hyssop. He spake also of beasts and of fowl, &c. This shows the vastness of his knowledge, which comprehended the history of animals as well as of plants, whose nature and qualities he also understood. All these discourses of Solomon are lost, without any impeachment of the perfection of the Holy Scriptures; which were not written to teach men philosophy or physic, but only to make them wise unto salvation.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 4:32
1 Kings 4:32-33
32 And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.
33 And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.