Who Was King Lemuel?

“The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:” (Proverbs 31:1)

Up until this 31^st and final chapter, there seems to be universal agreement that these chapters are the proverbs of King Solomon, the son of David (1:1; 10:1; 25:1). Then, King Lemuel shows up. He is only referenced in one other verse in Proverbs, and it happens to be in vs. 4.

So, who is this character?

Most say it is another name for King Solomon. This was the traditional view of the Jews.

What’s surprising about this interpretation is that this would make the virtuous woman that Solomon describes later in the chapter (vs. 10) to be Bathsheba. What a testimony to God’s grace in her life! When we 1^st encounter Bathsheba, she is committing adultery with Solomon’s father. When we last read of her, she is would be praised as a virtuous woman (Prov 31:10).

But, why else would a book of 30 chapters be attributed to Solomon and then have 1 chapter from an unknown source? Why change to another name for Solomon now?

But if not Solomon, who else? Cue the crickets. There really are no better interpretations. Unless you think that an Ishmaelite king makes sense, which is doesn’t.

There is no record of a King Lemuel in Israeli history. So, ultimately we cannot know for sure but Solomon is as good as a guess as any.