Lemuel
Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
THE DICTIONARY — Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
dedicated to God, a king whom his mother instructed (Proverbs 31:1-9). Nothing is certainly known concerning him. The rabbis identified him with Solomon.
THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.
lem'-u-el (lemu'el, or lemo'-el): A king whose words, an "oracle (taught him by his mother)," are given in Pr 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 (Ge 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 massa', "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, THE BOOK OF, II, 6.
John Franklin Genung