Midrash sa 1 Mga Hari 3:9: Midrash Mishlei, Kohelet Rabbah, Midrash Tanchuma Buber & Midrash Tanchuma

[1] (Proverbs 1:1): "The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel" - Rabbi Tanhum ben Hanilai began and said: (Job 28:12): "But wisdom - where can it be found? And where is the place of understanding?" - This refers to Solomon, who fasted for forty days, so that God would grant him a spirit of wisdom and understanding, and he wandered around and sought after it. God said to him (1 Kings 3:5): "Ask, what shall I give you?" He replied, 'Master of the Universe, I ask of You neither silver nor gold, but wisdom alone,' as it is written (1 Kings 3:9): "Give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people." God answered him and said, 'Since you asked for neither silver nor gold, wisdom and knowledge are given to you as a gift.' Moreover, wisdom preceded the Torah, as it is written (Psalms 111:10): "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." There we learned (Mishnah Avot 3:17): "Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah says: If there is no Torah, there is no proper conduct." And since his wisdom preceded, the scripture said about him (1 Kings 3:3): "And Solomon loved the Lord"; it teaches that Solomon's wisdom was a gift. "And where is the place of understanding?" - Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said: Wisdom and understanding are one, where there is wisdom there is understanding, and where there is understanding there is wisdom. And since he fasted for forty days and sought wisdom, God did not withhold his reward, as it is written (1 Kings 5:26): "And the Lord gave wisdom to Solomon," and it is written: (1 Kings 5:11): "And he was wiser than all men" - this refers to Adam the first, as it is written about Solomon (Proverbs 30:2): "For I am more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man"; "than Ethan from the East" - this is Abraham, as it is written (Isaiah 41:2): "Who raised up one from the east, He calls him to His foot"; "Heman" - this is Moses, as it is said (Numbers 12:7): "Not so, My servant Moses, in all My house he is faithful"; "Calcol" - this is Joseph, as it is written (Genesis 47:12): "And Joseph sustained his father, and his brothers"; "Darda" - this refers to the generation of the desert, who were of exceptional knowledge; "the sons of Mahol" - this is David, whom God forgave for that sin. "And his name was among all the nations around" - this refers to Solomon, whose name went from one end of the world to the other. ANOTHER interpretation: "And wisdom, from where can it be found?" - this refers to the Queen of Sheba, who heard of his wisdom, said 'I will go and see if he is wise or not', and from where do we know that she heard his wisdom? It is written (1 Kings 10:1): "And the Queen of Sheba heard the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, and she came to prove him with hard questions." What are "hard questions"? Rabbi Jeremiah Bar Shalom said: she asked him 'Are you Solomon, about whom I heard, and about your kingdom, and about your wisdom?' He replied 'Yes.' She said to him 'You are a great sage, but if I ask you one thing, will you answer me?' He replied (Proverbs 2:6): "For the LORD giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding." She asked him a riddle 'What are the seven that go out, the nine that enter, the two that pour, and the one who drinks?' He answered her 'Certainly, the seven days of menstruation go out, the nine months of pregnancy enter, two breasts pour, and the baby drinks.' She said to him 'You are a great sage, but if I ask you another thing will you answer me?' He replied 'For the LORD giveth wisdom', She asked him 'What is it, a woman said to her son: your father - my father, your elder - my husband, you - my son, and I - your sister?' He answered her 'Certainly, these are Lot's two daughters.' And another example she did: she brought before him children of one height and one garment, and said to him 'Distinguish for me from these males and females.' He hinted to his eunuch, and brought him nuts and shells, and began to scatter them before them; males, who were not ashamed, took them in their garments, and females, who were ashamed, took them in their handkerchiefs. He said to her 'These are males and these are females.' She said to him 'Son, you are a great sage!'. And another example she did: she brought circumcised and uncircumcised, said to him 'Distinguish for me the circumcised from the uncircumcised'; he immediately hinted to the high priest and opened the Ark of the Covenant, the circumcised among them bowed down to half their height, and not only that but their faces were filled with the radiance of the Divine Presence, and the uncircumcised among them fell on their faces, he immediately said to her 'These are uncircumcised and these are circumcised.' She said to him 'Where did you get that from?' He said to her 'From Balaam, for it is written (Numbers 24:4): "He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling but with opened eyes", if he had not fallen - he would not have seen anything.' And if you don't want to learn from Balaam, come and learn from Job: at the hour when the three friends of Job came to comfort him, he said to them (Job 12:3): 'I have a heart like you; I am not inferior to you,' 'I am not inferior to you.' At that hour it was said to him (1 Kings 10:7): 'I did not believe the words until I came and my eyes saw, and behold, the half was not told to me; you have added wisdom and goodness to the hearing that I have heard; happy are your men, happy are these your servants who stand before you always and hear your wisdom; may the Lord your God be blessed who desired you, to place you on the throne of Israel and so on, and he made you king to do justice and righteousness.' It was said about Solomon 'justice and righteousness,' and it was said about David 'justice and righteousness,' from where? Because it is written (2 Samuel 8:15): 'David administered justice and righteousness to all his people,' and it is said about Solomon 'justice and righteousness,' the Scripture tells us that the wisdom of Solomon is equal to the wisdom of David, and the wisdom of David is equal to the wisdom of Solomon. Alternatively, 'Where can wisdom be found?' - this teaches that Solomon was searching for where wisdom is found. Rabbi Eliezer says: in the head, Rabbi Joshua says: in the heart. As it is said (Psalms 4:1): 'You have given joy in my heart,' and it is written (Proverbs 27:11): 'Be wise, my son, and gladden my heart.' And why was wisdom given in the heart - because all the organs depend on the heart. Solomon said: I am doing as my father opened, who opened with his wisdom with the first letters and ended with the middle letters: [opened] with the head - because it is written (Psalms 1:1): 'Happy is the man who does not walk,' and he ended in the middle - as it is said (Psalms 150:6): 'Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.' In the beginning, I open in the middle, and I end at the end: I open from the place where wisdom is given, where is it - in the heart, and where is the heart given - in the middle. It turns out you are saying that David caught on to Rabbi Eliezer's words, and Solomon to Rabbi Joshua's words. And not only that, but the heart is in God's hands, as it is written (Proverbs 21:1): 'The king's heart is like streams of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he wills.' And since Solomon saw that wisdom is given in the heart, he said: I am beginning from the place where wisdom was given, for he says 'The proverbs of Solomon.' 'The son of David' - what son of David, and don't all know that he is the son of David?! Rather, everything he did, he did in honor of David. 'King of Israel' - and don't all know that he is the King of Israel?! Rather, what he did, he did for the honor of Israel."

“The words of Kohelet, son of David, king in Jerusalem” (Ecclesiastes 1:1).
“The words of Kohelet, son of David, king in Jerusalem.” This is what the verse said, inspired by the Divine Spirit, [written] by Solomon, king of Israel: “Have you seen a man diligent in his labor? He will stand before kings” (Proverbs 22:29). There was an incident involving Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa, who saw the residents of his city taking up vow offerings and gift offerings to Jerusalem. He said: Everyone is taking up vow offerings and gift offerings to Jerusalem; will I not take anything up? What did he do? He went out to the wilderness [outside] of his city and noticed a certain stone there. He broke it, he chiseled it, and he polished it. He said: I take it upon myself to bring it up to Jerusalem. He sought to hire laborers, and five people came before him. He said to them: ‘Will you take up this stone to Jerusalem for me?’ They said to him: ‘Give us five sela and we will take it up to Jerusalem.’ He sought to give it to them, but he did not have anything in his possession at that time. They left him and went on their way.
The Holy One blessed be He arranged for five angels [to appear] to him in the guise of men. He said to them: ‘Will you take up this stone [to Jerusalem] for me?’ They said to him: ‘Give us five sela and we will take your stone up to Jerusalem for you, provided that you join us [in carrying the stone] with your hand and finger.’ He joined them with his hand and finger, and they found themselves standing in Jerusalem. He sought to give them their payment but he did not find them. He entered the Chamber of the Hewn Stone¹The seat of the Sanhedrin. and asked after them. They said to him: ‘It appears that ministering angels took your stone up to Jerusalem,’ and they read this verse in his regard: “Have you seen a man diligent in his labor? He will stand before kings [melakhim].” Read, in his regard: “He will stand before angels [malakhim].”
Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Ḥalafta: This is analogous to an adviser who achieved prominence in the royal palace. The king said to him: ‘Ask for whatever [you want and] I will give it to you.’ That adviser said: If I request silver, gold, or fine gems, he will give it to me; garments, he will give me. But I will request his daughter, and everything will be given to me along with his daughter. So, “In Givon, God appeared to Solomon in a nocturnal dream. God said: Ask, what shall I give you?” (I Kings 3:5). Solomon said: If I request silver, gold, and gems, He will give them to me. But I will request wisdom, and everything will be included. That is what is written: “Grant your servant an understanding heart” (I Kings 3:9). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: ‘You requested wisdom and did not request wealth, glory, or the lives of your enemies; therefore, wisdom and knowledge are given to you, and thereby, I will grant you wealth, property, and glory as well.’ Immediately, “Solomon awoke and behold, a dream” (I Kings 3:15). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: The dream was upheld:²The phrase “and behold, a dream” is interpreted to mean that when Solomon awoke he understood that the dream was real and was being fulfilled. A bird would tweet and he would know what it was tweeting about, a donkey would bray, and he would know what it was braying about. Immediately, “he came to Jerusalem and he stood before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, and he sacrificed burnt offerings and he prepared peace offerings and he made a feast for all his servants” (I Kings 3:15). Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From here [it is derived] that one makes a feast when completing the Torah.³The Torah includes all wisdom. Immediately, the Divine Spirit rested upon him and he composed these three books: Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes; that is what is written: “The words of Kohelet, son of David.”

(Deut. 16:18:) <YOU SHALL APPOINT> JUDGES AND LAW OFFICERS <FOR YOURSELVES IN ALL YOUR GATES¹In biblical times court was generally held at the town gate, perhaps in one of the rooms like those built into either side of Solomonic gates at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU FOR YOUR TRIBES, SO THAT THEY MAY JUDGE THE PEOPLE WITH RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT>. This text is related (to Ps. 147:19): HE DECLARES HIS WORDS TO JACOB, HIS STATUTES AND HIS ORDINANCES TO ISRAEL. HIS WORDS are the words of Torah,²Tanh., Deut. 5:1. HIS STATUTES are the expositions (midrsahot), AND HIS ORDINANCES are the judgments [TO ISRAEL]. The Holy One gave the Torah and the judgments to no one but TO ISRAEL alone. And where is it shown? You learn that when Israel and a star-worshiping gentile have a dispute with each other, it is forbidden for Israel to say to the gentile (goy): Go with me to your courts,³Arka’ot; cf. Gk.: archai (“authorities”) or [archeia (“town offices”). because he would be transgressing a prohibition, since it is stated (in Ps. 147:20): HE HAS NOT DONE SO FOR ANY NATION (goy); AND, AS FOR HIS ORDINANCES, THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THEM. But were not the peoples of the world commanded concerning litigations, since that is one of the seven commandments of the children of Noah?⁴Cf. I Corinthians 6:1–6. So what is the significance of (Ibid.): AND, AS FOR HIS ORDINANCES, THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN THEM? These are the fine points of the law (din). So this is what we teach (in Sanh. 5:2): ONCE UPON A TIME BEN ZAKKAY CROSS-EXAMINED <WITNESSES> ON FIG STEMS.⁵The gemara (Sanh. 41a) explains that a capital offense was involved. Now the children of Noah are put to death on the evidence of a single witness, with a single judge, and without a warning. <That is> something which does not exist in Israel, since there are three judges in property cases, and there are twenty-three judges in capital cases.⁶Sanh. 4:1. Moreover, it is written (in Deut. 19:15): A SINGLE WITNESS SHALL NOT BE VALID AGAINST A PERSON…. <ONLY> ON THE EVIDENCE OF TWO <OR THREE> WITNESSES <SHALL A CASE BE VALID>. So there must be an investigation and an inquiry. How do they examine the witnesses? They bring them in and solemnly forewarn them. Then they would examine them again with seven inquiries:⁷Sanh. 5:1. 1. In what week,⁸I.e., week of years, Sabbatical year of the Jubilee cycle. 2. In what year? 3. in what month? 4. On what <day> of the month? 5. On what day (of the week)?⁹Cf. Sanh. 5:1 and Tanh., Deut. 5:1, both of which add here: In what hour? 6. In what place? 7. Have you forewarned him?¹⁰This last query is one of various supplemental questions listed in Sanh. 5:1 and Tanh., Deut. 5:1. And so you find among the leaders¹¹Parnas. Cf. Gk.: pronoi (“prudent ones”, “those who take forethought”). of Israel that they were praised only for their judging.¹²I.e., in various summary statements about Israel’s leaders, e.g., Judges 4:4; 10:2, 3; 12:7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14; 15:20; 16:31; I Sam. 4:18; 7:6, 15–17; 8:1, 5–6, 20; I Kings 3:9, it is the fact that they judged Israel that is specifically mentioned. This fact may not always be obvious in modern translations, because they do not always render ShPT as “judge” but by other English verbs, such as “govern” or “rule.” It is written concerning Samuel (in I Sam. 7:6): AND HE WENT ON A CIRCUIT YEAR BY YEAR <TO BETHEL, <GILGAL, AND MIZPAH;> AND HE JUDGED ISRAEL <IN ALL THOSE PLACES>. And David also was praised only for his judging, as stated (in I Chron. 18:14 // II Sam. 8:15): AND {DAVID}¹³The only difference between the versions of Chronicles and Samuel is that the name DAVID, which Buber chooses to bracket, appears only in the Samuel version. ADMINISTERED JUDGMENT AND RIGHTEOUSNESS TO ALL HIS PEOPLE.