"And Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt." — Solomon's wisdom is *comparative* and *superlative*: *va-tisgal chokhmat Shlomoh et-chokhmat kol-beney-kedem ve-et kol-chokhmat Mitzrayim* (Solomon's wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt). The *peoples of the east* (Arabs, Edomites, Mesopotamians) and *Egypt* were famed for wisdom-literature and philosophical achievement. Solomon's superiority suggests *international recognition* of his intellectual pre-eminence.

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