Person Old Testament
Lemuel
Lemuel, a king whose wise sayings are recorded in Proverbs 31, as taught by his mother. Mentioned in 2 verses across 1 book, first at Proverbs 31:1.
Why it matters. King mentioned in Proverbs; his mother taught him wisdom
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Lemuel
Lemuel is mentioned in the opening verse of Proverbs 31 as a king to whom the sayings in this chapter are attributed (Pro.31.1). The chapter contains the words of King Lemuel, which were taught to him by his mother (Pro.31.1). In her teaching, Lemuel's mother warns him against giving his strength to women and urges him not to drink wine or strong drink, as it is not fitting for kings (Pro.31.3-7). She also instructs him to speak up for the mute, defend the rights of the poor and needy, and judge righteously (Pro.31.8-9). The identity and reign of King Lemuel are not specified in the Bible, and he is not mentioned elsewhere in the scriptures. Some scholars suggest that Lemuel may have been a non-Israelite king or a symbolic name representing a wise and righteous ruler. The chapter concludes with a description of a virtuous wife, often referred to as the "Proverbs 31 woman" (Pro.31.10-31).
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 2 verses across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.