Lives of Scripture

Calcol is named in Scripture only as a byword for wisdom. Among the Judahites descended from Zerah (Judah's son by Tamar) was "Calcol," listed alongside his brothers Zimri, Ethan, Heman, and Dara (1 Chronicles 2:6). First Kings 4:29-31 praises Solomon's God-given wisdom by comparison, saying Solomon "was wiser than all men, than Ethan the Ezrahite, Heman, Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol" -- implying that these four were already renowned sages of Israel's history whose reputation for wisdom was proverbial enough that surpassing them meant something. (Whether "the sons of Mahol" of 1 Kings 4:31 are the same men as the "sons of Zerah" of 1 Chronicles 2:6 is debated among scholars, since Scripture does not explicitly equate the two lists.) Nothing else is recorded of Calcol's words, deeds, or the content of his wisdom -- only that his name had become a standard other wise men, even a king as wise as Solomon, could be measured against.