Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David.
Parallel Translations
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Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David.
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And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
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(5-15) And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father; for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 5:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 1 Chronicles 14:1 Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, masons, and carpenters, to build him a house.
- 2 Samuel 5:11 Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, with cedar trees, carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house.
- 1 Kings 5:10 So Hiram gave Solomon cedar timber and cypress timber according to all his desire.
- 2 Chronicles 2:3 Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house in which to dwell, so deal with me.
- Psalms 45:12 The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift. The rich among the people entreat your favor.
- 1 Kings 5:13 King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
- 1 Kings 9:12-14 Hiram came out of Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they didn’t please him. He said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” He called them the land of Cabul to this day. Hiram sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold.
- Amos 1:9 Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole community to Edom, and didn’t remember the brotherly covenant;
- 2 Samuel 8:10 then Toi sent Joram his son to king David, to greet him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him; for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. Joram brought with him vessels of silver, vessels of gold, and vessels of bronze.
- 2 Samuel 10:1-2 After this, the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his place. David said, “I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me.” So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. David’s servants came into the land of the children of Ammon.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Or, Zor.
Or, Zor.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 5:1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent his…
1Ki 5:1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
Ver. 1. And Hiram.] Called Huram. {2Ch 2:3} Josephus calleth him Irom, and Eupolemus in Eusebius Suron. He was king of Tyre and Sidon also.
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For Hiram was ever a lover of David.] A fast friend is a rare bird. Most friends now-a-days are like Joab’s dagger, as soon in and as soon out. The love of foster-brothers in Ireland far surpasseth - saith one, {a} but I believe him not - all the loves of all men. They only love truly that love one another out of a pure heart fervently. {1Pe 1:22} This love lasteth.
{a} Camden’s Elisab., 483.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Hiram sent his servants unto Solomon, to wit, as…
Hiram sent his servants unto Solomon, to wit, as soon as he heard of his succession in the throne, as the following words show, he sent to congratulate with him, as the manner of princes is.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain We have here an account of the amicable correspondence…
We have here an account of the amicable correspondence between Solomon and Hiram. Tyre was a famous trading city, that lay close upon the sea, in the border of Israel; its inhabitants (as should seem) were none of the devoted nations, nor ever at enmity with Israel, and therefore David never offered to destroy them, but lived in friendship with them. It is here said of Hiram their king that he was ever a lover of David; and we have reason to think he was a worshipper of the true God, and had himself renounced, though he could not reform, the idolatry of his city. David's character will win the affections even of those that are without. Here is,
I. Hiram's embassy of compliment to Solomon, Kg1 5:1. He sent, as is usual among princes, to condole with him on the death of David, and to renew his alliances with him upon his succession to the government. It is good keeping up friendship and communion with the families in which religion is uppermost.
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II. Solomon's embassy of business to Hiram, sent, it is likely, by messengers of his own. In wealth, honour, and power, Hiram was very much inferior to Solomon, yet Solomon had occasion to be beholden to him and begged his favour. Let us never look with disdain on those below us, because we know not how soon we may need them. Solomon, in his letter to Hiram, acquaints him,
1. With his design to build a temple to the honour of God. Some think that temples among the heathen took their first rise and copy from the tabernacle which Moses erected in the wilderness, and that there were none before that; however there were many houses built in honour of the false gods before this was built in honour of the God of Israel, so little is external splendour a mark of the true church. Solomon tells Hiram, who was himself no stranger to the affair, (1.) That David's wars were an obstruction to him, that he could not build this temple, though he designed it, Kg1 5:3. They took up much of his time, and thoughts, and cares, were a constant expense to him and a constant employment of his subjects; so that he could not do it so well as it must be done, and therefore, it not being essential to religion, he must leave it to be done by his successor. See what need we have to pray that God will give peace in our time, because, in time or war, the building of the gospel temple commonly goes on slowly. (2.) That peace gave him an opportunity to build it, and therefore he resolved to set about it immediately: God has given me rest both at home and abroad, and there is no adversary (Kg1 5:4), no Satan (so the word is), no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert us from it. Satan does all he can to hinder temple work (Th1 2:18; Zac 3:1), but when he is bound (Rev 20:2) we should be busy. When there is no evil occurrent, then let us be vigorous and zealous in that which is good and get it forward. When the churches have rest let them be edified, Act 9:31. Days of peace and prosperity present us with a fair gale, which we must account for if we improve not. As God's providence excited Solomon to think of building the temple, by giving him wealth and leisure, so his promise encouraged him. God had told David that his son should build him a house, Kg1 5:5. He will take it as a pleasure to be thus employed, and will not lose the honour designed him by that promise. It may stir us up much to good undertakings to be assured of good success in them. Let God's promise quicken our endeavours.
2. With his desire that Hiram would assist him herein. Lebanon was the place whence timber must be had, a noble forest in the north of Canaan, particularly expressed in the grant of that land to Israel - all Lebanon, Jos 13:5. So that Solomon was proprietor of all its productions. The cedars of Lebanon are spoken of as, in a special manner, the planting of the Lord (Psa 109:16), being designed for Israel's use and particularly for temple service. But Solomon owned that though the trees were his the Israelites had not skill to hew timber like the Sidonians, who were Hiram's subjects. Canaan was a land of wheat and barley (Deu 8:8), which employed Israel in the affairs of husbandry, so that they were not at all versed in manufactures: in them the Sidonians excelled. Israel, in the things of God, are a wise and understanding people; and yet, in curious arts, inferior to their neighbours. True piety is a much more valuable gift of heaven than the highest degree of ingenuity. Better be an Israelite skilful in the law than a Sidonian skilful to hew timber. But, the case being thus, Solomon courts Hiram to send him workmen, and promises (Kg1 5:6) both to assist them (my servants shall be with thy servants, to work under them), and to pay them (unto thee will I give hire for thy servants); for the labourer, even in church-work, though it be indeed its own wages, is worthy of his hire, The evangelical prophet, foretelling the glory of the church in the days of the Messiah, seems to allude to this story, Isa. 60, where he prophesies, (1.) That the sons of strangers (such were the Tyrians and Sidonians) shall build up the wall of the gospel temple, Kg1 5:10. Ministers were raised up among the Gentiles for the edifying of the body of Christ. (2.) That the glory of Lebanon shall be brought to it to beautify it, Kg1 5:13. All external endowments and advantages shall be made serviceable to the interests of Christ's kingdom.
3. Hiram's reception of, and return to, this message.
(1.) He received it with great satisfaction to himself: He rejoiced greatly (Kg1 5:7) that Solomon trod in his father's steps, and carried on his designs, and was likely to be so great a blessing to his kingdom. In this Hiram's generous spirit rejoiced, and not merely in the prospect he had of making an advantage to himself by Solomon's employing him. What he had the pleasure of he gave God the praise of: Blessed be the Lord, who has given to David (who was himself a wise man) a wise son to rule over this great people. See here, [1.] With what pleasure Hiram speaks of Solomon's wisdom and the extent of his dominion. Let us learn not to envy others either those secular advantages or those endowments of the mind wherein they excel us. What a great comfort it is to those that wish well to the Israel of God to see religion and wisdom kept up in families from one generation to another, especially in great families and those that have great influence on others! where it is so, God must have the glory of it. If to godly parents be given a godly seed (Mal 2:15), it is a token for good, and a happy indication that the entail of the blessing shall not be cut off.
(2.) He answered it with great satisfaction to Solomon, granting him what he desired, and showing himself very forward to assist him in this great and good work to which he was laying his hand. We have here his articles of agreement with Solomon concerning this affair, in which we may observe Hiram's prudence. [1.] He deliberated upon the proposal, before he returned an answer (Kg1 5:8): I have considered the things. It is common for those that make bargains rashly afterwards to wish them unmade again. The virtuous woman considers a field and then buys it, Pro 31:16. Those do not lose time who take time to consider. [2.] He descended to particulars in the articles, that there might be no misunderstanding afterwards, to occasion a quarrel. Solomon had spoken of hewing the trees (Kg1 5:6), and Hiram agrees to what he desired concerning that (Kg1 5:8); but nothing had been said concerning carriage, and this matter therefore must be settled. Land-carriage would be very troublesome and chargeable; he therefore undertakes to bring all the timber down from Lebanon by sea, a coasting voyage. Conveyance by water is a great convenience to trade, for which God is to have praise, who taught man that discretion. Observe what a definite bargain Hiram made. Solomon must appoint the place where the timber shall be delivered, and thither Hiram will undertake to bring it and be responsible for its safety. As the Sidonians excelled the Israelites in timber-work, so they did in sailing; for Tyre and Sidon were situate at the entry of the sea (Eze 27:3): they therefore were fittest to take care of the water-carriage. Tractant fabrilia fabri - Every artist has his trade assigned. And, [3.] If Hiram undertake for the work, and do all Solomon's desire concerning the timber (Kg1 5:8), he justly expects that Solomon shall undertake for the wages: "Thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household (Kg1 5:9), not only for the workmen, but for my own family." If Tyre supply Israel with craftsmen, Israel will supply Tyre with corn, Eze 27:17. Thus, by the wise disposal of Providence, one country has need of another and is benefited by another, that there may be mutual correspondence and dependence, to the glory of God our common parent.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And Hiram king of Tyre sent servants unto Solomon,....…
And Hiram king of Tyre sent servants unto Solomon,.... His ambassadors, to condole him on the death of his father, and congratulate him on his accession to the throne; this king is called by the Phoenician historians (s) Hirom, and by Eupolemus (t) Suron, as he is Huram in Ch2 2:3; and by Theophilus of Antioch (u) Hierom the son of Abelmalus, in the twelfth year of whose reign the temple was built:
for he had heard that they had anointed him, king in the room of his father; that the Israelites had anointed him king:
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for Hiram was ever a lover of David; a friend and ally of his; and we never read of the Tyrians being at war with him, or assisting any of his enemies.
(s) Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 17, 18. (t) Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 33, 34. (u) Ad Antolyc. l. 3. p. 131, 132.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Hiram congratulates Solomon on his accession, and agrees to…
Hiram congratulates Solomon on his accession, and agrees to furnish him with workmen and timber for the temple, ver. 1-9. The work is well done, and the workmen paid, ver. 10-18.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Hiram, king of Tyre, sends to congratulate Solomon on…
CHAPTER V
Hiram, king of Tyre, sends to congratulate Solomon on his
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accession to the kingdom, 1.
Solomon consults him on building a temple for the Lord, and
requests his assistance, 2-6.
Hiram is pleased and specifies the assistance which he will
afford, 7-9.
He sends cedars and fir trees, 10.
The return made by Solomon, 11.
They form a league, 12.
Solomon makes a levy of men in Israel to prepare wood and
stones, 13-18.
NOTES ON CHAP. V
Verse 1. Hiram king of Tyre] It must have been at the beginning of Solomon's reign that these ambassadors were sent; and some suppose that the Hiram mentioned here is different from him who was the friend of David; but there seems no very solid reason for this supposition. As Hiram had intimate alliance with David, and built his palace, 2Sa 5:11, he wished to maintain the same good understanding with his son, of whose wisdom he had no doubt heard the most advantageous accounts; and he loved the son because he always loved the father, for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain 1Ki 5:1. Hiram sent his servants unto Solomon —…
1Ki 5:1. Hiram sent his servants unto Solomon — Namely, as soon as he heard of his succession in the throne, as the following words show, he sent to congratulate him, as the manner of princes is. For Hiram was ever a lover of David — And therefore was desirous to continue in friendship with his son. This Hiram was probably the son of him who sent David timber and artificers to build his palace. Josephus assures us, that in his time, the letters which passed between him and Solomon were preserved in the archives of Tyre.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain Hiram, king of Tyre - Menander of Ephesus, who…
Hiram, king of Tyre - Menander of Ephesus, who wrote a history of Tyre in Greek, founded upon native Tyrian documents, about 300 B.C., mentioned this Hiram as the son of Abibaal king of Tyre, and said that he ascended the throne when he was nineteen; that he reigned thirty-four years, and, dying at the age of fifty-three, was succeeded by his son Baleazar. Menander spoke at some length of the dealings of Hiram with Solomon.
Sent his servants - This appears to have been an embassy of congratulation.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Hiram. Josephus says, that the temple was built in…
Hiram. Josephus says, that the temple was built in the 11th year of this prince. He must therefore have been the son of David’s friend, as the former had sent artificers to build David’s house, (2 Kings v. 11.; Calmet) above 30 years before. But there may be a mistake in the number, as the Scripture evidently speaks of the same king; and Josephus had said before, "Hiram rejoiced exceedingly that Solomon had succeeded to the throne; (for he had been the friend of David) and he sent ambassadors to congratulate with him on his present felicity, by whom Solomon wrote," &c. The mutual letters of these kings were still preserved in the archives of Tyre; and this author confidently appeals to them, as he deems it "impious to insert any fiction" in his history. (Josephus, Antiquities viii. 2.) He quotes Dius and Menander; who asserted, that these princes proposed enigmas to each other; and the Hiram was obliged to pay a large sum of money, as he could not explain that which Solomon had proposed, &c. (Josephus, contra Apion i.) (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain Solomon’s Buildings
THIRD SECTION
Solomon’s Buildings
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(1Ki_5:1 [5:15]– 1Ki_9:28.)
A.—Treaty with Hiram in regard to the building of the Temple
1Ki_5:1-18. [15–32]
1And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon;1 for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever 2a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3Thou knowest how that David my father could not build a house unto the name of the Lord his God, for the wars2 which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them under the soles of his3 feet. 4But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. 5And, behold, I purpose4 to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build a [the] house unto my name. 6Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
7And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord5 [Jehovah] this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. 8And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. 9My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea; and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. 10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. 11And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures [cor] of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures [cor6] of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. 12And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. 15And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that 16bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; besides the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, three thousand and three7 8 hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. 17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 18And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
Exegetical and Critical
1Ki_5:1-6. And Hiram king of Tyre, &c. After the general description of Solomon’s government in the preceding section, the narrative now proceeds to give an account of his great and important undertaking, the building of the Temple (comp. the parallel account, 2 Chronicles 2). Hiram is called חִירוֹם in 1 Kings 5:7, 19, and חוּרָם in Chron., and Εἵρωμος twice in Josephus. It is uncertain whether of these be the original form. According to 2Ch_2:2, and the present passage also, this Hiram was the same as he who had sent David wood to build his house (2Sa_5:11), and it is unnecessary, on the ground of the unreliable chronology of Josephus, to reckon him to be the son of that Hiram (having his father’s name) as Le Clerc, Thenius, and others do (Antiq.,viii. 31; comp. Contr. Apion.,i. 18). If, according to Josephus, the beginning of the building of the Temple, which took place in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign, occurred in the eleventh year of Hiram, it follows that the latter must have reigned several years contemporaneously with David, and may very well have reigned twenty years more, simultaneously with Solomon (1Ki_9:10 sq.).—The purpose of his embassy to Solomon was to congratulate him on his accession. (The Syriac adds וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתוֹ, which Thenius, without reason, deems original). It was evidence that he desired Solomon to continue in the same friendly relations to him as David had maintained; and it was the easier for Solomon to make that request to him, mentioned in 1Ki_5:6. On 1Ki_5:7-9, comp. 2Sa_8:13, and 1Ch_22:7-11. According to Ewald and Thenius, מלחמה, ver 3, is equivalent to enemies (surrounding him); but in Psa_109:3, סבב is also bund with the double accusative: they compassed me about also with words of hatred. Upon לְשֵׁם יְהוָֹה, see on chap. 6—פֶּגַע רָע, i.e., an unhappy event, as, for instance, rebellion, famine, plague, or other suffering. It appears, from 1Ki_5:6, that the part of Lebanon where the best cedars for building grew, belonged to Phœnicia; it was on the northwestern part of the mountain range (Robinson, Palest., vol. iii. pp. 588–594). The Sidonians are not the inhabitants of the city of Sidon simply, but of the entire district to which that part of Lebanon belonged. They knew how to hew and prepare wood for building, for they were skilled in ship-building beyond all other nations, and built their own houses also of wood (Schnaase, Gesch. der bildenden Künste,i. s. 249). We see from 1Ki_5:8 and 1Ki_7:13, that Solomon desired cypress-wood, and a Phœnician artisan besides (comp. 2Ch_2:7; 2Ch_2:13).
1Ki_5:7-8. And it came to pass when Hiram, heard the words of Solomon, &c. “ The king of Tyre must have been very desirous of remaining on good terms with Israel, because the land of Israel was a granary for Phoenicia, and the friendship of the former was very important to the Phoenician commercial interests “(Keil). The chronicler adds to יְהֹוָה (2Ch_2:12), the God of Israel that made heaven and earth. It does not follow, however, as older commentators say, that Hiram acknowledged this God as the only true God, or had become a proselyte. Polytheism is not exclusive: it allows each nation to retain its divinity, and recognizes his power, when it thinks it perceives his workings or his agency and benefactions, without rejecting the specifically national gods. When Hiram, therefore, names Solomon חָכָם, because he is about to build a temple to Jehovah, it is evident that the idea of wisdom (1Ki_5:7), essentially includes that of religion (fear of God). Cypress is, indeed, inferior to cedar; but is also fitted for building, because “it is not eaten by worms, and is almost imperishable, as well as very light” (Winer). According to 2Ch_2:16, the wood for building was sent down on rafts (on the Mediterranean) to Joppa (i.e., Jaffa, coast-town on the borders of the tribe of Dan, Jos_19:46). Thence it was conveyed overland to Jerusalem, which is situated southeast thereof.
1Ki_5:9-13. And thou shalt … in giving food, &c. Every year, as long as Hiram furnished building-materials and workmen, he received, for the sustenance of his court, 20,0009 (cor) measures of wheat, i.e., by Thenius’ reckoning, 38, 250 Dresden bushels, from Solomon; also 20 (cor) measures of oil, i.e., 100 casks, the cask containing 6 buckets. Pure oil is the finest, not going, after the usual fashion, through the press, but is obtained by pounding olives not quite ripe in a mortar (my Symbolik des Mos. Cult., i. s. 419). The chronicler does not mention this delivery to the court of Hiram; but he gives, in 2Ch_2:10, the reward of the laborers promised in our 6th verse: “I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, 20,000 (cor) measures of beaten wheat, and 20,000 (cor) measures of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil.” The narrative here concerns a different thing, and no one has a right, as Thenius, to turn the 20 (cor) measures of the finest oil, destined for the court, into 20,000 of ordinary quality, and to suppose, with Bertheau, that the quantity of wine and oil is added by the chronicler according to his own whim. “Because the quantity of the wheat which Solomon gave Hiram for the use of the court was as large as that which he delivered for the Sidonian hewers of wood, it does not follow that we are justified in identifying the two accounts” (Keil). Besides, as Bertheau remarks, it appears that the account in the Chronicles does not, like our own, speak of an annual, but only of one delivery. The one account, as often happens, supplements the other. The addition, 1Ki_5:12, means: Solomon, by virtue of the wisdom he had received from God, came to the conclusion that it would be well to accept Hiram’s propositions, and to enter into terms of friendship with him. Keil also thinks that the verse refers to the wise use he made of the working capacities of his subjects, which is referred to in the following verses, and that this verse, therefore, leads on to them.
1Ki_5:13-15. And king Solomon raised a levy.וַיַּעַל, strictly adscendere fecit, to take out, to take away (Psa_102:25). All Israel does not mean here the whole territory, but, as often elsewhere, the people (1Ki_1:20; 1Ki_8:65; 1Ki_12:16; 1Ki_12:20; 1Ki_14:13). In 1Ki_5:13 it is expressly said that these 30,000 men were (born) Israelites. Of these, 10,000 were always one month in service, and free the two following, when they cultivated their fields and took care of their houses. For Adoniram, see 1Ki_4:6.—Besides these 30,000 men, who were not sufficient, there were (1Ki_5:15) 70,000 that bore burdens, and 80,000 hewers in the mountains. חצב is, “according to all Versions, to be understood of stone-cutters alone, not of wood-cutters (Gesenius, Ewald), for the (easier) working in wood was sufficiently provided for by the changing 30,000 laborers” (Thenius). The בָּהָר can be understood only of Lebanon, from the context, and not, as Bertheau thinks, of the stone-quarries of the mountains. The 70+80,000 = 150,000 men (2Ch_2:18) were not changed, but were in constant service; they were not Israelites, but, on the contrary, גֵּירִים (as the parallel passage alluded to expressly says), i.e., strangers in the land of Israel; those of the Canaanites that remained when their land was conquered, and who were made servants (Jdg_1:27-30; Jos_16:10). In contradistinction to these 30,000 Israelites, they are named, in 1Ki_9:21, מַם עֹבֵד, i.e., servants (2Ch_8:7-9). The assertion of Ewald and Distel that these 150,000 servants were of the “people of Israel,” and only “came later when the several buildings became enlarged,” is utterly erroneous.—The total number of these workmen is great, but not surprising when we consider those times, when there was no machinery, and everything had to be done by the human hand. According to Pliny (Hist. Nat., xxxvi. 12), 360,000 men had to work twenty years long at one pyramid (comp. Calmet on the place).
1Ki_5:16. Beside the chief, &c. Thenius: “literally the chief of the overseers, and hence the usual expression, overseer: but there are no subaltern overseers mentioned. How great, then, must the number of these have been, when the chief overseers numbered several thousands? The הנצבים לשׁלמה as a description of the substantive (Vatablus: principes, qui prœfecti erant) is properly connected therewith by the Stat. construct. (comp. Ewald, § 287 b); so, the chiefs not reckoned, those who were appointed by (or for) Solomon, and who oversaw the works.”—Chron. gives, instead of the number 3,300 (1Ki_2:17), 3,600, which Thenius thinks the right one, and he would have the text altered accordingly; but Ewald, on the other hand, declares our number to be correct, and that of Chron. wrong. But both numbers are right, as J. H. Michaelis has proved; the difference comes from the different division of the offices of superintendence. In 1Ki_9:23, 550 שָׂרֵי הַנִּצָּבִים are named; these, with the 3,300, make 3,850. The parallel passage of Chron. (1Ki_8:10) mentions only 250, which, added to the 3,600, gives the same number, 3,850. This coincidence cannot be chance; the number 550 evidently contains the 250, and the 300, by which the 3,600 exceed the 3,300: 250 of the whole number of overseers were, as appears from the context in 2Ch_8:10, native Israelites; but 300 were foreigners. The chronicler, however, no doubt includes the latter among the subaltern overseers (3,300+300 = 3,600), because they were not on the same footing with the Israelitish overseers.
1Ki_5:17-18. And the king commanded. The great stones should be יְקָרוֹת, not “weighty” (Thenius), for that is, of course, understood, nor “precious” (Keil), for why should the value of these stones be especially insisted on? but glorious, splendid, fine stones (Psa_36:8; Psa_45:9; Est_1:4). It is plainly said here, as in 2Ch_3:3, that these stones were for the foundation of the building, and not, therefore, for the “consolidation of the Temple structure” (Thenius). Of the latter kind, which Josephus (Arch., 15, 11, 3) so minutely describes, the Bible-text makes no mention. The אַבְנֵי גָזִית are nothing else than the splendid great stones, which were shaped after being hewn out of the quarry. Vulgate: ut tollerent lapides grandes, lapides pretiosos, in fundamentum templi et quadrarent eos.—The Giblites, 1Ki_5:18, are the inhabitants of גְּבַל (Jos_13:5), a Phœnician town near that part of Lebanon, where the largest cedars were found; i.e., the Byblos of the Greeks. [The Engl. Ver. has simply for this word, “stone-squarers.”—E. H.] It appears, from Eze_27:9, that the Giblites were remarkable for their technical skill in ship-building especially. Thenius reads וַיַּגְבִּלוּם, and translates: “they wreathed the stones—put a border round them.” Robinson stated (Palest.) that he had found stones carved in that manner. Böttcher rightly names these conjectures “ill-founded.” Comp. what Keil, on the passage, says against them.
Historical and Ethical
1. Solomon’s undertaking to build a “house” to the name of Jehovah was not an arbitrary, self-devised act, nor was it prompted solely through the wish and will of his father David, but rested upon a divine decision (1Ki_5:5), and, as already shown in the Introduction, § 3, has its inward, necessary reason in the development of the Old Testament theocracy. The assertion that “the thought to build a magnificent temple to Jehovah in Jerusalem proceeded from the sight of the temple-service of the Phœnicians and Philistines, and of their ostentatious cultus” (Duncker, Gesch. des Alt., i. s. 397), is entirely without foundation and contradicts all historical records. When Stephen, in his discourse before the Sanhedrin, says: “Solomon built him an house. But the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands,” &c. (Act_7:47), he does not mean in any way to blame Solomon’s undertaking, or to say, as Lechler supposes (in his Bibelwerk on the place), the tabernacle was set up at God’s will and command; but the design of building a temple and the completion of it is only a human design and a human performance. For that the Most High cannot be shut up within a house, Solomon himself expressly declared at the consecration of the Temple (1Ki_8:27). Stephen was opposing rather, from the stand-point of the New Testament, the stiff-necked, Jewish authorities, who, when the promised Messiah appeared, and the New Covenant was introduced along with Him, rejected the same, and clung with tenacious unbelief to the outward sign of the Old Covenant, to the Temple as the permanent central-point of all divine revelation. The accusation, he would say, that this Jesus of Nazareth would destroy this holy place, was in so far correct, as that He certainly had taken away the Old Covenant, and with it had abolished its sign and pledge (Joh_2:19). For the day of the New Covenant, the temple at Jerusalem has lost all significance. For the dwelling of God in the midst of His people conditioned through natural descent, has become transferred into a dwelling in the midst of the people who are believers in Christ, to whom the apostle appeals: Ye are the temple of the living God, in you is fulfilled, in truth, the word spoken once by God unto Israel: I will dwell in them, and walk in them, and will be their God, and they shall be my people (2Co_6:16; Eph_2:21; 1Pe_2:4-5). To cling now to the Old Testament temple built by human hands, and to reject the living temple of the living God, Stephen pronounces as a striving against the Holy Ghost (Act_7:51).
2. It is one of those significant divine providenoes in which the history of Israel is so rich, that as in the development of the “sacred history” the time had come for “the house of the Lord” (or for for Jehovah), in the land which alone possessed those means and agencies for the execution of the undertaking in which Israel was wanting, a king ruled who entertained a friendly sentiment towards David and Solomon, and was prepared gladly for every assistance, so that even heathen nations, whether friendly or conquered, took part in the building of the house for the God of Israel, and so contributed indirectly to the glorifying of God. It was a setting forth in act of the word: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all that therein is” (Psa_24:1); “For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and He is governor among the nations” (Psa_22:28); and “all the heathen shall serve Him” (Psa_72:11). And as Solomon’s kingdom, as the most complete outward kingdom of peace, is frequently, with the prophets, a type of the Messiah’s kingdom (see above, Historical and Ethical on chap. 4), so do they behold, in the participation by the heathen in the building of the temple, a type and prophecy that the Messiah “shall build the temple of the Lord … and that they who are far off shall come and build in the temple of the Lord,” &c. (Zec_6:12-15).
3. “In the very time of their highest earthly splendor the people of God, in respect of worldly art, pursuit, and skill, were inferior to the neighboring Phœnicians” (Gerlach). Solomon had no one amongst his people who could execute a work of art such as the temple was to be (1Ki_5:6). As to individual men (1Co_7:7), so also to nations, God has distributed divers gifts, powers, and destiny. It was not the office of Israel to exercise the arts, but to be the bearer of divine revelation, and to communicate the knowledge of the One living and all-holy God to all nations. To this end God has chosen this people out of all peoples; and their entire mode of life and occupation, yea, their whole development and history, are closely connected with it. To the achievement of this its destiny must even other nations serve, with the especial gifts and powers conferred upon them. High as the Phœnicians stood above Israel at that time in technical and artistic accomplishments (cf. Duncker, a. a. O., s. 317–320), so nevertheless did Israel, notwithstanding all its sins and errors, excel the Phœnicians in the knowledge of the truth. Distinguished as Phœnicia was for its art and commerce, its religion was the most depraved, and its worship most crude (Duncker, s. 155 sq.).
[4. The genius of the Jewish people never achieved anything eminent in plastic art. Skill in architecture, and in sculpture, and in painting, seems to have been denied them. Their religion forbade it, and the hereditary feeling of the race was one of aversion to all arts of the “graver,” to images and forms cut in stones or upon stone, and so in their want of appreciation of beauty of form they were unable to conceive of grand structures; and when Solomon’s great buildings were undertaken, the skilled workmen and the artists connected with the work were foreigners. Dr. Prideaux quotes Josephus to this effect (Antiq., Bk. 18. c. 7): “When Vitellius governor of Syria was going to pass through Judæa with a Roman army to make war against the Arabians, the chief of the Jews met him, and earnestly entreated him to lead his army another way; for they could not bear the sight of those images which were in the ensigns under which they marched, they were so abominated by them. The ensigns therefore, for the sake of those images in them, were abominations to the Jews; and by reason of the desolations which were wrought under them by the Roman armies in conquered countries, they were called desolating abominations, or abominations of desolation, and they were never more so than when under them the Roman armies besieged and destroyed Jerusalem.” Poetic feeling, the power of song, belonged to the race; and these, under God, have impressed themselves upon the heart of the nations, so that to this day the “songs of Zion” are sung in temples which the Jewish people never could have built.—E. H.]
Homiletical and Practical
1Ki_5:1-5. Solomon’s purpose to build a house to the Lord. (1) The motive. 1Ki_5:3-5. Not ambition, the love of glory, the love of pomp, but the divine will, and the charge of his father. In every weighty undertaking one must examine and be assured that it do not proceed from selfish motives, but is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (Rom_12:2). (2) The time, rest and peace (1Ki_5:4). A time of peace is the time for building in general, but especially for building houses of God, which are a memorial of thanksgiving for the blessings of peace and prosperity. (3) The request for assistance, 1Ki_5:6. In important undertakings which are agreeable to the will of God, and propose His honor, we may and should not hesitate to trust in Him who directs men’s hearts, like the water-brooks, to ask others for aid and assistance.
1Ki_5:1-2. True friends whom parents have gained, are an invaluable legacy for the children, for whom the latter cannot be sufficiently thankful (Eccles. 30:4). To a God-fearing man like David, if he have many enemies, yet there will never be wanting those who love him his life long, and who prize and honor him after his death, even in his children.
1Ki_5:3. With every son it should be his earnest business, and likewise pleasure, to fulfil the will of his father, and to complete the good work which he had begun, but could not carry out.
1Ki_5:4. When God has granted rest and peace, health and happiness, prosperity and blessing, an opportunity is thus at hand to do something for His great name.
1Ki_5:5. If it cannot come into the mind of every one to build a house of wood and stone unto the Lord, nevertheless, every one to whom God has given wife and children is in condition to vow and to build a house unto the Lord out of living stones. I and my house will serve the Lord (Jos_24:15).
1Ki_5:5. Starke: One man needs another; on this account one should always serve and be amiable towards another, ministering to his good (1Pe_4:10).—The superfluity of one must minister to the need of the others, in order that hereafter, also, the superfluity of the latter may serve for the wants of the former (2Co_8:14).—Israel knew not how to plan great buildings, especially works of art, but they did know how to serve the living God. Better to live without art than without God in the world.
1 Kings 5:21–25. The heathen king Hiram: (1) His rejoicing over Solomon and his undertaking; (2) his praise of the God of Israel; (3) his willingness to help. How far stands this heathen above so many who call themselves Christians!
1Ki_5:6. Würt. Summ.: When we see that it goes well with our neighbor, we should not envy him such prosperity, but rather rejoice with him and wish him good-luck. Since Hiram, although a heathen king, has done this, how much more does it befit Christians to act thus towards each other? It proves a noble heart when a man, free from envy and jealousy, sincerely praises and thanks God for the gifts and blessings which He grants to others.—Starke: When God wishes well to a nation He bestows upon it godly rulers; but when He wills to chastise it he removes them. Hiram praises God that He bestows upon another people a wise monarch; how much more should that people itself thank God since He bestowed upon it a wise, viz., a pious king?
1Ki_5:9. How pleasing it is when the assistance of those who can help is not wrung from them, but offered in friendship, and they are ready and heart-willing to do what lies in their power (2Co_9:7).—Würt. Summ.: No house, even though it be the church and temple of God, should be built to the hurt and oppression of one’s fellow-creatures.
1Ki_5:12. The league between Solomon and Hiram: (1) Its object: a good, God-pleasing work begun in the service of God. Like kings and nations, even so individual men should unite only for such purposes. (2) The conditions of the league: each gave to the other according to his desire; neither sought to overreach the other; the compact was based upon honesty and fairness, not upon cunning and selfishness: only upon such compacts does the blessing of God rest, for unjust possessions do not prosper.
1Ki_5:13-18. The workmen at the temple-building: (1) Israelites. Solomon acted not like unto Pharaoh (Exo_2:23), he laid no insupportable burdens upon his people, but permits variety in the work, and Israel itself undertakes it without murmurs or complaints. How high do these Israelites stand above so many Christian communities, who constantly object or murmur when they are about to undertake any labor for their temple, or must needs bring a sacrifice of money or time. (2) Heathen (Psa_22:29; vide Historical and Ethical). Jew and heathen together must build the temple of God, according to divine decree—a prophetic anticipation of fact as set forth Eph_2:14; Eph_2:19-22; Eph_3:4-6.—Seiler: The great preparations of Solomon must naturally remind us of the far greater preparations and arrangements which God has made for the building of the spiritual temple of the New Testament. How many thousand faithful laborers, how many wise and good men, has he placed in every known part of the world; how has he furnished them with wisdom and many other gifts of the Spirit, so that the great work of the glorious building may be completed! … O God! do thou still prosper thy work! Help the faithful workers in thy Church, that they may enlighten many men to thy glorification, &c.—Richter: Well for us if we serve the true Solomon in the preparations for His eternal temple. But still better is it if we are ourselves prepared as living stones to shine forever in the living temple (1Pe_2:4-5).
Footnotes:
[1]1Ki_5:1.—[The Vat. Sept., by omitting the first part of this clause, makes an extraordinary statement: καὶ ἀπέστειλε Χιρὰμ βασιλεὺς Τύρου τοὺς παῖδας αὐτοῦ χρῖσαι τὸν Σαλωμὼν ἀντὶ Δαυίδ κ. τ. λ.
[2]1Ki_5:3.—[The A. V. has here exactly preserved the incongruity of the Heb. of an abstract noun מִלְחָמָה, war, followed by the personal pronoun אֹתָם. The Chald. avoids the difficulty by reading מִן קֳדָם עָבְדֵי קְרָבָא = those making war. It has been suggested that the Heb. might have read originally עֹשֵׂי הַמִּלְחָמָה.
[3]1Ki_5:3.—The k’tib רגלו is here decidedly to be preferred to the k’ri רגלי.—Bähr. [It is also the reading of many MSS., editions, and VV.
[4]1Ki_5:5.—[אָמַר אֹמֵר לִבְנוֹת, followed by the infinitive, expresses purpose. Cf. Exo_2:14; 2Sa_21:16.
[5]1Ki_5:7.—[The Sept. here read Θεός, not Κύριος. Cf. the parallel place 2Ch_2:11, יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.]
[6]1Ki_5:11.—[The Sept. enormously multiply this by writing καὶ εἴκοσι χιλιάδας βαὶθ ἐλαίου, so also the Heb. in the parallel place, 2Ch_2:9. The Syr. and Arab. still ten times more, by making it twenty thousand cor.
[7]1Ki_5:16.—[cf. 2Ch_2:17, שֵׁשׁ מֶאוֹת.
[8]1Ki_5:17.—[The Vat. Sept. omits 1Ki_5:17 and the first half of 18. Both recensions of the Sept. add to 1Ki_5:18, τρέα ἔτη.— F.G.]
[9]The cor (כֹּר, κορος) equals the homer, and the homer was ten time the bath. 20,000 cors = 200,000 baths. This, at a rough calculation, amounts to 260,000 bushels = between 85 and 90,000 barrels. In liquids, again, 20 cors = 200 baths. This would amount to about 1,666 or 1,670 gallons of oil. The computation must be in the rough for obvious reasons, as may be seen by reference to Smith’s Dictionary, Amer. edition, N. Y., 1870, vol. iv., article Weights and Measures. The reader can find some strange etymologies in the animadversions of Petavius upon Epiphanius’ tractate on Weights and Measures. Epiph., Opera, edit. G. Dindorf. Leipsic, 1863, vol. iv. p. 95.—E. H.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain NEGOTIATIONS WITH HIRAM, 1Ki_5:1-12.
NEGOTIATIONS WITH HIRAM, 1Ki_5:1-12.
1. Hiram king of Tyre — Whether this Hiram was the same king of Tyre who supplied David with cedars and carpenters to build his royal palace, (see 2Sa_5:11,) some have presumed to doubt. But the positive statement of this verse, that Hiram was ever a lover of David, and the words of Solomon’s message, (2Ch_2:3,) “As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him a house,” seem clearly to put it beyond all question that the same Hiram who furnished David materials for his palace assisted Solomon in the building of the temple. No one would ever have thought otherwise had not Menander of Ephesus, according to Josephus, (Jos. against Apion, 1, 18,) affirmed that Hiram reigned thirty-four years; and this seems not long enough to meet the demands of the scriptural narrative. According to 1Ki_9:10, he was still living in the twentieth year of Solomon’s reign, and this would leave only fourteen years in which to have had his intercourse with David. Accordingly David, who reigned in all but forty years, and seven of these at Hebron, must have reigned nineteen years at Jerusalem before he began to build his royal palace there, a supposition altogether improbable. In view, therefore, of the consistency and positive statements of the scriptural narrative, we conclude that Menander’s chronology is wrong, and that Hiram’s reign must have extended over a large portion of that of both David and Solomon.
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His servants — Ambassadors.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain Ch. 1Ki_5:1-12. Preparations of timber and stone for Solomon’s…
Ch. 1Ki_5:1-12. Preparations of timber and stone for Solomon’s temple. League between Solomon and Hiram king of Tyre (2Ch_2:3-16)
1. Hiram king of Tyre] The name of this king is spelt Hirom below in 1Ki_5:10; 1Ki_5:18, and in 2Ch_2:3 Huram. From the words of the latter narrative we should conclude that it was the same king who had ruled in Tyre in the days of David, to whom he is said to have sent timber for the building of his own house. Cp. 2Sa_5:11. But the events alluded to in Samuel were as it seems in the early part of David’s reign in Jerusalem, that is, between 30 and 40 years before the preparations spoken of in the present verse. It may therefore be that two kings in succession bore the same name, and this view is confirmed by 2Ch_2:13.
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sent his servants unto Solomon] Seemingly with a message of congratulation on his accession. Josephus (Ant. viii. 2, 6) says so. ‘He saluted and congratulated him on his present prosperity.’ The Syriac has a clause to the same effect. The LXX. very strangely says ‘he sent his servants to anoint (χρῖσαι) Solomon in the room of David.’ Hiram was no doubt the greatest independent prince near the land of Israel, but there is no trace of any authority of the Tyrian kings over Israel.
Hiram was ever a lover of David] (Cf. 2Sa_5:11.) If this be not the same person as the Hiram in David’s reign, Hiram must be taken here merely as a synonym for the king of Tyre, just as Pharaoh is often for the king of Egypt.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (1) Hiram is first mentioned in 2Sa_5:11 (and the…
(1) Hiram is first mentioned in 2Sa_5:11 (and the parallel, 1Ch_14:1) as having sent workmen and materials to David for the building of his house. He is described as a “lover of David.” Ancient tradition makes him a tributary or dependent monarch; and his attitude, as described in Scripture, towards both David and Solomon agrees with this. Josephus (100 Apion, i. 17, § 18) cites from Dios, a Phœnician historian, and Menander of Ephesus, a description of Hiram’s parentage, of his prosperous reign and skill in building; and quotes, as from the Tyrian archives (Ant. viii. 11, §§ 6, 7), letters passing between him and Solomon. The embassy here noticed from Hiram is clearly one of congratulation, perhaps of renewal of fealty. (In 2Ch_2:14-15 occur the phrases, “my lord, my lord David thy father.”)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain SOLOMON AND HIRAM The somewhat detailed description which we…
SOLOMON AND HIRAM The somewhat detailed description which we have had in chapter 4. of Solomon"s pomp and power and wisdom, is followed in chapters 5. sqq. by an account of what, in Jewish eyes, was the great undertaking of his reign, and, indeed, the great glory of Hebrew history the erection and adornment of the Temple. And as this was largely due to the assistance he received both in the shape of materials and labourers from the Tyrian king, we have in the first place an account of his alliance with Hiram.
And Hiram In vers. 10, 18, the name is spelled Hirom ( whilst in Chronicles, with one exception, (1Ch_14:1) where the Keri, however, follows the prevailing usage the name appears as Huram ( In Josephus it is Eijrwmov. This prince and his friendly relations with the Jews are referred to by the Tyrian historians, of whose materials the Greek writers Dins and Menander of Ephesus (temp. Alexander the Great) availed themselves. According to Dins (quoted by Josephus contr. Apion, 1:17) Hiram was the son of Abibaal. Menander states that the building of the temple was commenced in the twelfth year of Hiram"s reign, which lasted 34 years (Jos. Ant. 8:3. 1; Contr. Rev_1:18). Hiram is further said to have married his daughter to Solomon and to have engaged with him in an intellectual encounter which took the shape of riddles king of Tyre Heb. rwOx, rock, so called because of the rocky island on which old Tyro was built, sometimes called rxO rxbmi, the fortress of, or fortified Tyro. (Jos_19:29; 2Sa_24:7, etc.) The capital of Phoenicia. In earlier times, Sidon would seem to have been the more important town; hence the Canaanites who inhabited this region were generally called Zidonians, as in ver. 6 sent his servants legatos, Vatablus unto Solomon The Vat. LXX has here a strange reading, "To anoint Solomon," etc. The object of this embassy was evidently to recognize and congratulate the youthful king (the Syriac has a gloss, "and he blessed him, which well represents one object of the embassy) and at the same time to make overtures of friendship. An alliance, or good understanding, with Israel was then, as at a later period (Act_12:20) of great importance to them of Tyre and Sidon. Their narrow strip of seaboard furnished no corn lands, so that their country depended upon Israel for its nourishment; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of David his father i.e., he had heard of the death of David and the accession of Solomon; possibly of the events narrated in chap. 1.: for Hiram was ever Heb. all the days: i.e., of their reigns; so long as they were contemporary sovereigns a lover of David.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon…
1Ki_5:1-18
Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon . . . to build the house.
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The co-operation of Hiram
According to tradition, Hiram was a tributary or dependent monarch. The embassy which Hiram sent on this occasion was evidently meant to express the congratulations of the King of Tyre--in 2Ch_2:14-15, we find the words, My lord, My lord David thy father. There is a notable mixture of affection and reverence in the spirit which Hiram showed to Solomon; Hiram was ever a lover of David, and yet he speaks of David in terms which an inferior would use to a superior. Hiram preserved the continuity of friendship, and herein showed himself an example, not only to monarchs but to other men. Although Solomon was blessed with rest on every side, and was enabled to look upon a future without so much as the shadow of an adversary upon it, yet he was determined not to be indolent. Suppose a man to come into the circumstances which we have described as constituting the royal position of Solomon, and suppose that man destitute of an adequate and all-controlling purpose, it is easy to see how he would become the victim of luxury, and how what little strength he had would gradually be withdrawn from him. But at all events, in the opening of Solomons career, we see that the purpose was always uppermost, the soul was in a regnant condition, all outward pomp and circumstance was ordered back into its right perspective, and the king pursued a course of noble constancy as he endeavoured to realise the idea and intent of heaven. The same law applies to all prosperous men. To increase in riches is to increase in temptation, to indolence and self-idolatry: to external trust and vain confidence, to misanthropy, monopoly, and oppression; the only preventive or cure is the cultivation of a noble purpose, so noble indeed as to throw almost into contempt everything that is merely temporal and earthly. Even the noblest purpose needs the co-operation of sympathetic and competent men. Thus the Jew seeks assistance from the Gentile in building the house of the Lord. How wonderful are the co-operations which are continually taking place in life! so subtly do they interblend, and make up that which is lacking in each other, that it is simply impossible to effect an exhaustive analysis, Nor would it be desirable that such an analysis should be completed. We should fix our minds upon the great fact that no man liveth unto himself, that no man is complete in himself, that every man needs the help of every other man, and thus we shall see how mysteriously is built the great temple of life, and is realised before the eyes of the universe the great purpose of God. Co-operation is only another word for the distributions which God has made of talent and opportunity. In vain had Hiram responded in the language of generous sympathy if Israel itself had been a divided people. This must be the condition of the Church as a great working body in the world. It will be in vain that poetry, history, literature, music, and things which apparently lie outside the line of spiritual activity, send in their offers, tributes, and contributions, each according to its own kind, if the Church to which the offer is made is a divided and self-destroying body. When all Israel is one, the contributions of Tyre will be received with thankfulness and be turned to their highest uses. A beautiful picture is given in verse 14. The picture represents the difference between cutting down and setting up; in other words, the difference between destruction and construction. It was easier to cut down than it was to build up. The two operations should always go on together. The business of the Church is to pull down, and to build up; even to use the materials of the enemy in building up the temple of the living God. The picture has aa evident relation to the ease with which men can pull down faith and darken hope and unsettle confidence. Thus the work of foreign missions should help the work of missions at home. Every idolatry that is thrown down abroad should be turned into a contribution for the upbuilding and strengthening of the Church at home. The care shown of the foundation is another instance of the wisdom of Solomon. The stones which were used in the foundation were in no sense considered insignificant or worthless. The stones which Solomon used are described as great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones; the terms which are used to describe the foundation which was laid in Zion are these--A stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation. We read also of the foundations of the wall of the city which John saw in vision--The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. A curious illustration of the union between the permanent and the temporary is shown in all earthly arrangements. Solomon laid foundations which might have lasted as long as the earth itself endured. Judging by the foundations alone, one would have said concerning the work of Solomon, This is meant for permanence; no thought of change or decay ever occurred to the mind of the man who laid these noble courses. It is the same with ourselves in nearly all the relations of life. We know that we may die to-day, yet we lay plans which will require years and generations to accomplish. Yet we often speak as having no obligation to the future, or as if the future would do nothing for us, not knowing that it is the future which makes the present what it is, and that but for the future all our inspiration would be lost because our hope would perish. Let us see that our foundations are strong. A beautiful illustration of contrast and harmony is to be found in the distribution which Solomon made of his workers and the labour they were required to undertake. Here we find burden-bearers, hewers in the mountains, officers, and rulers. There was no standing upon one level or claiming of one dignity. Each man did what he could according to the measure of his capacity, and each man did precisely what he was told to do by his commanding officer. It is in vain to talk about any equality that does not recognise the principle of order and the principle of obedience. Our equality must be found in our devotion, in the pureness of our purpose, in the steadfastness of our loyalty, and not in merely official status or public prominence. The unity of the Church must be found, not in its forms, emoluments, dignities, and the like, but in the simplicity of its faith and the readiness of its eager and affectionate obedience. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain 1Ki_5:1. Hiram, king of Tyre, called Hirom (1Ki_5:7; 1Ki_5:9),…
NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE TYRIAN KING
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
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1Ki_5:1. Hiram, king of Tyre, called Hirom (1Ki_5:7; 1Ki_5:9), Huram (2Ch_2:3), and by Josephus Εἵρωμος, the same who bad sent David timbers for his palace (2Sa_5:11; 1Ch_14:1). This embassy to Solomon was a declaration that he desired to maintain equally friendly relations with David’s successor Solomon took the incident as an opportunity to negociate for “cedar trees out of Lebanon” (1Ki_5:6) with which to build the temple.
1Ki_5:3. Wars which were about him on every side—David was not prevented from erecting God’s temple because wars allowed him no leisure (see 2Sa_7:1, “Lord had given him rest,” &c.); he was free from military claims to do this work, but not free from military stains; his had been a career of war, and Jehovah’s temple must be reared by one who should prefigure the “Prince of Peace” (cf. 1Ch_28:8). Note: Solomon assumes that Hiram knew David’s intention to build the temple (cf. 1Ch_27:1-4).
1Ki_5:4. Neither adversary nor evil occurrent—מֶּגַע רַע means an unhappy event, e.g., plague, rebellion, famine. David had such “evil occurrent” in Absalom’s rebellion, and in the plague following his numbering the people.
1Ki_5:6. Cedar trees out of Lebanon—Only from the forests of Lebanon could Solomon have procured such timber for the temple. These forests belonged to the Phœnicians, who carried on extensive trade in both cedars and cypresses. The best cedars grew on the north-west of the mountain range. The Sidonians were at this time expert shipbuilders and good navigators; it would, therefore, be an easy part of their contract to “convey by sea” their merchandize (1Ki_5:9). Robinson says the famous cedar forests lie two days’ journey north of Beirut, near the highest mountain peak, distant from Jebul Sunnin six or eight hours north.
1Ki_5:7. Hiram said, Blessed be the LORD—The Septuagint here reads Θεός, not Κύριος; yet this recognition of JEHOVAH might indicate in Hiram nothing more than a polytheistic acceptance of the God of Israel as one of many deities. In the parallel passage (2Ch_2:12) Hiram calls him יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל Jehovah, God of Israel, and adds, “that made heaven and earth.” Yet this may only imply his assent to the religious views of the Israelites.
1Ki_5:8. Cedar and fir—גְּרוֹשׁ more probably denotes the cypress, not “fir,” although the pine, larch, and cypress are all found at this day in the Lebanon; and by berosh may be intended either tree.
1Ki_5:9. Convey them by sea in floats—lit., I will make them into floats on the sea. Thus they could be brought down the river, probably the Dog River, to the sea coast, and by sea to Joppa (2Ch_2:16).
1Ki_5:11. Wheat for food, and pure oil—Phœnicia was poor in agricultural produce, but rich in umbrageous growth. The land of Israel was poor in trees, rich in corn and oil. This exchange was, therefore, mutually advantageous. The “pure oil,” שֶׁמֶן כָּתִית beaten, i.e., finest oil, was obtained from olives not fully ripe, and pounded in mortars; had a white colour, as well as a better flavour; and yielded a purer and clearer light than the ordinary olive oil obtained through the press.—Keil
1Ki_5:12. The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, &c., means that, guided by “wisdom profitable to direct,” Solomon entered into a friendly alliance and commercial treaty with Hiram.
1Ki_5:13. Raised a levy—lit., caused to go up (see note on 1Ki_4:6), וַיַּעַל to take out “30,000 men.” These were Israelites, in distinction from Canaanitish bondservants (1Ki_9:20; 2Ch_8:7-9), and prisoners taken by David in war, numbering 153,600; and these levied Israelites are employed on lighter terms than the bondslaves, serving in detachments of 10,000 for one month, and then resting for two months at home, while the other two detachments take their turn.
1Ki_5:14. Adoniram was over the levy (cf. note on 1Ki_4:6).
1Ki_5:15. Threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, &c—70,000 carriers and 80,000 cutters of wood; or, more probably, of stone—חֹצֵנ being more strictly used of a cutter of stone (2Ki_12:12), although used of both in this instance (Gesenius). This total of 150,000 were “strangers in the land of Israel” (2Ch_2:17). not Israelites.
1Ki_5:16. Officers over the work, 3,300—These were over the bondmen; other 550 captains were over the 30,000 Israelites (1Ki_9:23).
1Ki_5:18. The stone squarers וְהַגִּבְלִים—The Giblim (Jos_13:5), i.e., inhabitants of גְּבַל—These Giblites (see Eze_27:9) were specially skilful in shipbuilding. Thenius suggests that the slightly changed word וַיַּגְבִּלוּם be accepted, and then reads, “they wreathed the stones, put a border round them.” i.e., “And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them and bevel them.” Such grooved or bevelled stones, twenty or thirty feet long by six feet, are now visible to Palestine explorers as the basement stones of the ancient temple, and are probably the original stones used “to lay the foundation of the house” (1Ki_5:17).—W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_5:1-18
PREPARATIONS FOR A GREAT WORK
I. That the preparations for a great work are facilitated where a genuine friendship exists.
1. The friendship of a worthy father it often continued to his posterity. “For Hiram was ever a lover of David” (1Ki_5:1). The friendships formed by a good man are a precious legacy to his children. He may have many and bitter enemies; but the faithful few will love him to the end of his days, and after his death will honour his memory even in his offspring. A son will sometimes receive signal advantages in life, for his father’s sake. David rejoiced to show kindness to Mephibosheth, the crippled son of his friend Jonathan (2Sa_9:3; 2Sa_9:13). “A fast friend is a rare bird. Most friends now-a-days are like Joab’s dagger, as soon in and as soon out. The love of foster-brothers in Ireland far surpasseth—saith one, but I believe him not—all the loves of all men. They only love truly that love one another out of a pure heart fervently (1Pe_1:22). This love lasteth.”—Trapp.
2. A genuine friendship it strengthened and perpetuated by mutual acts of courtesy and service (1Ki_5:3-11). Solomon responds with great cordiality to the congratulatory embassage of Hiram, and, at the same time, suggests the way in which the Tyrian king can help in his great work of building a house for the Lord. Hiram cheerfully falls in with the arrangement, and the terms of contract are speedily and satisfactorily settled. A friendship where the giving is all on one side, and the receiving all on the other, will soon come to an irreparable breach. The quid pro quo may not always be the same in kind; but a true courtesy will ever be ready to acknowledge the preponderance of obligation.
II. That in the preparation for a great work the choicest materials should be obtained (1Ki_5:6; 1Ki_5:10; 1Ki_5:17, compared with 2Ch_2:7-8). Cedar, gold, and costly stones—the choicest timber, the choicest metal, and the choicest stone—were to be used in the building of the temple. Many wonderful properties are ascribed to the cedar, such as resisting putrefaction, destroying noxious insects, remaining sound for a thousand years, yielding an oil famous for preserving books and writings, &c. The wood is extremely hard, which caused the ancients to believe it incapable of decay. In whatever work we do for God, the best material should be used. Nothing is too good for Him. Some men will spend enormous sums on jewelry, on house furnishing, or on architectural decoration, and yet be content to see the ugliest and shabbiest material used in the service of God. David spared neither time, nor pains, nor expense in gathering together the costliest materials for the projected building, though he well knew he would not be permitted to take part in its erection. Let us not grudge to do the preparatory work by which posterity will principally benefit. He who does something to enrich the future of humanity has not lived in vain.
III. That in the preparation for a great work the best talent should be sought. “There is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians” (1Ki_5:6 compared with 1Ki_5:18). Sidon was a part of the territories of Hiram, and its inhabitants appear to have been the most expert workmen. Much skill is needed in the felling and treatment of timber. According to Vitruvius, a contemporary of Julius Cæsar, and author of a celebrated treatise on architecture, timber must be cut in the autumn or in the winter, when it is free from a moisture which is apt to make it rot, and it should be cut in such a manner as to allow the sap to distil away. It should never be exposed to a hot sun, high winds, or rain, nor drawn through the dew; and it should be in like manner guarded for three years before being used in building. Probably these and other similar precautions gave the Sidonians their fame for skill in felling timber. They were also celebrated as builders, and as dextrous in the working of all kinds of metals. Strabo ascribes to them great knowledge in philosophy, astronomy, geometry, arithmetic, navigation, and in all the fine arts. Sidon had glass works, linen, and other manufactures, that furnished very ingenious and far-sought commodities. Homer represents the most precious and valuable of the great metal wine bowls, in which the Greeks of the heroic age delighted, as imported from Sidon (Odyss. iv. 614–618; xv. 425), and made by Sidonian workmen (Iliad. xxiii. 743, 741). He also ascribes to Sidonian women the production of the beautifully embroidered robes which were worn by Asiatic ladies of the first rank (ib. vi. 289–295). Both Herodotus and Homer attest the general nautical skill of the Phœnicians; and the former assigns the palm to Sidon. Talent is the gift of Heaven, and its best efforts and most masterly productions should be consecrated to the noblest ends. The work of God affords scope for the exercise of the most accomplished and fertile genius.
IV. That in the preparations for a great work respect should be had to the condition and wants of the workers. (Compare 1Ki_5:6; 1Ki_5:9; 1Ki_5:11; 1Ki_5:13-16.) The labourers were well officered, and the toil and drudgery mitigated by a methodised system of relays (1Ki_5:14). Without some such system so vast a number of workers would relapse into a confused, tyrannical mob, and inflict on each other much oppression and suffering. Organisation lightens labour, while it consolidates it. The wants of the workers were supplied. In addition to the provisions sent to the royal court of Tyre (1Ki_5:9; 1Ki_5:11), Solomon furnished to the servants of Hiram 20,000 cors (about 222,000 bushels) of beaten wheat, 20,000 cors of barley, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil (2Ch_2:10). The land of Israel was rich in grain and oil, while in this respect Phoenicia was poor, the steep mountain ranges of Lebanon affording very little space for arable land. Honest labour should be honestly recompensed. In all work for God the utmost diligence and fidelity are demanded; but He will take care the humblest labourer shall not go unrewarded. “No house, even though it be the church and temple of God, should be built to the hurt and oppression of one’s fellow-creatures.” Every country has its staple commodity, by exchange of which intercourse is maintained with its neighbours. It is the happiness of a nation when, with the corn of Canaan, it possesses also the shipping of Tyre.
V. That in the preparations for a great work help may be obtained from all available sources (1Ki_5:6; 1Ki_5:8-10; 1Ki_5:12; 1Ki_5:18). The world may be used as the servant of the church. The unbeliever is often called upon to contribute to a work the spiritual significance and end of which he does not apprehend. The Tyrians, though Gentiles, were employed about the work of the Temple, and thus prefigured the vocation of the Gentiles and their future helping to build up the spiritual temple. Pellican, in allegorising this fact, observes that the Sidonians and the proselytes among the Jews were the workmen, but the rulers of the work were Israelites; thus showing forth that the spiritual temple should be built by disciples among the Gentiles, but the Apostles, who were Israelites, should be the chief workmen and governors therein. Solomon “knew that the Tyrians’ skill was not given them for nothing. Not Jews only, but Gentiles, must have their hand in building the temple of God: only Jews meddled with the Tabernacle, but the temple is not built without the aid of Gentiles; they, together with us, make up the church of God (Eph_2:18; Eph_2:14). Even pagans have their arts from heaven: how justly may we improve their graces to the service of the God of heaven! If there be a Tyrian who can work more curiously in gold, in silver, in brass, in iron, in purple and blue silk, than an Israelite, why should he not be employed about the temple? Their heathenism is their own, their skill is their Maker’s. Many a one works for the church of God that yet hath no part in it.—Bp. Hall. The varied talent and material riches of all nations should be made serviceable to the interests of Christ’s kingdom, not for ostentation, for that would be “to make a calf of the treasure gotten out of Egypt.”
LESSONS:—
1. A great work necessitates corresponding forethought.
2. A great work it made up of numberless little efforts.
3. Labour is dignified by the greatness of the end it seeks to accomplish.
4. The work of one generation is completed by another.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki_5:1. “For Hiram was ever a lover of David.” The influence of a good man.
1. Operates irrespective of distance.
2. Attaches to himself men of widely different creeds.
3. Makes known the character and worship of the true God.
4. Secures valuable friendships for his posterity.
1Ki_5:1-5. Solomon’s purpose to build a house to the Lord.
1. The motive. 1Ki_5:3-5. Notambition, the love of glory, the love of pomp; but the divine will and the charge of his father. In every weighty undertaking one must examine and be assured that it do not proceed from selfish motives, but is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God (Rom_12:2).
2. The time—rest and peace (1Ki_5:4). A time of peace is the time for building in general, but especially for building houses of God, which are a memorial of thanksgiving for the blessings of peace and prosperity.
3. The request for assistance (1Ki_5:6). In important undertakings which are agreeable to the will of God and propose his honour, we may and should not hesitate to trust in Him. Who directs men’s hearts, to ask others for aid and assistance.—Lange.
1Ki_5:4. National peace.
1. A blessing from God to be gratefully acknowledged.
2. The most favourable period for carrying out great undertakings.
3. Gives greater weight and influence in negotiating with other nations.
4. Is conducive to the free and healthy development of the best qualities of the people.
5. Is an emblematic representation of the universal peace to be.
—“So that there is neither adversary.” The Vulgate hath it. Non est Satan. We use to say, seldom lieth the Devil dead in a ditch. He is the troublous one, and delighteth to hinder anything that is good; but at this time God had chained him up, and Solomon had nothing to hinder him. “The Lord is with you whilst ye are with Him,” saith one prophet (2Ch_15:2). “And the Lord will be with the good,” saith another (2Ch_19:11).—Trapp. Satan doth all he can to hinder temple-work (1Th_2:18; Zec_3:1); but when he is bound (Rev_20:2) we should be busy.
1Ki_5:5. A dutiful Song of Solomon 1. Cherishes the memory;
2. Maintains the reputation; and
3. Executes the wishes of his deceased parent.
—“I purpose to build a house unto the name of the Lord my God.” There is no building of the ancient world which has excited so much attention since the time of its destruction, as the temple which Solomon built at Jerusalem, and its successor as rebuilt by Herod. Its spoils were considered worthy of forming the principal illustration of one of the most beautiful of Roman triumphal arches; and Justinian’s highest architectural ambition was, that he might surpass it. Throughout the middle ages it influenced to a considerable degree the forms of Christian churches, and its peculiarities were the watchwords and rallying points of all associations of builders. Since the revival of learning in the sixteenth century, its arrangements have employed the pens of many learned antiquarians, and architects of several countries have taxed their science in trying to reproduce its forms. But it is not only to Christians that the temple of Solomon is so interesting; the whole Mohammedan world look to it as the foundation of all architectural knowledge, and the Jews still recall its glories, and sigh over their loss with a constant tenacity unmatched by that of any other people to any other building of the ancient world.—Smith’s Dictionary.
—If it cannot come into the mind of every one to build a house of wood and stone unto the Lord, nevertheless, every one to whom God has given wife and children is in a condition to vow and to build a house unto the Lord out of living stones. I and my house will serve the Lord (Jos_24:15). Israel knew not how to plan great buildings, especially works of art, but they did know how to serve the living God. Better to live without art than without God in the world.—Lange.
1Ki_5:6. The cedars of Lebanon are the most celebrated of all the trees of Scripture, the monarchs of the vegetable kingdom. The prophets refer to them as emblems of greatness, majesty, and splendour. Ezekiel (chap, 31) presents us with a most graphic description of their grandeur and beauty when he makes them representatives of the Assyrian power and glory. The wood was used for beams, pillars, boards, masts of ships, and carved images. Not only did David and Solomon import it for their building purposes, but the king of Assyria and Persia, and, perhaps, of other nations, did the same. The modern cedar of Lebanon is usually from fifty to eighty feet high, and often covers with its branches, when standing alone, a space the diameter of which is greater than the height of the tree. It is an evergreen, and its leaves are produced in tufts. Its branches, disposed in layers, spread out horizontally, and form, as they approach the top, a thick pyramidal head. The profane writers represent the cedar wood as specially noted for its durability, and the cedar roof of the great temple of Diana at Ephesus is said to have lasted four hundred years.
1Ki_5:7-12 (See also 2Ch_2:11-16). Hiram and Solomon.
1. Gratification. Hiram “rejoiced greatly” when he heard the words of King Solomon. This arose partly from the love he bore to his father David; we are always attracted to them who are loved by those whom we love. “For David’s sake”—the principle of substitution is every where to be seen in human life. An illustration in support of the doctrine of justification by faith. The gratification of Hiram sprang also from a recognition of Solomon’s wisdom: gratification in another’s good.
2. Consideration (1Ki_5:8). The demand of Solomon was no small one, and deserved consideration. It involved, in all probability, a great sacrifice on the part of the Tyrians. It is true that in the eleventh verse we are told that “Solomon gave,” &c., yet that was for his household, or servants who were engaged in work for Solomon’s own benefit. How would this great sacrifice affect Hiram’s subjects? Would they be willing to give to the people of another nation so much of their property, and especially for the erection of a temple for the worship of (to them) a strange deity? All these things Hiram must have taken into consideration. Most of the mischief of life is the result of a want of thought and consideration. “Evil is wrought by want of thought, as well as want of heart.”
2. Satisfaction. “All his desire” (1Ki_5:10). There was not one thing which Solomon asked, which Hiram did not grant. It is not right to ask or expect unreasonable things. It is right to grant reasonable requests, even if they should occasion sacrifice; unreasonable requests should not be granted, even if it should be more easy to do so than to refuse.
4. Recognition. “Endued with understanding” (2Ch_2:13). Knowledge, genius, skill, are of heavenly birth, and to despise them is to be guilty of a sin.
5. Combination. Solomon and Hiram were not independent of each other. No one can serve God properly in isolation: “Two are better far than one,” &c. Query, Have Christians a right to remain detached from the church of Christ?
6. Distribution. (See 2Ch_2:16.) Each did the part allotted to him; the result was success.—F. Wagstaff.
1Ki_5:7. It proves a noble heart when a man, free from envy and jealousy, sincerely praises and thanks God for the gifts and blessings which He grants to others. When God wishes well to a nation He bestows upon it godly rulers; but when He wills to chastise it He removes them. Hiram praises God that He bestows upon another people a wise monarch: how much more should that people itself thank God, since He bestowed upon it a wise and pious king?
1Ki_5:7-10; 1Ki_5:10. The heathen king Hiram.
1. His rejoicing over Solomon and his undertaking.
2. His praise of the God of Israel.
3. His willingness to help. How far stands this heathen above so many who call themselves Christians!—Lange.
1Ki_5:12. Kingly Wisdom
1. Is a divine gift.
2. Is honourably employed in cultivating peaceful relations with neighbouring kingdoms.
3. Encourages a prosperous commerce.
4. Promotes the best social interests of the people.
5. Conserves and extends the religious life of the church.
—The league between Solomon and Hiram.
1. Its object—a good God-pleasing work begun in the service of God. Like kings and nations, even so individual men should unite only for such purposes.
2. Its conditions—each gave to the other according to his desire; neither sought to overreach the other; the compact was based upon honesty and fairness, not upon cunning and selfishness. Only upon such compacts does the blessing of God rest, for unjust possessions do not prosper.—Lange.
1Ki_5:13-18. The workmen at the temple building.
1. Israelites. Solomon acted not like Pharaoh (Exo_2:23). He laid no insupportable burdens upon his people, but permits variety in the work, and Israel itself undertakes it without murmurs or complaints. How high do those Israelites stand above so many Christian communities, who constantly object or murmur when they are about to undertake any labour for their temple, or must needs bring a sacrifice of mercy or time!
2. Heathen (Psa_22:29). Jew and heathen together must build the temple of God, according to divine decree—a prophetic anticipation of fact as set forth Eph_2:14; Eph_2:19-22; Eph_3:4-6. The great preparations of Solomon must naturally remind us of the far greater preparations and arrangements which God has made for the building of the spiritual temple of the New Testament. How many thousand faithful labourers, how many wise and good men, has he placed in every known part of the world: how has he furnished them with wisdom and many other gifts of the Spirit, so that the great work of the glorious building may be completed!—Lange.
1Ki_5:17. “And they brought costly stones to lay the foundation.” Now is the foundation laid, and the walls rising of that glorious fabric which all nations admired, and all times have celebrated. Even those stones which were laid in the base of the building were not ragged and rude, but hewn and costly: the part that lies covered with earth from the eyes of all beholders is no less precious than those that are more conspicuous. God is not all for the eye: He pleaseth Himself with the hidden value of the living stones of His spiritual temple. How many noble graces of His servants have been buried by obscurity! not discerned so much as by their own eyes! which yet as He gave, so He crowneth. Hypocrites regard nothing but show; God nothing but truth.—Bp. Hall.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain 1 Kings
1 Kings
GREAT PREPARATIONS FOR A GREAT WORK
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1Ki 5:1 - 1Ki 5:12.
The building of the Temple was begun in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign {1Ki 6:1}. The preparations for so great a work must have taken much time, so that the arrangement with Hiram recorded in this passage was probably made very early in the reign. That probability is strengthened if we suppose, as we must do, that the embassy from Hiram mentioned in 1Ki 5:1 was sent to congratulate Solomon on his accession. If so, the latter’s proposal to get timber and stones from the Lebanon would be made at the very commencement of the reign. Three years would not be more than enough to get the material ready and transported. Great designs need long preparation. Raw haste wastes time; deliberation is as needful before beginning as rapid action is when we have begun.
I. 1Ki 5:3 - 1Ki 5:5 set forth very forcibly the motives which impelled the young king to the work, and may suggest to us the motives which should urge us to diligence in building a better temple than he reared. He begins by reference to his father’s foiled wish, and to the reason why David could not build the house. Not only was it inappropriate that a warlike king should build it, but it was impossible that, whilst his thoughts were occupied and his resources taxed by war, he should devote himself to such a work. In Assyria and Egypt the great warrior kings are the great temple-builders, but a divine decorum forbade it to be so in Israel.
Solomon next thankfully describes his own happier circumstances. Observe his designation of Jehovah in1 Kings 5:4 as ‘my God,’ and compare with 1Ki 5:3, where He is called David’s God. The son had inherited the divine protection and the father’s sense of personal relation to Jehovah. That is a better legacy than a throne. Well had it been for Solomon if he had held by the faith of his first days of royalty! Such a sense of a personal bond of love protecting on the one hand, and love trusting and obeying on the other, is the spring of all true service of God, whether it is busied in temple-building or in anything else.
We note also the grateful recognition of benefits received, and the tracing of peace and outward prosperity to God’s care. There was not a cloud in the sky. The horizon was clear all round, and it was ‘the Lord my God,’ who had made this ease for Solomon. We are often more ready to recognise God’s hand in sorrows than in joys. When He smites, we try to say ‘It is the Lord!’ Do we try to say it when all things are smooth and bright?
The effect of blessings should be thankfulness, and the proof of thankfulness is service. So Solomon did not take prosperity as an inducement to selfish luxurious repose, but heard in it God’s call to a great task. If all the rich men and all the leisurely women who call themselves Christians would do likewise, there would be plenty of workers and of resources for Christ’s service, which now sorely lacks both. How many of such ‘lay up treasure for themselves, and are not rich toward God’! How many fritter away their leisure in vanities, having time for any amusement or folly, but none for Christian service!
The man whom Jesus called ‘Thou fool!’ not the wise king, is the pattern for a sad number of professing Christians. ‘Thou hast much goods laid up for many years.’ What then? ‘I purpose to build an house for the name of the Lord’? By no means. ‘I will build greater barns, and that will give me something to do, and then I will take mine ease.’
We note, too, that Solomon was impelled to his great work by the knowledge that God had appointed him to do it. The divine word concerning himself, spoken to his father, sounded in his ears, and gave him no rest till he had set about obeying it {1Ki 5:5}. The motives of the great temple-builders of old, as they themselves expound them in hieroglyphics and cuneiform, were largely ostentation and the wish to outdo predecessors; but Solomon was moved by thankfulness and by obedience to his father’s will, and still more, to God’s destination of him. If we would look at our positions and blessings as he looked at his in the fair dawning of his reign, we should find abundant indications of God’s will regarding our work.
Solomon uses a remarkable expression as to the purpose of the Temple. It is to be ‘an house for the name of the Lord.’ That is not the same as ‘for the Lord.’ Pagan temples might be intended by their builders for the actual residence of the god, but Solomon knew that the heaven of heavens could not contain Him, much less this house which he was about to build. We are fairly entitled, then, to lay stress on that phrase, ‘the Name.’ It means the whole self-revelation of God, or, rather, the character of God as made known by that self-revelation.
The Temple was, then, to be the place in which the God who fills earth and heaven was to manifest Himself, and where His servants were to behold and reverence Him as manifested. The Shechinah was the symbol, and in one aspect was a part, of that self-revelation. However, in common speech the Temple was spoken of as the house of Jehovah. The same thought which is expressed in Solomon’s fuller phrase underlay the expression,-He dwelt ‘not in temples made with hands’ but His name was set there, and the structure was reared, not so much for Him as that worshippers might there meet Him.
II. The rest of the passage deals with Solomon’s request to Hiram, and the preparation of the material for the Temple. Solomon’s first care was to secure timber and stone. His own dominions can never have been well wooded, and there are many indications that the great central knot of mountainous land, which included the greater part of his kingdom, was comparatively treeless. He therefore proposed to Hiram to supply timber from the great woods on Lebanon, which have now nearly died out, and offered liberal payment.
The parallel account in 2 Chronicles makes Solomon offer specified quantities of provisions for Hiram’s workmen, and makes Hiram accept the terms. 1Ki 5:11 of this chapter says that the provisions named there were for the Tyrian king’s ‘household.’ This may possibly mean the workmen, who would be regarded as Hiram’s slaves, but, more probably, ‘household’ means ‘court,’ and Solomon had not only to feed the army of workmen, but to supply as much again for the great establishment which Hiram kept up. The little slip of seacoast, with the mountain rising sharply behind, which made Hiram’s kingdom, could not grow enough for his people’s wants. His country was ‘nourished’ by Palestine, long centuries after this time {Act 12:20}, and the same was the case in Solomon’s period. In 1Ki 5:11, the quantity of oil is impossibly small as compared with that of wheat. 2 Chronicles reads ‘twenty thousand’ instead of ‘twenty,’ and the Septuagint inserts ‘thousand’ in 1Ki 5:11, which is probably correct.
With all his Oriental politeness and probably real wish to oblige a powerful neighbour, Hiram was too true a Phoenician not to drive a good bargain. He was king of ‘a nation of shopkeepers,’ and was quite worthy of the position. ‘Nothing for nothing’ seems to have been his motto, even with friends. He would love Solomon, and send him flowery congratulations, and talk as if all he had was his ally’s, but when it came to settling terms he knew what his cedars were worth, and meant to have their value.
There are a good many people who get mixed up with religious work, and talk as if it were very near their hearts, who have as sharp an eye to their own advantage as he had. The man who serves God because he gets paid for it, does not serve Him. The Temple may be built of the timber and stones that he has supplied, but he sold them, and did not give them, therefore he has no part in the building.
How different the uncalculating lavishness of Solomon! He knows no better use for treasures than to expend them on God’s service, and ‘all for love, and nothing for reward.’ That Is the true temper for Christian work. He to whom Christ has given Himself should give himself to Christ; and he who has given himself should and will keep back nothing, nor seek for cheap ways of serving the Lord, He who gives all, be it two mites, or a fishing-boat and some torn nets, or great wealth like that which Solomon found in his father’s treasuries and devoted to building the Temple, gives much; and he who gives less than he can gives little.
Solomon’s work was, after all, outward work, and fitter for that early age than the imitation of it would be now. The days for building temples and cathedrals are past. The universal religion hallows not Gerizim nor Jerusalem, but every place where souls seek God The spiritual religion asks for no shrines reared by men’s hands; for Jesus Christ is the true Temple, where God’s name is set, and where men may behold the manifested Jehovah, and meet with Him. But we have work to do for Christ, and a temple to build in our own souls, and a stone or two to lay in the great Temple which is being built up through the ages. Well for us if we use our resources and our leisure, for such ends with the same promptitude, thankful surrender, and sense of fulfilling God’s purpose, as animated the young king of Israel!
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain Solomon's Preparations for building the Temple
Solomon's Preparations for building the Temple
1. Hiram] see 2 Samuel 5; 1Ch_14:1. It has been questioned whether this Hiram, who was living as late as Solomon's twentieth year (1Ki_9:10), is really identical with the Hiram mentioned in connexion with David (2Sa_5:11; 1Ch_1:1), because, according to Josephus, his reign lasted only 34 years. But it is possible that David did not undertake the buildings in which Hiram assisted him until comparatively late in his life.
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3. Could not build an house] see 1Ch_2:28. Here the reason given why David could not build the Temple is the turmoil that filled his reign.
4. Occurrent] i.e. occurrence.
5. As the Lord spake] see 2Sa_7:18.
7. Blessed be the Lord] Hiram, who, as king of Tyre, was a worshipper of Melkarth and Ashtoreth, would not regard the Lord (Jehovah) as, the only God, but would acknowledge His as the God of Israel. Jehovah's existence and power were similarly recognised by the Syrian Naaman, who was himself a worshipper of Rimmon (2 Kings 5 u): cp. also the language of the Moabite king Balak (Num_23:17; Num_24:11).
9. Convey them, etc.] RV make them into rafts to go by sea.' The place] Joppa (2Ch_2:16). To be discharged] RV 'to be broken up.'
11. Measures] Heb. cors (see on 1Ki_4:22). For twenty measures of pure oil LXX has '20,000 baths of oil' (a 'bath' being one-tenth of a 'cor': cp. 2Ch_2:10. For the export of corn and other produce from Judah to Tyre cp. Eze_27:17. The nearness of Lebanon must have prevented the Tyrians from obtaining much corn from their own soil.
13. Thirty thousand men] These were probably taken from native Israelites (cp. the prediction in 1Sa_8:11-18); whereas the 150,000 labourers mentioned in 1Ki_5:15 were 'strangers that were in the land of Israel' (2Ch_2:17 : cp. 1Ki_9:20, 1Ki_9:2). David seems to have imposed forced labour upon the latter only (1Ch_22:2); and the different practice of his son caused the discontent that eventually rent the kingdom in two (1Ki_12:4). 14. By courses] i.e. by turns or shifts. Adoniram] see 1Ki_4:6, the Adoram of 1Ki_12:18.
17. Great stones] Some of these perhaps still remain, for stones 30 ft. long and 7J ft. high have been found (it is said) 'at the SW, angle of the wall of the Haram area in the modern Jerusalem.'
18. The stonesquarers] RV 'Gebautes': the inhabitants of Gebal or Byblus, a maritime town at the foot of Lebanon.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain 4. The Building of the Temple and its Dedication
4. The Building of the Temple and its Dedication
CHAPTER 5 Hiram King of Tyre
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1. Hiram sends servants to Solomon (1Ki 5:1)
2. The message of Solomon (1Ki 5:2-6)
3. Hiram’s answer and league with Solomon (1Ki 5:7-12)
4. Solomon’s workmen (1Ki 5:13-18)
In connection with 1 Kings 5-8 the chapters in 2 Chronicles should be read which give a more extensive account (2 Chronicles 2-5:11). Solomon now begins the great work, which may be called his life work, the building of the house of the LORD. Hiram heard of Solomon’s enthronement, and sent messengers to Solomon. This Gentile king was a lover of David. David had made before his death abundant material for the building of the house and Hiram had supplied much of it (1Ch 22:4). Solomon requested that Hiram furnish cedar trees from Lebanon for the building of the house and Hiram agrees to float them down the coast. According to the request of Hiram, Solomon supplied Hiram’s household with 20,000 measures of wheat and twenty measures of oil. Hiram also sent a master-workman by name of Huram whose mother was a Jewess (2Ch 2:13-14; 1Ki 7:14). This cooperation of the Gentiles in building the temple is also prophetic, for the riches of the Gentiles are promised to Israel (Isa 40:6; Isa 54:3). Jews and Gentiles will unite to manifest His glory. A large number of workmen were needed. Two classes were employed. First there were 30,000 men out of Israel raised by a levy; 10,000 worked by relays of 10,000 a month. The second class was composed of strangers (1Ki 5:15; 2Ch 2:17-18), 150,000 in number; 70,000 were burden bearers and 80,000 hewers in stone. Over all were 3300 officers (verse 16) with 550 chiefs (1Ki 9:23), of whom 250 were native Israelites (2Ch 8:10). The great stones and the costly (splendid) stones and hewed stones are especially mentioned. They were for the foundation of the house. These stones may illustrate all those who as “living stones” are built up a spiritual house (1Pe 2:5). Through Grace all those are taken out of nature’s place and prepared to fit into that marvellous temple of the Lord “fitly framed together--an holy temple in the Lord” (Eph 2:21).
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Solomon’s Message to Hiram
Solomon’s Message to Hiram
v. 1. And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants unto Solomon, being one of those kings whose ambassadors brought good wishes to the king of Israel and Judah; for he had heard that they had anointed him in the room of his father; for Hiram was ever a lover of David. He had reigned even in the time of David, and now that Solomon’s accession to the throne was announced, the admirer of the father sent his congratulations to the son.
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v. 2. And Solomon, in continuing the friendly relations which had existed between his father and Hiram, sent to Hiram, dispatched an embassy to him, saying,
v. 3. Thou knowest how that David, my father, could not build an house unto the name of the Lord, his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the Lord put them, his enemies, under the soles of his feet. David had entered into negotiations with Hiram to furnish the material for the Temple which he had planned, even before he revealed his intention to the prophet Nathan. When he had finally made known his plane, the Lord had vetoed the proposition, 2Sa 7:5.
v. 4. But now the Lord, my God, hath given me rest on every side, not a single enemy venturing an attack at that time, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent, such as the rebellions of Absalom and of Sheba at the time of his father.
v. 5. And, behold, I purpose, he herewith announced his intention, to build an house unto the name of the Lord, my God, as the Lord spake unto David, my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name, 2Sa 7:13; for in that Messianic promise, according to the nature of prophecy, events near at hand are mingled with those afar off.
v. 6. Now, therefore, command thou that they, Hiram’s servants, hew me cedar-trees out of Lebanon, for the finest specimens of this tree grew on the northwestern slopes of the Lebanon, in the territory of Phenicia; and my servants shall be with thy servants; and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint, they would surely be able to come to some agreement; for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. The men of Sidon had a reputation as builders, for they were continually engaged in ship-building, and constant practice gave them the skill which they needed for their work. It seems that Hiram belonged to those heathen who, at that time, knew the true God and believed in Him, as his answer indicates.
v. 7. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, as transmitted to him by the members of the embassy, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. Good, wise rulers are a gift of God and should be acknowledged as such.
v. 8. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, in a letter, 2Ch 2:11, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for; and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar and concerning timber of fir, acting in everything according to Solomon’s good pleasure.
v. 9. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea, by floating the logs down on the streams; and I will convey them by sea in floats, that is, rafts, unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them; and thou shalt, in return, in payment, accomplish my desire in giving food for my household.
v. 10. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees and fir-trees, cypress-trees whose wood is practically imperishable and not readily attacked by worms, according to all his desire, as many as he asked for. It is an evidence of the grace and mercy of God that He, at all times, has had His chosen people among the heathen also. This was prophetical of the New Testament period, when the kingdom of Messiah has been extended to include the fullness of the Gentiles.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Solomon talks with King Hiram about building the Temple.
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Hiram had always loved David
"Hiram had always been a close friend of King David"
Yahweh was putting his enemies under the soles of his feet
To put an enemy under someone's foot means to conquer them. AT: "Yahweh was helping David to defeat his enemies" or "David was busy since Yahweh was giving him victory over his enemies" (See: Idiom)
for the name of Yahweh
The word "name" is a metonym for the person, and "for the name" refers to worshiping the person.See how you translated this in 1 Kings 3:2. AT: "in which people would worship Yahweh" (See: Metonymy)
because of the wars that surrounded him
Another possible meaning is "because of the wars with which his enemies surrounded him" or "because he was fighting enemies on all sides"
Yahweh was putting his enemies under the soles of his feet
This speaks of Yahweh giving David complete control over his enemies as putting them under his feet. AT: "Yahweh was enabling David to completely defeat his enemies" (See: Metaphor)
translationWords
king
Tyre
send
servant
Solomon
anoint
love
David
know
name
Yahweh
God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 5:1-18 King Hiram of Tyre had . . .…
5:1-18 King Hiram of Tyre had . . . been a loyal friend of David (2 Sam 5:11-12). This might mean that the two shared a covenantal relationship (a treaty). Hiram was a valuable ally and commercial partner (1 Kgs 5:7-11, 18; 9:11, 26-28; 10:22). His name is a shortened form of Ahiram, a name seen elsewhere in Phoenician inscriptions.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.