1 Kings 5:6-12 sits inside this longer paragraph.
1Hiram 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. 2Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 3“You know that David my father could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his God because of the wars which were around him on every side, until Yahweh put his enemies under the soles of his feet. 4But now Yahweh my God has given me rest on every side. There is no enemy and no evil occurrence. 5Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place shall build the house for my name.’ 6Now therefore command that cedar trees be cut for me out of Lebanon. My servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say. For you know that there is nobody among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
7When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed is Yahweh today, who has given to David a wise son to rule over this great people.” 8Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent to me. I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning cypress timber. 9My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea. I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place that you specify to me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and you will receive them. You will accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.”
10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar timber and cypress timber according to all his desire. 11Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat for food to his household, and twenty cors of pure oil. Solomon gave this to Hiram year by year. 12Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together. 13King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; for a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to forced labor. 15Solomon had seventy thousand who bore burdens, and eighty thousand who were stone cutters in the mountains; 16besides Solomon’s chief officers who were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, who ruled over the people who labored in the work. 17The king commanded, and they cut out large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with worked stone. 18Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 11, 12 This was his equity, that he would not receive…
This was his equity, that he would not receive a benefit without some recompense.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6–12 1Ki 5:6 Now therefore command thou that they hew…
1Ki 5:6 Now 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.
Ver. 6. That they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon.] Satan, though he could not hinder the building of the temple, {1Ki 5:4} yet he would needs imitate it, and, if possible, outdo it; for his temple of Diana, at Ephesus, was likewise built of cedar, as Vitruvius relateth, and was much longer and larger than this at Jerusalem, as others assure us.
Read full note →
And my servants shall be with thy servants.] Only Jews meddled with the tabernacle; but the temple is not built without the aid of the Gentile Tyrians. They, together with us, make up the Church of God. See Eph 2:13-14.
That can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.] Various men have their various gifts; and various countries their various abilities. These, as they have from God, so they must use them for him. {Isa 28:26; Isa 28:29 Rom 11:36}
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 On vv6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12 Command thou that they, i.e. thy servants, as appears…
Command thou that they, i.e. thy servants, as appears both from the foregoing words, command, &c., and from the following opposition of my servants And this assistance which these Gentiles gave to the building of Solomon’s temple was a type of the calling of the Gentiles, and that they should be very instrumental in the building and constituting of Christ’s spiritual temple, to wit, his church.
Hew me cedar trees; which, for their soundness, and strength, and fragrancy, and durableness, were most excellent and proper for his design. Of these David had procured some, but not a sufficient number.
Read full note →
Lebanon was either wholly or in part in Solomon’s jurisdiction; and therefore he doth not desire that Hiram would give him the cedars, because they were his own already; but only that his servants might hew them for him; which required art and skill in the time and manner of doing of it; all which the ingenious Tyrians well understood.
My servants shall be with thy servants; either to be employed therein as they shall direct; or to receive the cedars, being cut down and hewed, from their hands, and to transmit them to me; although Hiram in his return eased him of that trouble.
Unto thee will I give hire for thy servants, i.e. pay them for their labour and art.
The Sidonians, or Tyrians; for these places and people being near, and subject to Hiram, are promiscuously used one for another.
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 On v10 Here is, I. The performance of the agreement between…
Here is, I. The performance of the agreement between Solomon and Hiram. Each of the parties made good his engagement. 1. Hiram delivered Solomon the timber, according to his bargain, Kg1 5:10. The trees were Solomon's, but perhaps - Materiam superabat opus - The workmanship was of more value than the article. Hiram is therefore said to deliver the trees. 2. Solomon conveyed to Hiram the corn which he had promised him, Kg1 5:11. Thus let justice be followed (as the expression is, Deu 16:20), justice on both sides, in every bargain.
II. The confirmation of the friendship that was between them hereby. God gave Solomon wisdom (Kg1 5:12), which was more and better than any thing Hiram did or could give him; but this made Hiram love him, and enabled Solomon to improve his kindness, so that they were both willing to ripen their mutual love into a mutual league, that it might be lasting. It is wisdom to strengthen our friendship with those whom we find to be honest and fair, lest new friends prove not so firm and so kind as old ones.
Read full note →
III. The labourers whom Solomon employed in preparing materials for the temple. 1. Some were Israelites, who were employed in the more easy and honourable part of the work, felling trees and helping to square them, in conjunction with Hiram's servants; for this he appointed 30,000, but employed only 10,000 at a time, so that for one month's work they had two months' vacation, both for rest and for the despatch of their own affairs at home, Kg1 5:13, Kg1 5:14. It was temple service, yet Solomon takes care that they shall not be over-worked. Great men ought to consider that their servants must rest as well as they. 2. Others were captives of other nations, who were to bear burdens and to hew stone (Kg1 5:15), and we read not that these had their resting times as the other had, for they were doomed to servitude. 3. There were some employed as directors and overseers (Kg1 5:16), 3300 that ruled over the people, and they were as necessary and useful in their place as the labourers in theirs; here were many hands and many eyes employed, for preparation was now to be made, not only for the temple, but for all the rest of Solomon's buildings, at Jerusalem, and here in the forest of Lebanon, and in other places of his dominion, of which see Kg1 9:17-19. He speaks of the vastness of his undertakings (Ecc 2:4, I made me great works), which required this vast number of workmen.
IV. The laying of the foundation of the temple; for that is the building his heart is chiefly upon, and therefore he begins with that, Kg1 5:17, Kg1 5:18. It should seem, Solomon was himself present, and president, at the founding of the temple, and that the first stone (as has been usual in famous buildings) was laid with some solemnity. Solomon commanded and they brought costly stones for the foundation; he would do every thing like himself, generously, and therefore would have some of the costliest stones laid, or buried rather, in the foundation, though, being out of sight, worse might have served. Christ, who is laid for a foundation, is an elect and precious stone (Isa 28:16), and the foundations of the church are said to be laid with sapphires, Isa 54:11, compare Rev 21:19. That sincerity which is our gospel perfection obliges us to lay our foundation firm and to bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men.
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 On vv6–12 Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedars…
Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedars out of Lebanon,.... That is, order his servants to cut them down there for him. Some think that Lebanon belonged to the land of Israel, and therefore Solomon did not ask for the cedars upon it, but for his servants to hew them for him; but as it lay upon the borders of Israel, part of it might belong to them, and another part to Hiram, and on which the best cedars might grow, and so he furnished Solomon both with trees, and men to cut them, as it seems from Kg1 5:10; see also Ch2 2:3;
and my servants shall be with thy servants: to assist them, and to carry the timber from place to place, and to learn how to hew timber:
Read full note →
and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants, according to all that thou shalt appoint; pay them for their work and service, as Hiram himself should judge fit and reasonable for them; no mention being made of paying for the timber, seems to countenance the notion that the trees were Solomon's; but when the quantity of provisions sent yearly to Hiram for his household, besides what the servants had, is observed, it seems to have been sent as an equivalent to the timber received by Solomon, see Kg1 5:10;
for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians; it is not said Tyrians, the Sidonians, perhaps, being more skilful in this than they were; and the Sidonians are said by Homer (y) to be very ingenious: and they were both under the jurisdiction and at the command of Hiram; so Eupolemus (z) makes the inscription of Solomon's letter to him to run thus, to Suron (that is, Hiram) king of Tyre, Sidon, and Phoenicia. The Jews being chiefly employed in husbandry, and in feeding cattle, were very unskilful in mechanic arts, and in this of cutting down trees, and hewing timber; for there is skill to be exercised therein; the proper time of cutting down trees should be observed, the part in which they are to be cut, and the position in which they are to be put when cut down, as Vitruvius (a) directs, with other things, and Pliny (b) observes the same.
(y) Iliad. 23. ver. 743. (z) Ut supra. (Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 32, 34.) (a) De Architectura, l. 2. c. 9. (b) Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 39.
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 On vv6, 7, 9, 11 They - That is, thy servants. And this assistance…
They - That is, thy servants. And this assistance which these Gentiles gave to the building of Solomon's temple, was a type of the calling of the Gentiles, and that they should be instrumental in building and constituting Christ's spiritual temple. Cedar-trees - Which for their soundness, and strength, and fragrancy, and durableness, were most proper for his design. Of these David had procured some, but not a sufficient number. Lebanon - Which was in Solomon's jurisdiction: and therefore he doth not desire that Hiram would give him the cedars, because they were his own already; but only that his servants might hew them for him; which the ingenious Tyrians well understood. With thy servants - Either to be employed therein as they shall direct; or to receive the cedars, from their hands, and transmit them to me. Hire - Pay them for their labour and art. Sidonians - Or Tyrians: for these places and people being near, are promiscuously used one for another.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 11 Verse 6. Any that can skill to hew timber]…
Verse 6. Any that can skill to hew timber] An obsolete and barbarous expression for any that know how to cut timber. They had neither sawyers, carpenters, joiners, nor builders among them, equal to the Sidonians. Sidon was a part of the territories of Hiram, and its inhabitants appear to have been the most expert workmen. It requires more skill to fell and prepare timber than is generally supposed. Vitruvius gives some rules relative to this, lib. ii., cap. 9, the sum of which is this:
1. Trees should be felled in autumn, or in the winter, and in the wane of the moon; for in this season the trees recover their vigour and solidity, which was dispersed among their leaves, and exhausted by their fruit, in spring and summer; they will then be free from a certain moisture, very apt to engender worms and rot them, which in autumn and winter is consumed and dried up.
Read full note →
2. Trees should not be cut down at once; they should be cut carefully round towards the pith, that the sap may drop down and distil away, and thus left till thoroughly dry, and then cut down entirely.
3. When fully dried, a tree should not be exposed to the south sun, high winds, and rain; and should be smeared over with cow-dung to prevent its splitting.
4. It should never be drawn through the dew, but be removed in the afternoon.
5. It is not fit for floors, doors, or windows, till it has been felled three years. Perhaps these directions attended to, would prevent the dry rot. And we see from them that there is considerable skill required to hew timber, and in this the Sidonians excelled. We do every thing in a hurry, and our building is good for nothing.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 9, 10 1Ki 5:6. Now therefore command thou, that they —…
1Ki 5:6. Now therefore command thou, that they — That is, thy servants, who are skilful in such work; hew me cedar-trees — Which, for their soundness, and strength, and fragrancy, and durable-ness, were most proper for his design. Of these David had procured some, but not a sufficient number. Out of Lebanon — Which was in Solomon’s jurisdiction; and therefore he doth not desire that Hiram would give him the cedars, because they were his own already, but only that his servants might hew them for him, which the ingenious Tyrians well understood: My servants shall be with thy servants — Either to be employed as they shall direct, or to receive the cedars from their hands, and transmit them to me. And unto thee will I give hire for thy servants — Pay them for their labour and art. Sidonians — Or Tyrians; for these places and people, being near each other, are promiscuously used one for another. This assistance, which these Gentiles gave to the building of Solomon’s temple, was a type of the calling of the Gentiles, and that they should be instrumental in building and constituting Christ’s spiritual temple.
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 On vv6, 9, 11, 12 Solomon’s message to Hiram and Hiram’s answer 1Ki 5:8-9…
Solomon’s message to Hiram and Hiram’s answer 1Ki 5:8-9 are given much more fully in 2Ch 2:3-16.
Cedar-trees - The Hebrew word here and elsewhere translated “cedar,” appears to be used, not only of the cedar proper, but of other timber-trees also, as the fir, and, perhaps, the juniper. Still there is no doubt that the real Lebanon cedar is most commonly intended by it. This tree, which still grows on parts of the mountain, but which threatens to die out, was probably much more widely spread anciently. The Tyrians made the masts of their ships from the wood Eze 27:5, and would naturally be as careful to cultivate it as we have ourselves been to grow oak. The Assyrian kings, when they made their expeditions into Palestine, appear frequently to have cut it in Lebanon and Hermon, and to have transported it to their own capitals.
Read full note →
Skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians - The mechanical genius and nautical skill of the Phoenicians generally, and of the Sidonians in particular, is noticed by Homer and Herodotus. In the reign of Hiram, Sidon, though perhaps she might have a king of her own, acknowledged the supremacy of Tyre.
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 On vv6, 7, 8, 9, 11 Libanus. It belonged to Israel, since the victory of…
Libanus. It belonged to Israel, since the victory of David, 2 Kings x. 18. Solomon built some fortresses on the mountain, chap. ix. 19. The cedar-trees grow chiefly towards Phenicia, above Biblos. They bear a great resemblance with fir-trees, and grow in a pyramidical form. The wood is hard and bitter, so that worms will not molest it. Hence it was much used in the temple of Ephesus, and in other large buildings; lacunaria ex ea....propter æternitatem sunt facta. (Vitruvius ii. 9.) --- Sidonians. It seems they were subject to the king of Tyre, or this was the common title of all the Phenicians. (Calmet)
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).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 10, 11 command thou that they hew me cedar trees out…
command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon--Nowhere else could Solomon have procured materials for the woodwork of his contemplated building. The forests of Lebanon, adjoining the seas in Solomon's time, belonged to the Phœnicians, and the timber being a lucrative branch of their exports, immense numbers of workmen were constantly employed in the felling of trees as well as the transportation and preparation of the wood. Hiram stipulated to furnish Solomon with as large a quantity of cedars and cypresses as he might require and it was a great additional obligation that he engaged to render the important service of having it brought down, probably by the Dog river, to the seaside, and conveyed along the coast in floats; that is, the logs being bound together, to the harbor of Joppa (Ch2 2:16), whence they could easily find the means of transport to Jerusalem.
my servants shall be with thy servants--The operations were to be on so extensive a scale that the Tyrians alone would be insufficient. A division of labor was necessary, and while the former would do the work that required skilful artisans, Solomon engaged to supply the laborers.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 9, 11 6. Cedar trees out of Lebanon — The cedars…
6. Cedar trees out of Lebanon — 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, in his prophecy, (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 kings of Assyria and Persia, and perhaps of other nations, did the same. This extensive use of the cedar of Lebanon makes it clear that in ancient times this mountain must have been largely covered with forests of this timber.
At present only one considerable group, embosomed in a magnificent recess among the loftiest heights of the mountain, and which is generally known, has been often visited and described by travellers. Other groves, however, have been found in other less frequented parts of the mountain. 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. All this corresponds closely with Ezekiel’s description, Eze_31:3.
Read full note →
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.
Hew timber like unto the Sidonians — “The Sidonians,” writes Strabo, who lived about the time of Christ, “are said by historians to excel in various kinds of art, as the words of Homer also imply. Besides, they cultivate science and study astronomy and arithmetic. It is thought that geometry was introduced into Greece from Egypt, and astronomy and arithmetic from Phenicia. At present the best opportunities are afforded in these cities for acquiring a knowledge of these and of all other branches of philosophy.” On Zidon, or Sidon, see at Gen_10:19, Jos_11:8. כרת, here rendered to hew, means rather to cut down, or to fell. Merely for the felling and treatment of the timber great skill was required. According to Vitruvius, a contemporary of Julius Caesar, 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.
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 On vv6–12 6. Now therefore command thou] Solomon’s request is much…
6. Now therefore command thou] Solomon’s request is much expanded in 2Ch_2:3-10, where he asks for a cunning workman in gold and other metals, and in purple, crimson and blue, and skilled in carving or engraving. He desires also much other wood beside cedar. Of the Sidonian purple we have frequent notices in Classical authors, it is ‘the grain of Sarra worn by Kings and heroes old,’ as Milton sings of it. Par. Lost XI. 242. Cf. Verg. Æn. iv. 137 ‘Sidoniam picto chlamydem circumdata limbo.’ Homer tells us of the great skill of Sidonian workmen: the embroidered robes of Andromache and the bowl given by Achilles as a prize at the games in honour of Patroclus were of Sidonian workmanship. (Hom. Il. vi. 290; xxiii. 743, 744.)
cedar-trees out of Lebanon] We see from Hiram’s answer in 1Ki_5:8 where ‘timber of fir’ is added to the ‘timber of cedar’ that we have here only an abstract of Solomon’s request, and the fuller form in Chronicles has probably been drawn from an original authority.
Read full note →
hire for thy servants] The hire takes the form of a supply of corn and oil of which the kingdom of Solomon was very productive.
can skill] This somewhat antiquated word is found also 2Ch_2:7-8; 2Ch_34:12. It means ‘to know the best way of doing anything.’ Cf. Holland Pliny XVIII. 10. ‘Without beans they cannot skill how to dress anything for their daily food.’
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 On vv6, 7, 9, 11 (6) Cedar trees out of Lebanon.—The central range of…
(6) Cedar trees out of Lebanon.—The central range of Lebanon is bare; but in the lower ranges there is still—probably in old times there was to a far greater extent—a rich abundance of timber, specially precious to the comparatively treeless country of Palestine. The forest of Lebanon was proverbial for its beauty and fragrance (Son_4:11; Hos_14:6-7), watered by the streams from the snowy heights (Jer_18:14), when all Palestine was parched up. The cedars which now remain—a mere group, at a height of about six thousand feet—are but a remnant of the once magnificent forest which “the Lord had planted” (Psa_104:16). Solomon’s request—couched almost in the language of command—is simply for cedar wood, or rather, for skilled labour in felling and working it, for which the Tyrians were proverbially famed in all ancient records. For this labour he offers to pay; while he seems to take for granted a right for his own servants to come and bring away the timber itself. Hiram’s answer (1Ki_5:8) mentions “timber of fir” also, which agrees exactly with the fuller account of Solomon’s request given in 2Ch_2:8. The pine still grows abundantly in the sandstone regions of Lebanon; but it is almost certain that “the fir” here named is the cypress.
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 On vv6–12 Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar…
Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon Heb. the Lebanon, i.e., the White (so. mountain). "It is the Merit Blanc of Palestine" (Porter); but whether it is so called because of its summits of snow or because of the colour of its limestone is uncertain. Practically, the cedars are now found in one place only, though Ehrenberg is said to have found them in considerable numbers to the north of the road between Baalbek and Tripoli. "At the head of Wady Kadisha there is a vast recess in the central ridge of Lebanon, some eight miles in diameter. Above it rise the loftiest summits in Syria, streaked with perpetual snow In the very centre of this recess, on a little irregular knoll, stands the clump of cedars" (Ibid., Handbook, 2 p. 584), over 6, 000 feet above the level of the sea. It would seem as if that part of Lebanon where the cedars grew belonged to Hiram"s dominion. "The northern frontier of Canaan did not reach as far as Bjerrsh" (Keil), where the cedar grove is now. The idea of some older writers that the cedars belonged to Solomon, and that he only asked Hiram for artificers ("that they hew me cedar trees," etc.) is negatived by ver. 10. It is true that "all Lebanon" was given to Israel, (Jos_13:5) but they did not take it. They did not drive out the Zidonians (ver. 6; Jud 1:31) or possess" the land of the Giblites" (ver. 5; Jud_1:3:3) It should be stated here, however, that the cedar of Scripture probably included other varieties than that which now, alone bears the name (see on ver. 8), and my servants shall be with Shy servants i.e. , sharing and lightening the work: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants Solomon engaged to pay and did pay both Hiram and his subjects for the services of the latter, and he paid both in kind. See below, on ver. 11 according to all that thou shalt appoint This would seem to have been 20, 000 measures of wheat and 20 measures of pure oil annually, ver. 11: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill Heb. knoweth, same word as before to hew timber like unto the Zidonlans Propter vicina nemora. Grotius, Sidou (Heb. wOdyxi), means "fishing." See note on ver. 18. By profane, as well as sacred writers, the Phoenicians are often described by the name Zidonians, no doubt for the reason mentioned in the note on ver. 1. See Homer, Iliad 6:290; 23. 743; Odys. 4:84, 618; 17:4.24. Cf. Virg. Aen. 1. 677, 678; 4:545, etc. Gen_10:15; Jud 1:31 3:3; 1Ki_11:1, 1Ki_11:33, etc. "The mechanical skill of the Phoenicians generally, and of the Zidonians in particular, is noticed by many ancient writers," Rawlinson, who cites instances in his note. But what deserves especial notice here is the fact that the Zidonians constructed their houses of wood, and were celebrated from the earliest times as skilful builders. The fleets which the Phoenicians constructed for purposes of commerce would ensure them a supply of clever workmen. Wordsworth aptly remarks on the part the heathen thus took in rearing a temple for the God of Jacob. (Cf. Isa_60:10, Isa_60:13)
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 On v7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon.
1Ki_5:7-11
When Hiram heard the words of Solomon.
Read full note →
Hiram and Solomon
I. Gratification. Hiram rejoiced greatly when he heard the words of King Solomon. This arose partly from the love he bore to his father David. The gratification of Hiram sprang also from a recognition of Solomons wisdom: gratification in anothers good.
II. 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.
III. 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.
IV. 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.
V. Combination. Solomon and Hiram were not independent of each other. No one can serve God properly in isolation: two are better far than one, etc. Query--Have Christians a right to remain detached from the Church of Christ?
VI. Distribution (2Ch_2:16). Each did the part allotted to him; the result was success. (F. Wagstaff.)
Joy
Joy of sharing in a good work:--It was a saying of the late Professor Samuel Miller, of Princeton, that he loved to have a nail in every building intended for the glory of God or the good of man. Here and there he scattered the gifts he had, a portion to seven and also to eight--benedictions wherever he went. Few are so poor but that they can adopt this plan of continuous beneficence.
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v11 Arrangements Concerning Material
Arrangements Concerning Material
v. 11. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat, about 260,000 bushels, for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil, a little more than 1,600 gallons, this oil being obtained, not by pressing out the fruit, but by bruising the berries and then permitting the juice to run out freely. Thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year, that was the price agreed upon by them.
Read full note →
v. 12. And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He promised him, not only in concluding this contract in a satisfactory manner, but also in making wise and good provisions for every part of the immense undertaking. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together, this alliance being to the advantage of the work undertaken by Solomon.
v. 13. And King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel, he drafted a number of Israelites, members of the nation, for this work; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
v. 14. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; a month they were in Lebanon, engaged in felling and transporting cedar-and cypress-trees, and two months at home, attending to the cultivation of their land; and Adoniram, the superintendent of public works, was over the levy.
v. 15. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains, men engaged in stone-cutting, these 150,000 servants being members of the Canaanitish, conquered races,
v. 16. beside the chief of Solomon’s officers, the foremen placed over the workmen, which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. In the total number of overseers 250 were Israelites, and 300 were foreigners, 2Ch 8:10.
v. 17. And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, immense, splendid stones, without a single flaw, to lay the foundation of the house, these being carefully shaped after being hewn out of the quarry.
v. 18. And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stone-squarers, the Giblites, the inhabitants of a Phoenician town in the foothills of the Lebanon. So they prepared timber and stones to build the house, every piece receiving the proper treatment with reference to its place in the great building which was to be erected. The Church of Jesus Christ, the great Temple not made by hands, is an eternal house and kingdom. And all servants of Christ, all believers, have been called to assist in building this Temple, in extending the Church of God throughout all the world.
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 On vv6, 7, 9, 10 General Information:
General Information:
Solomon continues to talk with King Hiram about building the temple.
Read full note →
there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians
"your workers know how to cut timber better than my men"
Sidonians
people of the city of Sidon
translationWords
command
cedar
Lebanon
Sidon
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 On vv6–7 5:6 please command: The main thrust of Solomon’s message…
5:6 please command: The main thrust of Solomon’s message was his request for cedars from Lebanon, indicating Hiram’s wide commercial influence. Ancient Near Eastern literature often cites the use of Lebanese cedars in building and furnishing temples and palaces. • Sidonians was a general name for Phoenicians; Sidon was more ancient than Tyre.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.