When Solomon had finished the building of Yahweh’s house, the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,
Parallel Translations
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When Solomon had finished the building of Yahweh’s house, the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,
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And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,
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And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's delight which he was pleased to do,
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to 1 Kings 9:1 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- 2 Chronicles 7:11–8:6 Thus Solomon finished Yahweh’s house and the king’s house; and he successfully completed all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in Yahweh’s house and in his own house. Yahweh appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for myself for a house of sacrifice. “If I shut up the sky so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and made this house holy, that my name may be there forever; and my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. “As for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and will keep my statutes and my ordinances; then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, according as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘There shall not fail you a man to be ruler in Israel.’ But if you turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; then I will pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have made holy for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. This house, which is so high, everyone who passes by it shall be astonished, and shall say, ‘Why has Yahweh done this to this land and to this house?’ They shall answer, ‘Because they abandoned Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and took other gods, worshiped them, and served them. Therefore he has brought all this evil on them.’ ” At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built Yahweh’s house and his own house, Solomon built the cities which Huram had given to Solomon, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. Solomon went to Hamath Zobah, and prevailed against it. He built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities, which he built in Hamath. Also he built Beth Horon the upper and Beth Horon the lower, fortified cities, with walls, gates, and bars; and Baalath, and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
- 1 Kings 9:19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, the cities for his chariots, the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
- 1 Kings 6:37–7:1 The foundation of Yahweh’s house was laid in the fourth year, in the month Ziv. In the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished throughout all its parts, and according to all its specifications. So he spent seven years building it. Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house.
- 1 Kings 7:51 Thus all the work that king Solomon did in Yahweh’s house was finished. Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated, the silver, the gold, and the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of Yahweh’s house.
- 1 Kings 9:11 (now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and cypress trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
- Ecclesiastes 2:4 I made myself great works. I built myself houses. I planted myself vineyards.
- Ecclesiastes 2:10 Whatever my eyes desired, I didn’t keep from them. I didn’t withhold my heart from any joy, for my heart rejoiced because of all my labor, and this was my portion from all my labor.
- Ecclesiastes 6:9 Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of the desire. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Ki 9:1 And it came to pass, when Solomon…
1Ki 9:1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do,
Ver. 1. And all Solomon’s desire.] The word signifieth such a desire as a young man hath after his mistress, or a bridegroom toward his bride; which showeth that Solomon took too much content in his buildings and furniture, passed over his affections too much unto them, and here began his fall. Licitis perimus omnes. See Ecc 2:2-10.
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 Henry 1710 · Public Domain God had given a real answer to Solomon's prayer,…
God had given a real answer to Solomon's prayer, and tokens of his acceptance of it, immediately, by the fire from heaven which consumed the sacrifices (as we find Ch2 7:1); but here we have a more express and distinct answer to it. Observe,
I. In what way God gave him this answer. He appeared to him, as he had done at Gibeon, in the beginning of his reign, in a dream or vision, Kg1 9:2. The comparing of it with that intimates that it was the very night after he had finished the solemnities of his festival, for so that was, Ch2 1:6, Ch2 1:7. And then Kg1 9:1, speaking of Solomon's finishing all his buildings, which was not till many years after the dedication of the temple, must be read thus, Solomon finished (as it is Ch2 7:11), and Kg1 9:2 must be read, and the Lord had appeared.
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II. The purport of this answer. 1. He assures him of his special presence in the temple he had built, in answer to the prayer he had made (Kg1 9:3): I have hallowed this house. Solomon had dedicated it, but it was God's prerogative to hallow it - to sanctify or consecrate it. Men cannot make a place holy, yet what we, in sincerity, devote to God, we may hope he will graciously accept as his; and his eyes and his heart shall be upon it. Apply it to persons, the living temples. Those whom God hallows or sanctifies, whom he sets apart for himself, have his eye, his heart, his love and care, and this perpetually. 2. He shows him that he and his people were for the future upon their good behaviour. Let them not be secure now, as if they might live as they please now that they have the temple of the Lord among them, Jer 7:4. No, this house was designed to protect them in their allegiance to God, but not in their rebellion or disobedience. God deals plainly with us, sets before us good and evil, the blessing and the curse, and lets us know what we must trust to. God here tells Solomon, (1.) That the establishment of his kingdom depended upon the constancy of his obedience (Kg1 9:4, Kg1 9:5): "If thou wilt walk before me as David did, who left thee a good example and encouragement enough to follow it (and advantage thou wilt be accountable for if thou do not improve it), if thou wilt walk as he did, in integrity of heart and uprightness" (for that is the main matter - no religion without sincerity), "then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom, and not otherwise," for on that condition the promise was made, Psa 132:12. If we perform our part of the covenant, God will not fail to perform his; if we improve the grace God has given us, he will confirm us to the end. Let not the children of godly parents expect the entail of the blessing, unless they tread in the steps of those that have gone before them to heaven, and keep up the virtue and piety of their ancestors. (2.) That the ruin of his kingdom would be the certain consequence of his or his children's apostasy from God (Kg1 9:6): "But know thou, and let thy family and kingdom know it, and be admonished by it, that if you shall altogether turn from following me" (so it is thought it should be read), "if you forsake my service, desert my altar, and go and serve other gods" (for that was the covenant-breaking sin), "if you or your children break off from me, this house will not save you. But, [1.] Israel, though a holy nation, will be cut off (Kg1 9:7), by one judgment after another, till they become a proverb and a by-word, and the most despicable people under the sun, though now the most honourable." This supposes the destruction of the royal family, though it is not particularly threatened; the king is, of course, undone, if the kingdom be. [2.] "The temple, though a holy house, which God himself has hallowed for his name, shall be abandoned and laid desolate (Kg1 9:8, Kg1 9:9): This house which is high." They prided themselves in the stateliness and magnificence of the structure, but let them know that it is not so high as to be out of the reach of God's judgments, if they vilify it so as to exchange it for groves and idol-temples, and yet, at the same time, magnify it so as to think it will secure the favour of God to them though they ever so much corrupt themselves. This house which is high. Those that now pass by it are astonished at the bulk and beauty of it; the richness, contrivance, and workmanship, are admired by all spectators, and it is called a stupendous fabric; but, if you forsake God, its height will make its fall the more amazing, and those that pass by will be as much astonished at its ruins, while the guilty, self-convicted, self-condemned, Israelites, will be forced to acknowledge, with shame, that they themselves were the ruin of it; for when it shall be asked, Why hath the Lord done thus to his house? they cannot but answer, It was because they forsook the Lord their God. See Deu 29:24, Deu 29:25. Their sin will be read in their punishment. They deserted the temple, and therefore God deserted it; they profaned it with their sins and laid it common, and therefore God profaned it with his judgments and laid it waste. God gave Solomon fair warning of this, now that he had newly built and dedicated it, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear.
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 it came to pass, when Solomon had finished…
And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord,.... Which was done in seven years, Kg1 6:38.
and the king's house; his own palace, which was finished in thirteen years, Kg1 7:1,
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and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do; all his other buildings, the house for Pharaoh's daughter, the house of the forest of Lebanon, and may include his vineyards, gardens, orchards, and pools of water, made for his pleasure, Ecc 2:4 in which he succeeded and prospered, Ch2 7:11.
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 God in a vision answers Solomon's prayer, ver. 1-9.…
God in a vision answers Solomon's prayer, ver. 1-9. The mutual presents of Solomon and Hiram, ver. 10-14. His workmen and buildings, ver. 15-24. His devotion, ver. 25. His navy, ver. 26- 28.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain The Lord appears a second time to Solomon, and…
CHAPTER IX
The Lord appears a second time to Solomon, and assures him that
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he had heard his prayer; and that he would establish his
worship for ever in that temple, and him and his successors on
the throne of Israel, provided he and they would keep his
statutes and judgments, 1-5;
but if they should transgress and forsake the Lord, then they
should be cast off, the temple itself abandoned, and their
enemies permitted to prevail over them, 6-9.
Solomon having finished the temple and the king's house, about
which he was employed twenty years, and having received
assistance from Hiram king of Tyre, he gave him in return
twenty cities in Galilee, with which he was not pleased, 10-14.
Solomon's levies, buildings, and the persons employed, 15-23.
Pharaoh's daughter comes to the city of David, 24.
He sacrifices thrice a year at the temple, 25.
Solomon's navy, and the gold they brought from Ophir, 26-28.
NOTES ON CHAP. IX
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 9:1-2. And it came to pass when Solomon…
1Ki 9:1-2. And it came to pass when Solomon had finished, &c. — Or rather, according to 2Ch 7:11, Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord, &c., and concluded all with the foregoing prayer, and the great festival which he kept. That the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time — That is, the second time in a dream or vision; the divine message, mentioned 1Ki 6:11, having been imparted unto him by some prophet or messenger sent from God on that errand. Accordingly this appearance, like the former at Gibeon, is said (2Ch 7:10) to have been made by night, and in all probability the very night after he had finished the solemnities of his festival, as the other had been. God had given a real answer to Solomon’s prayer, and tokens of his acceptance of it, immediately, by the fire from heaven which consumed the sacrifice, (2Ch 7:1,) but here we have a more express and distinct answer to it.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Do, regarding those buildings, Paralipomenon. (Menochius)
Do, regarding those buildings, Paralipomenon. (Menochius)
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 F.—Various matters connected with the accounts of Solomon’s architectural…
F.—Various matters connected with the accounts of Solomon’s architectural works
(1Ki_9:1-28.)
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1And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord [Jehovah], and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, 2that the Lord [Jehovah] appeared to Solomon the second timeras he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. 3And the Lord [Jehovah] said unto him, I have heard, thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me:1 I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there forever;and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 4And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutesand my judgments; 5then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised [spake] to2 David thy father, saying, There shall not fail6thee a man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall at all [altogether3] turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statues which I4 have set before you, but go and serve other gods, andworship them; 7then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my8sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: and at5 this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, andto this house? 9And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord [Jehovah] their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the Lord [Jehovah] brought upon them all this evil.6
10And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the11two houses, the house of the Lord [Jehovah], and the king’s house, (Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twentycities in the land of Galilee. 12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the citieswhich Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. 13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them theland of Cabul7 unto this day. 14And Hiram sent to the king six-score talents of gold.
158And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the Lord [Jehovah], and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of16Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites17that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon’swife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, 18and Baalath, andTadmor9 in the wilderness, in the land, 19and all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and10 that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his20dominion. And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, 21their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-serviceunto this day.11 22But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and23rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
25And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built unto the Lord [Jehovah], and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the Lord [Jehovah]. So he finished the house.
26And king Solomon made a navy of ships12 in Ezion-geber, which is besideEloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. 27And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servantsof Solomon. 28And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four13 hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
Exegetical and Critical
1Ki_9:1-2. And it came to pass when Solomon had finished, &c. Cf. 2Ch_7:11-22. Solomon built, besides the temple and the palace, a number of other buildings, of which mention is made in 1Ki_9:15; 1Ki_9:19. Chron. says: all that he desired to build, for All which he was pleased to do;חֵשֶׁק cannot, therefore, mean, as Thenius thinks, “pleasure-buildings,” as distinguished from necessary and useful ones, but rather from the words of 1Ki_9:19, “in all the lands of his dominions,” must signify public works which he had undertaken for the benefit of the latter, as for instance (according to Ewald), aqueducts, reservoirs, &c. It is very distinctly stated here, that the divine appearance of 1Ki_9:2 took place after the completion of the temple and palace, as well as several other buildings. But because the divine address. 1Ki_9:3 sq., refers to the prayer at the temple-dedication, some have concluded, as we have already mentioned in our remarks on 1Ki_8:1, that the appearance immediately followed the dedication; and that the latter, accordingly, occurred thirteen years after the completion of the temple. But there is no reason whatsoever for such a conclusion. The dedication had been performed in a spirit and manner that could have given no cause for such a sharp warning and severe threatening as are found in 1Ki_9:6-9; and yet this threatening seems to be the principal thing in the divine discourse. It is very possible that it was occasioned by circumstances of a later date. The meaning in this case would be: I have indeed heard thy prayer at the dedication of the temple, and will do that for which thou hast besought me; but take warning. If ye turn away from me I will destroy Israel, &c. In like manner Seb. Schmidt: quod Deus distulerit hanc apparitionem usque ad tempus, quo Salomonis peccatum appropinquabat, ut non diu antequam fieret eum serio moneret. If this view be rejected we must think, with Keil (in the Commentary of 1846), that the writer wished to say all that he had to remark concerning Solomon’s different buildings, in the same place in our chapter, and “that he made the transition-formula, 1Ki_9:1, at the same time the heading of the following section, in which not only is the divine appearance mentioned, but an account also is given of Solomon’s undertakings after he had finished all the buildings.”
1Ki_9:3-9. And the Lord said unto him, &c. We may conclude from the words: “as at Gibeon,” that it took place, as then, in a dream (1Ki_3:5). I have hallowed this house … my, &c., i. e., I have appointed it by my glory (1Ki_8:10-11; Exo_29:43 : בִּכְבֹדִי) to be the place where I reveal my holiness (cf. Histor. and Ethic. 2, on chap, 6.). The parallel passage in 2Ch_7:12, says: I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice; which means that, as Jehovah was known and honored as the Holy One, through sacrifice, so sacrifice was also His appointed means of atonement and sanctification for the sacrificer. The house was essentially a place of sanctification. Our author evidently left out what the Chron. adds in 1Ki_9:13-14, because it is partly contained in 1Ki_9:3. For 1Ki_9:4-5 see on 1Ki_2:4; 1Ki_8:25. When David is here, as in 1Ki_3:14, held up to Solomon as a model in keeping Jehovah’s commandments, it is not because David never broke a divine law, or never sinned, but because he kept inviolate the first and chief commandment upon which the existence of Israel depended (Exo_20:2-5); because in every situation in which he was placed, in prosperity and adversity; amongst his compatriots or in banishment among the heathen, he remained loyal to Jehovah, and never discovered the slightest leaning to idolatry. The threat, 1Ki_9:6-9, is the same as in Lev_26:14; Deu_8:19; Deu_28:15; Deu_28:37; Jos_23:16, and is therefore not one that was made for the first time after the captivity, as some have said. Thenius rightly remarks that the style and living force of the address are proofs that “we have an ancient utterance before us here.” מָשָׁל, 1Ki_9:7, is a proverb which every one has in his mouth, a proverb of universal truth; every one will adduce Israel as a terrible example, and will mock them (Isa_14:4; Mic_2:4). Thenius and Bertheau, by reference to Mic_3:12; Jer_26:18; Psa_79:1, read instead of עליון, in 1Ki_9:8, עיים, i.e., ruins, and this certainly facilitates the translation of the word very much. But no MS. nor old translation reads it thus; and Chron. says expressly: “this house which is high” (2Ch_7:21); we must, therefore, adhere to the text-reading. It cannot, however, be translated: and “this house, exalted as it may be, whosoever passes by the same, shall,” &c. (De Wette, von Meyer, and others), but only as Keil has it: “this house shall stand high, i.e. stand high in its destruction, a conspicuous example, a warning to all passers by.” The Vulgate translates, moreover, directly: et domus hœc erit in exemplum; but the Sept., more in the sense of the Chronicles: καὶ ὁ οἶκος οὖτος ὁ ὑψηλός, πᾶς ὁ διαπορευόμενος ἐκστήσεται. But we must supply what is understood, namely, that the house is destroyed. Keil thinks there is an allusion to Deu_24:19; Deu_28:1, in עֶלְיוֹן. 1Ki_9:8-9 mean that what was threatened in the law in Deu_29:23-26, shall be fulfilled, שָׁרַק does not denote a scornful hissing, but, as the connection with יִשֹּׁם requires, a hissing of terror. Cf. Jer_19:8; Jer_49:17.
1Ki_9:10. And it came to pass at the end of twenty years. In 1Ki_9:2-9 the author has given an account which concerns the temple, the most important of all Solomon’s buildings. From 1Ki_9:10 on, he gives further information respecting them; how Solomon was enabled to undertake his many and, in part, expensive buildings; that is to say, through his treaty with Hiram, 1Ki_9:11-14; and also by the levy which he raised, 1Ki_9:15-25; and finally by the voyage to Ophir, which brought him gold, 1Ki_9:26-28 (Keil).—The seven years of the temple-building (1Ki_6:38), and the thirteen years of the palace-building (1Ki_7:1), are included in the twenty years of 1Ki_9:10. There is no historical connection between the section 1Ki_9:10-14, and that in 1Ki_9:1-9. The heading in 1Ki_9:1 is therefore repeated on account of the following collective remarks on the different buildings.
1Ki_9:11-14. Now Hiram the king of Tyre, &c. The section in 1Ki_9:11-14 is easily seen to be an excerpt, which has gaps not to be filled with perfect certainty. According to 1Ki_5:1-6, Solomon had made a compact with Hiram, by the terms of which he was to indemnify him by the delivery of certain natural productions; no allusion is made here to any further recompense in the way of territory, nor to any payment of gold which Solomon had obtained from Hiram. It is plain, therefore, that the twenty cities were an equivalent for the 120 talents of gold mentioned in 1Ki_9:14. Probably Hiram had at first agreed to the proposition; but upon a closer inspection he was not pleased with these towns, though he had to abide by his agreement. This is the only explanation of the fact that no answer from Solomon to the question in 1Ki_9:13 is recorded. As we may conclude, from the account of their joint enterprise in 1Ki_9:26 sq., that the friendly relations of the two kings continued, it is probable that Solomon satisfied him in some other way.
The land הַגָּלִיל is not the later province of Galilee in its whole extent, but only the northern part of it, originally belonging to Naphthali; it was called גְלִיל הַגֹּרִים, district or country of the heathen (Isaiah 8:23; 1Ma_5:15). Solomon fixed upon it as an equivalent because it bordered on the territory of Tyre, and, as its name shows, was not so much inhabited by Israelites as by heathens (cf. 2Sa_24:7).—The אָחִי is not, as in 1Ki_20:32, an expression of intimacy, but is a prince’s title (1Ma_10:18; 1Ma_11:30). The designation כָּבוּל, which Hiram gave the land of the twenty cities, is also given to a place or district in the tribe of Asher (Jos_19:17), and is derived from כָּבַל, vincire, to chain, to close; thus describing the district as closed (but not pawned, as some allege), by virtue of its geographical position. This is much more natural than the explanation, according to which כָּבוּל is from כְּהַבוּל, i.e, sicut id, quod evanuit tanquam nihil (Maurer, Gesenius), or formed by כָּ and בַּל = בוּל (Thenius), and meaning “As nothing.” How could Hiram give the district a permanent name, which contained rather a mockery of himself than of the land? The assertion of Josephus (Antiq. 8, 5, 3), that Χαλαβών means οὐκ ἀρέσκον in Phœnician, is utterly without foundation. We have no need to seek the reason of the name in Hiram’s exclamation: “What cities are these,” &c.; the second sentence of 1Ki_9:13 is quite independent of the first. In order to reconcile the conflicting assertion in 2Ch_8:2 (that Hiram gave cities to Solomon, who peopled them with Israelites), with the passage under consideration, it is generally supposed that Solomon had, in the first place, given up twenty cities to Hiram, but as they did not please Hiram, took them back again (Keil). But נתן cannot, in itself, mean to give back, and our passage also, which is the fullest, would in this case be quite silent about what it intends to state, namely, that Hiram had received an equivalent. Our passage cannot, at any rate, be disproved by the short, abrupt assertion of Chron. The question may be asked, too, if these cities were the same as in Kings. Perhaps later tradition, which Chron. follows, changed the circumstances so, because people could not believe that Solomon should have given up Israelitish land to Tyre, contrary to the law, Lev_25:23 (cf. Bertheau on 2Ch_8:1).
1Ki_9:15-19. And this is the reason of the levy, which, &c. It was chiefly through Hiram’s aid that Solomon was enabled to undertake his buildings, but it was also a great assistance to him that he could use the Canaanites that were left in the land to perform this tribute labor. It seems from Jdg_9:6 and 2Ki_12:21, that הַמִּלוֹא does not mean merely a wall of earth (filling up), but a building (בֵּית) or a collection of buildings that serve to fortify a place, i.e., fortifications, rampart, citadel. David had made such for Zion (2Sa_5:9), and Solomon renewed it, cf. 1Ki_11:27; 2Ch_32:5. “It can only have been where Zion rises highest, and consequently most needs fortification” (Thenius). The walls of Jerusalem do not here mean the walls of Zion, the upper city, but those of the lower city (see on 1Ki_3:1), so that the temple mountain was included. Hazoc, a town in the tribe of Naphthali, formerly a Canaanitish royal city, was not far from the northern frontier of Palestine, and was therefore “built,” i.e., fortified by Solomon, Jos_19:36; 2Ki_15:29. Megiddo (cf. on 1Ki_4:12) lay in an important military position, for it formed an entrance to the plain of Jezreel and the Jordan (meadows) valley, thus being the way from the sea-coast to central and north Palestine. Gezer, also once a Canaanitish royal city, between Beth-horon and the Mediterranean sea; it lay in the southerly portion of the tribe of Ephraim (Jos_16:3). What Hazor was to the north and Megiddo to the central part of Palestine, Gezer and the lower Beth-horon were to the south; an army could much more easily penetrate to the capital from those places, than from the mountains of Judah (cf. Thenius on the place). 1Ki_9:16 is a parenthesis, and tells how Gezer came into Solomon’s possession. Probably, it was the capital of a district that extended to the coast, into which Pharaoh entered from the sea. The great importance of the situation of this place made its possession very valuable to Solomon. Whether the town was built again immediately after it was destroyed, or not until Solomon’s time, is uncertain; at any rate, he fortified it. Baalath is a town in the tribe of Dan (Jos_19:44), according to Josephus (Antiq.viii. 6, 1), not far from Beth-horon and Gezer; it has been wrongly asserted to be identical with Baal-gad at Hermon (Jos_11:17), because the directly following תָּמָר is = to תַּדְמֹר according to 2Ch_8:4, and the later denotes the large and rich city of Palmyra, situated between Damascus and the Euphrates (Keil). But the connection of תמר with Baalath, Gezer, and Beth-horon indisputably denotes a southern city, especially as the more northern fortresses, Hazor and Megiddo, were named before. תָּמָר is also named as a southern place in Eze_47:19; Eze_48:28. The addition “in the wilderness, in the land,” can only mean, in the wilderness that lay in Palestine, which is the wilderness of Judah; it is therefore unwarrantable to add אֲרָם, i.e., Syria, after בָּאָרֶץ as some have done. Thus Thamar was the most southern fortress, and “commanded the passes which led to the most frequented routes from Edom to Jerusalem” (Thenius). A fortified city was very necessary and important in this very place, and it is inexplicable that Solomon should have left the south without any fortress, and yet have fortified the distant city of Palmyra, beyond the confines of Palestine. As in all doubtful cases, so here the statement of the books of the Kings merits the preference over that of the Chron., which has given occasion to the k’ri. Besides, תַּדְמֹר occurs nowhere else, and it is much more probable that תָּמָר has been changed into the famous תַּדְמֹר than the reverse. The account of the fortresses that protected the land is followed (1Ki_9:19) by an account of the buildings required for storage of victuals and materials of war. The cities of store were not dépôts of merchandise (Ewald), but magazines of produce of the soil reserved for times of need (2Ch_17:12; 2Ch_32:28). For the cities for chariots and horsemen see 1Ki_10:26.
1Ki_9:20-23. And all the people that were left, &c. 1Ki_9:20 refers back to 1Ki_9:15, and after it has been stated for what purpose Solomon, raised the levy, it now informs us whom it included. Upon מַס־עֹבֵד, i.e., slave-service, see 1Ki_5:13. עֲבָדָיו, 1Ki_9:22, means chiefly, officials of the war-department; שָׂרָיו chief officers of the army; and שָׁלִשָׁיוroyal adjutants and life-guardsmen. Gesenius, De Wette, and others translate the latter: chariot warriors, or chariot-driver, because there were always three of them standing in one chariot; this, however, does not admit of proof, and τριστάτης, as the Sept. usually renders it, does not mean chariot warriors. In every place where the word occurs in our books (2Ki_7:2; 2Ki_17:19; 2Ki_15:25; 2Ki_9:25) it denotes the royal staff; in 2Ki_10:25, the רָצִים and שָׁלִשִׁים are the king’s body-guard; and in 2Sa_23:8 (1Ch_10:11) still less is there reference to chariot warriors. The old glossaries explain τριστάτας, τοὺς παρὰ χεῖρα τοῦ βασιλέως. The reason of the name cannot be given with certitude. For the 550 superintendents of the work see above on 1Ki_5:16.
1Ki_9:24. But Pharaoh’s daughter came up. The two facts recorded in 1Ki_9:24-25 are by no means irrelevant and disconnected, as they appear; but plainly refer back to 1Ki_3:1-4. They mean that the wants which were felt in the beginning of Solomon’s reign ceased with the completion of all the buildings (1Ki_9:1; 1Ki_9:10); the king’s consort took possession of the part of the royal palace that was for her use; and Solomon no longer sacrificed on the heights, but always in the temple he had built.אַךְ, 1Ki_9:24, is here the same as in Gen_27:30; Jdg_7:19. It does not follow, because Solomon built Millo immediately after his consort repaired to her dwelling, that the former was to be a “protection to the harem” (Thenius), for there is no proof that the “house of Pharaoh’s daughter” was the harem, and Millo was evidently intended to protect the upper city.
1Ki_9:25. And three times in a year did Solomon offer, that is, on the three chief festivals, when the whole people assembled at the sanctuary (Exo_23:17; Exo_34:23). These were not ordinary sacrifices, but were especially solemn official ones, which the king, as head of the theocracy, offered. The words וְהַקְטֵיר אִתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵי יְהוָֹה have been very differently understood. Stier translates like 5. Meyer, “and he burnt of it what was fitting,” which is wrong, because “that was before Jehovah” never means, what was fitting. Maurer’s interpretation is very far-fetched: et adolebat apud eum (sc. Jova) id, quod coram Jova erat (sc. suffimentum). Ewald renders it: “he burnt incense alone there, where one stands before Jahve, i.e., in the holy place.” But what does burning incense alone mean? Thenius asserts אשר to be a false “insertion,” and translates: he brought with him (i.e., himself) offerings of incense before the Lord (i. e., upon the altar of incense in the sanctuary). אתו is supposed to mean: “he, without the mediation of another,” so that “we have here an evidence that Solomon, at least, exercised in person the functions of the high-priest.” But we cannot so easily throw אֲשֶׁר out of the text; and אִתּוֹ never means: he himself in his own person; so that the supposed “evidence” falls to the ground. Finally, Keil translates, because הַקְטֵיר is not prœter. but infinabsol.: “and, indeed, setting fire to (the sacrifice) at the (altar), which was before the Lord;” but הַקְטִיר always means “to burn incense” when it stands as here, without an object; besides, the sentence evidently means more than the immediately preceding one, which speaks of burnt-offerings, in the case of which burning is of course implied. It is certainly true that אֵת here, as well as immediately after in 1Ki_9:26, and so often elsewhere, means “with, by,” and the suffix וֹ must be referred to the preceding מִזְבֵחַ; but it is incorrect to make the clause “which was before Jehovah,” mean the altar of incense which was so described in Lev_16:12; Lev_16:18, and thus to conclude that Solomon burnt incense “in the sanctuary.” As 2Ch_26:16 shows, the priests alone might do this, even in later times; the kings were strictly prohibited. If an exception had been made in the case of Solomon, it could not have been noticed only casually and vaguely. That clause by no means exclusively indicates the altar of incense, but, as 1Ki_8:64 shows, the “brazen altar,” too, and this it is which is meant here. According to Num_15:1-12 a meat-offering was offered with every burnt and peace offering; and for the former incense was essential, according to Lev_2:1-2, which was wholly burnt (1Ki_9:16). “Incense,” therefore, was not only “offered” on the altar of incense in the sanctuary, but also on the altar of burnt-offering, and קְטֹרֶת in Psa_141:2 is synonymous with מִנְחָה. This passage, then, says nothing remarkable respecting Solomon, but only that he presented his meat-offering three times a year, as well as his burnt and peace offering. The parallel passage of Chron. therefore does not mention the latter expressly, and only says: “Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto the Lord on the altar of the Lord, which he had built before the porch … three times in the year” (2Ch_8:12-13). The concluding sentence וְשִׁלַּם אֶת־הַבָּיִת does not mean: “thus the house was finished” (Luther), for this was not done by sacrifice and incense, neither does שִׁלַּם mean finished, but, to make perfect, whole. The house Solomon had built only became all it was designed to be, i.e.,לְבֵית זְבַח, a house of sacrifice (2Ch_7:12), a central sanctuary, in that he presented now all the offerings on the festivals which were appointed to be celebrated by the whole people (Lev_23:14; Deu_26:16); cf. 2Ch_8:16. Böttcher: he brought the temple, as God’s house and place of prayer, to its full meaning.
1Ki_9:26-28. And king Solomon made a navy of ships. This is told here because Solomon received through these ships the large amount of gold which he required, partly for his splendid buildings, and partly to carry on his expensive works. Ezion-geber, a sea-port of Edom, situated on the Elanitic arm of the Arabian gulf, Num_33:35; Deu_2:8. Elath is the modern Akabah on the eastern bay of the same gulf, and was incorporated with the Israelitish kingdom by David, 2Sa_8:14. Both cities were of the highest importance in a commercial view (cf. Winer, R.-W.-B. I., s. 313, 361). The Phœnician sailors were accounted the most skilful, and were known even in distant lands (Winer II., s. 406).
Upon the fleet which sailed from Ezion-geber Chron. gives (1Ki_8:18): “and Hiram sent him by the hands of his servants, ships;” and as there was no way of conveyance by land, nor means of shipping from Africa, this must only mean (as Keil remarks) “that Hiram gave the ships for this voyage (to Ophir), i.e., he ordered his people at Ezion-geber to build them, and sent all the requisite material not forthcoming at that place.” For the situation of Ophir see on 1Ki_10:22. Instead of 420 talents of gold, Chron. gives 450; this is, no doubt, only a change of the ciphers כ (20) and נ (50).
Historical and Ethical
1. This section now before us closes the account of Solomon’s buildings, which account embraces the largest portion of the history of this reign. Never would the narrative have dwelt so long upon them, had all these building-undertakings stood outside of all relation to the theocratic kingdom. None of all the kings of Israel “built” so much as Solomon, who is described for that reason, in the history of Israel, as the king of peace, the peace-prince. His buildings were no pleasure and luxury structures, but were designed to further the greatness, power, and splendor of the kingdom, while at the same time they gave evidence thereof. First he built the house of Jehovah, which formed the heart and centre of the whole theocracy; then the palace, i.e., the house, “which was to shed glory on the second power in Israel, the kingdom which was then reaching its highest summit” (Ewald); then he fortified the house by Millo, and surrounded Jerusalem, the capital, with walls; furthermore he made fortresses and store-cities throughout the whole country, in north, middle, and south Palestine; and, finally, he himself began ship-building, so as to bring his kingdom into communication with rich and distant countries. All this, however, he conducted so as to cause no injury to his own kingdom, but rather so as to bring it to a height of prosperity that it never before or afterwards attained. The time of the שָׁלוֹם and with that of the “building” in its widest sense, came on שְׁלֹמֹה; his building enterprises were the natural result of the stage of development at which the kingdom was; he built to build up the kingdom, thus fulfilling his mission in the history of the theocracy.
2. The appearance with which Solomon was favored after the completion of his many grand edifices, as the text clearly and positively says (see Exegetical upon 1Ki_9:1 sq.), is expressly placed in relation to and contrasted with that which he had in the beginning of his reign, at Gibeon (1Ki_3:5). The Lord had given him not only what he had asked for, but also riches, dignity, and fame. He had succeeded in all that he had undertaken; not only did he himself stand at the summit of fortune, but his people had never before reached such a great and prosperous state, being blessed with peace and quiet without, and with prosperity and comfort within (1Ki_4:20; 1Ki_5:4 sq.; 1Ki_8:66). Then came the second appearing, which contained with the remembrance of the prayer answered at the dedication of the temple, and the promise of blessing in the future, a threatening and warning very wholesome, and even necessary now for Solomon himself, who, though hitherto loyal and faithful to the Lord, was open to the temptation to fall away, as the after-history shows, and whose heart the searcher of hearts knew better than he did himself (cf. 1Ki_8:39). But it was also needed (the discourse ceases to concern Solomon alone after 1Ki_9:6) by that everrestless, fickle people which in the enjoyment of the greatest happiness were in danger of forgetting their Lord and God, and of relapsing into the idolatrous worship which was more agreeable to the flesh. Hence it appears, too, that the words in 1Ki_9:6-9 are the chief part of the divine discourse, and not an addition invented by the author of these books, after the destruction of the temple, as Ewald and Eisenlohr assert.
3. The divine threatening was literally fulfilled. No people in the world ever became such a “proverb.” Singular as it stands in the world-history in its election, it is equally so in its rejection and ruin. It has remained, to the present day, the living witness of the saving love and grace of God on the one hand, and, on the other, of holiness, truth, and retributive justice. By its story it preaches to all nations the eternal truth which the prophet Azariah proclaimed to king Asa: “If ye forsake him, He will forsake you” (2Ch_15:2). When, in consequence of their complete departure from God, the temple built by Solomon was destroyed, Israel ceased to be an independent kingdom, and the people were banished; and when, after the second temple was built, they rejected David’s great Son, their promised, true, and eternal king, in Whom all nations of the earth were to be blessed, this temple was destroyed never to be rebuilt, and the people were scattered through all the world, ceasing forever to be an independent kingdom and nation, everywhere despised, reviled, and persecuted.
4. The various building-enterprises of Solomon, as well as the arrangements more or less connected with them, were practical evidence that the Lord had given him in unusual measure the wisdom for ruling and skill in affairs which he had implored in the beginning of his reign (1Ki_3:7-9). He knew how to procure the material, in part costly, which was requisite for his buildings, as well also the requisite architects and builders, by a compact (favorable to himself) with his Tyrian neighbor; and repaid him for the quantity of gold he supplied him with without heaping oppressive debts on his people, but by surrendering a district of little value near the Tyrian frontier, and almost altogether inhabited by strangers to Israel. He made use of the descendants of the subjugated Canaanites who were left in the land, to execute those public works which were designed to protect the country and further its material prosperity; thus sparing his own people, who, like every other free people, had no slavish work, but performed only military service. He built a separate palace for his consort, Pharaoh’s daughter, and by this means secured the favor of his powerful neighbors, the Egyptians. That the temple he had built might become and remain the central place of worship, and thus a bond of unity and communion for the entire people, he himself, as head and representative of the theocracy, offered solemn sacrifices on the three great yearly festivals, when all the tribes met. In order not only to meet the expenses of his many and costly buildings, but also to teach commerce to his people, who had hitherto almost entirely lived by agriculture, he managed to engage the sea-faring and skilled Phœnicians to build a common fleet, which opened the way to other seas and lands for them, and was the source of great riches to his own kingdom.
Homiletical and Practical
1Ki_9:1-9. The second appearance of Jehovah to Solomon: (a) the point of time at which it occurred, 1Ki_9:1-2 (see Histor. and Ethic); (b) the object which it had, 1Ki_9:3-9 (Promise and warning).—In the divine address to Solomon the goodness and the severity of God are shown (Rom_11:22): his goodness in the establishment of His promises (1Ki_9:3-5), his severity in the chastisement of backsliding (1Ki_9:6-9).
1Ki_9:3, Würt. Summ.: A most powerful thing is a devout, humble, and believing prayer, for thereby man beseeches God to grant him his desire (Joh_16:23).—To every house where the name of God is truly honored applies the divine saying: Mine eyes and my heart shall dwell there forever.
1Ki_9:6-9. Because men endure uninterrupted prosperity with much greater difficulty than they do crosses and afflictions, therefore, when they are at the summit of their wishes, and their hearts’ desire, it is most necessary that the grave importance of God and of eternity should be held up before them, so that they may not fall into security, and forget to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling; for what availeth it a man, &c. (Mat_16:26). He who thinketh he standeth, let him take heed lest he fall (1Co_10:12).—The more abundantly God displays his mercy and love towards an individual or towards a nation, so much the more fearful will be the righteous sentence if the riches of His mercy are despised.—In happy and prosperous days forget not that the Lord tells us: Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation.—How many men, how many families, how many nations blessed in every respect, have come to a fearful and shameful end! Askest thou: Wherefore is this? the only reply is: Because they have forsaken the Lord their God; for what a man sows that shall he also reap.—Let him who will not recognize a divine justice turn to the twice-destroyed temple of Jerusalem, and to the world-scattered people who have become a by-word amongst all nations.
1Ki_9:10-14. The demeanor of Solomon and Hiram towards each other (a) Friends and neighbors should be of one mind, and mutually ready to help each other. (b) Let not him who has kindly aided thee with his substance be long awaiting the proofs of thy gratitude, and render to him more rather than less even if he need it not. (c) Regard not so much the gift which thou receivest as the disposition of the giver, remembering always: it is more blessed to give than to receive.—From the heathen Hiram many Christians may learn, even where real cause for dissatisfaction and just claims exist, to state the disproportion between gifts and recompenses with friendly words, and in a kindly manner.—Friends, who through long years have aided each other, must not be estranged, even when one thinks himself injured by the other, but must strive to come to a thorough understanding and agreement.
1Ki_9:15-23. The plans and arrangements of Solomon for the benefit and protection of the land (a) First he built the house of the Lord, forth from which would come all salvation for Israel; then he built the store-houses for times of need and famine, and as protection against the enemies of the kingdom. A wise prince cares alike for the religious and spiritual, and for the material and temporal well-being of his people, and in times of peace does his utmost to provide against every danger which may assail the land, either from without or within. For this a nation can never be grateful enough, and should uphold him with readiness and might, instead of murmuring and complaining, as is often the case, (b) Solomon’s plan was, in his undertakings to spare his nation all servile labor, as far as possible. Therefore, for all compulsory service he employed the conquered enemy, who, as such, were slaves. A wise prince will never impose burdensome taxes or heavy labor upon his people, and reigns much more willingly over freemen than over slaves; but a good and loyal people does not make freedom a pretext for villany, and ever follows the king’s call for arms when the defence of “Father-land” is concerned. For Israel can no more say with truth—The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer (Psa_18:3), if all the nation does not aid in its defences and fortifications.—In the kingdom of the true and eternal prince of peace bondage will cease, and all men shall obtain the freedom of the children of God.
1Ki_9:25. Solomon sets a good example before all the people; he not only builds the temple, but also frequents it regularly. It is as much the duty of the highest as of the lowest to hear the word of God, to pray, and to celebrate the Sacrament.
1Ki_9:26 sq. A wise government seeks not only to preserve existing prosperity, but also to discover new sources thereof.—Many there are who travel over land and sea to seek gold, and to become rich, and forget that the Lord hath said: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich (Rev_3:18). Expeditions into far countries must serve not only to obtain gold and treasure, but also to carry thither the treasure which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal (Mat_6:19 sq.)—Commerce may become a rich blessing for a nation, but a greedy thirst for gold often leads to extreme luxury and neglect of God, as is many times exemplified in the history of Israel.
Footnotes:
[1]1Ki_9:3.—[The Sept. here insert, “I have done to thee according to all thy prayer.”
[2]1Ki_9:5.—[Many MSS. replace the preposition עַל by אֶל, and certainly, if the former is the true reading, it is used in the sense of the latter, as is frequently the case, cf. Gesenius, s. v. A. 4.
[3]1Ki_9:6.—[The Heb. is here in the usual intensive form שׁוֹב תְּשֻׁבוּן, which is preserved in all the versions, while the English expression implies the slightest dereliction instead of complete apostasy.
[4]1Ki_9:6.—[The Sept. put Moses instead of the personal pronoun as the nominative.
[5]1Ki_9:8.—[The words at and which are not in the Heb. The latter is given in the Heb. of 2Ch_7:21, and supplied here by the Chald. All the other versions give house in the nom. and omit the relative. The Syr., followed by the Arab., has “this house shall be destroyed.” Vulg. “shall be for an example.”
[6]1Ki_9:9.— [According to the Sept. the time of this vision is determined as after the completion of the palace by the addition to this verse, “Then Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David into his house which he had built for himself in these days.”
[7]1Ki_9:13.—[The Sept. say he called them ὅριον—coast, boundary, omitting the name Cabul altogether. They doubtless read גְּבוּל= border for כָּבוּל.
[8]1Ki_9:15.—[1Ki_9:15-25 are transposed by the Vat. Sept. from their place here and inserted after 1Ki_10:22.
[9]1Ki_9:18.—The k’thib תָּמָר is decidedly to be preferred to the k’ri תַּדְמֹר. [In connection with this and with the author’s remarks on this name in the Exeg. Com. the following facts are to be borne in mind: the reading of the k’ri תַּדְמֹר is found in many MSS. instead of the present k’thib תמר and in our printed editions a space is left in the text for the missing ד while the vowel points are those of Tadmor. All the versions, except the Sept., give either Tadmor or its equivalent Palmyra; the Sept. gives according to the Alex. Θερμάθ, which shows that the ד was before them, or according to the Vat. in 1Ki_10:22 ’Ιεθερμάθ. Keil, who adopts this rendering, explains the words “in the land” (which the author considers an insuperable difficulty) by the remark of Tremellius in regno Salomonis et intra fines a Deo designates, connecting the word with “built” in 1Ki_9:17. The expression in 2Ch_8:4, is simply “Tadmor in the wilderness;” but the previous verse has recorded his successful attack upon Hamath-zobah, and it is thus implied that Tadmor was in that region.
[10]1Ki_9:19.—[Many MSS., followed by the Chald. and Vulg., insert “all.”
[11]1Ki_9:21.—[Until all the buildings were finished.
[12]1Ki_9:26.—[The Sept., Chald., and Arab., both here and in 1Ki_9:27, have ship in the singular.
[13]1Ki_9:28.—[The Vat, (not Alex.) Sept. reads a hundred and twenty, while 2Ch_8:18 has four hundred and fifty.—F. G.]
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 THE LORD’S SECOND APPEARANCE TO SOLOMON, 1Ki_9:1-9.
THE LORD’S SECOND APPEARANCE TO SOLOMON, 1Ki_9:1-9.
Whether this appearance of the Lord to Solomon followed immediately after the dedication of the temple, or not until after the completion of his palace and all his great works, is a matter of dispute. Some hold that it took place the night after the day of dedication, but the text seems clearly to place it after he had finished all his works. The revelation seems, indeed, like an answer to the prayer of dedication which Solomon had just offered; and we would naturally suppose it to have been given immediately after the dedication. But is this sufficient reason to reject the obvious meaning of the text? Jehovah did immediately answer the prayer and bless the worship by sending down fire to consume the sacrifices; and often may he have come to Solomon by the Word of the Lord, (1Ki_6:11,) both while the temple was building and after it was finished. But this second and peculiarly significant appearance, bearing particular resemblance to the first appearance at Gibeon, (1Ki_3:4-15,) may well have occurred at a later period of his reign, after the completion of all his great works, and the attainment of all his proudest fame, for the purpose of confirming him in the truth, and warning and guarding him against apostasy, to which he was now, by reason of his extended power and glory, more than ever exposed. We need not wonder that the Lord’s words in the revelation refer directly to a prayer uttered years before, for the prayers of the saints are ever fresh to his mind; and Solomon never uttered another prayer more impressive, or more important and memorable to himself, than that uttered at the feast of dedication. The sacred writer records this Divine communication here, not because it followed immediately after the prayer of Solomon, but because, though given long after, it had so much reference to that prayer.
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1. All Solomon’s desire — All that he desired in the way of buildings, not only at Jerusalem, but throughout his whole realm. Compare 1Ki_9:19 and 2Ch_8:6.
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_9:1-9. God’s second appearance unto Solomon (2Ch_7:11-22)
Ch. 1Ki_9:1-9. God’s second appearance unto Solomon (2Ch_7:11-22)
1. when Solomon had finished] We read (1Ki_6:38) that Solomon was seven years in building the Temple, and in 1Ki_7:1 that he was thirteen years building his own house. We find also below (in 1Ki_9:9) that these periods were not reckoned concurrently, but that the whole period was twenty years. Hence arises a difficulty with regard to this second appearance of God to the king. From the words of God’s message “I have heard thy prayer &c.” (1Ki_9:3) it is plain that this second vision was an answer to the dedication prayer. Was then the dedication of the Temple, though the structure was completed in seven years, delayed until all the rest of Solomon’s works were ended? Or was the answer of God delayed through the thirteen years that elapsed between the finishing of the Temple and the finishing of the king’s house? We can hardly accept the latter supposition as possible. It appears far more likely that the dedication was delayed. And this may have been necessary because of the amount of time which Hiram would need for casting the metal-work, the greater part of which was for things that were unconnected with the actual Temple-building. This work from its nature could be undertaken only by persons specially skilled, of whom the number would be limited, and in consequence of this the work might be spread over a long time.
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all Solomon’s desire] The noun implies something by which special store was set, a special fancy. It seems to indicate that the king had gone to much nicety in his building schemes. The LXX. gives πραγματεία, perhaps in the sense of ‘careful carrying out of any plan’. In 2Ch_7:11, it is said ‘he prosperously effected all that came into his heart to make.’
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) And it came to pass.—The obvious primâ facie…
(1) And it came to pass.—The obvious primâ facie meaning of this verse would land us in much difficulty. By 1Ki_6:38; 1Ki_7:1, we find that, while the Temple was built in seven years, the erection of the palace and the other buildings occupied thirteen years; and from 1Ki_5:10 and 2Ch_8:1 it appears that these works were successive, and therefore that the completion of the palace could not have taken place till thirteen years after the completion of the Temple. Hence we should have to conclude, either that the dedication was postponed for thirteen years, till all the buildings were finished—which is in itself infinitely improbable, and contradicts the express declaration of Josephus—or that a similar period intervened between Solomon’s prayer and the Divine answer to it, which is even more preposterous. The variation in 2Ch_7:11 probably suggests the true key to the difficulty: viz., that the notice in this verse is merely a summary of the history of 1 Kings 6-8, which records the whole of the building works of Solomon, and is not intended to fix the date of the vision of 1Ki_9:2-9.
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 THE ANSWER TO SOLOMON"S PRAYER. This chapter opens with…
THE ANSWER TO SOLOMON"S PRAYER. This chapter opens with an account of God"s second appearance to Solomon. It must not be supposed, however, from the apparent close connexion of this relation with the preceding narrative, that it stands to it in equally close chronological order. It probably finds a place here because the historian has grouped together all the suitable materials in his possession which related to the temple. But see on ver 1.
And it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, and the king"s house, (1Ki_7:1) and all Solomon"s desire which he was pleased to do By "desire" we are not to understand "pleasure buildings" (cf. vers. 10, 19). The chronicler gives the true meaning: "all that came into Solomon"s heart." It is, however, somewhat doubtful what works are comprehended under this 2Ch_7:11 limits it to the two great erections already described that came into his heart to make in the house of the Lord and in his own house." But it is by no means certain that our author intended the word to be thus restricted; it is quite possible, e.g., that some of the buildings mentioned below (vers. 15-19) are to be included. But another question of much greater importance presents itself here. In the Divine communication of vers. 3-9 there is constant and unmistakeable reference to the prayer of dedication (see especially ver. 3); in fact, this message is the answer to that prayer. It has been held, consequently, that the answer must have followed, if not immediately, yet soon after the petitions were uttered; if so, the dedication must clearly have taken place, not on the completion of the temple, (1Ki_6:38) but on the completion of the palace, etc.; in other words, the temple must have been finished fully thirteen years before it was consecrated and occupied. Rawlinson suggests that the delay was perhaps occasioned by the circumstance that the furniture of the temple was not till then ready; but 1Ki_6:38, Hebrews, seems to state distinctly that all the vessels and appointments of the sanctuary were finished at the date there given. Reasons have been given elsewhere (see note on 1Ki_8:1) in support of the position that the dedication possibly have been delayed for so long a period, especially after the strenuous efforts which had been made to hurry on the undertaking. Nor does the text, when carefully examined, really require this hypothesis; indeed, it suggests some reasons for thinking that a considerable period must have intervened between the prayer and the response. For the tone of this response is unmistakeably foreboding, if not minatory. Vers. 6-9 contain a stern warning. But there was nothing, so far as we know, in the attitude of Solomon or of Israel at the time of the dedication to call for any such denunciation. At that time, as the prayer surely proves, Solomon"s heart was perfect with the Lord his God. But the response has unmistakeably the appearance of having been elicited by signs of defection. The wide difference, consequently, between the spirit of the prayer and the tone of the answer suggests that some time must have elapsed between them, and so far supports the view that the dedication was not delayed until the palace, etc., was completed. And it is also to be remembered that the prayer of dedication had not been without acknowledgment at the time. The excellent glory which filled and took possession of the house was itself a significant and sufficient response. No voice or vision could have said more plainly, "I have heard thy prayer, I have hallowed this house." But when, some thirteen years later about the very time, that is, when he was at the height of his prosperity, and when, owing to the completion of his undertakings, we might fear lest his heart should be lifted up with pride when Solomon and his court began to decline in piety and to go after other gods, then this merciful message opportunely refers him to the prayer which he was in danger of forgetting, and warns him of the consequences of the apostasy to which he was tending.
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Vers. 1-9.
The Second Appearance to Solomon.
the goodness and severity of God". (Rom_11:22) To Solomon goodness, to Israel severity.
I The GOODNESS OF GOD is manifested
1. In revealing Himself to Solomon. The greatest favour God can show us is to show us Himself; the greatest gift is to give us Himself.
Give what Thou wilt, without Thee I am poor, And with Thee rich, take what Thou wilt away.
will love him and will manifest myself unto him". (Joh_14:21) "I will come in to him and sup with him". (Rev_3:20) "We will make our abode with him". (Joh_14:23) There are no richer promises than these. Well may we exclaim, "O altitudo!" (Rom_11:33) "O why should heavenly God to men have such regard!
Yes, the riches, honour, glory, etc., given to Solomon were of small account compared with the good thoughts and high aspirations bestowed upon him. Riches are such third-rate blessings that God bestows them indiscriminately on the evil and the good. But noble resolves and high purposes and the desire of (true) fame, and love of truth, and all that makes a man these He reserves for His children. Solomon"s riches and glory proved his ruin; the revelations he received were the true source of his greatness.
2. In warning Solomon. The very kindest thing a friend can do for us is to admonish us when we are going wrong. "Thou mayest be sure that he that will in private tell thee of thy faults is thy friend, for he adventureth thy dislike and doth hazard thy hatred" (Sir W. Raleigh). God showed this proof of love to Solomon. In the night watches, in the darkness and silence, away from the glamour and flattery of the court, the Divine voice was heard in his secret soul. And the plainness of the warning was a part of its mercifulness. The trumpet gave no uncertain sound (vers. 5-8). God set before him that day "life and good, death and evil". (Deu_30:15) By one to whom such wisdom had been vouchsafed, warnings should have been unneeded. But they were needed and they were mercifully granted. The good Shepherd goes "o"er moor and fell, o"er crag and torrent" to bring back the straying sheep.
II The SEVERITY OF GOD is exhibited
1. In the punishment denounced against Israel. "Cut off;" "cast out of my sight;" "a proverb and a byword;" "shall be astonished and shall hiss these are its terms. But observe:
(1) None of these things needed to have befallen them. God had no pleasure in the death or dispersion of His elect people. It was their own fault if they were cut off.
(2) These things were denounced inkindness to stay them in their sin and so to prevent their dispersion. These were the sanctions of that dispensation. "The law is not made for a righteous man, but," etc.. (1Ti_1:9)
(3) There was no disproportion or undue rigour in these penalties. What seems to us severity is really exact justice, or rather mercy, to the world. As Israel had been favoured above all peoples, so, in strict equity, should it be punished above all. "The glory, and the adoption, and the covenants,", (Rom_9:4) could not appertain to them without bringing with them "many stripes" for the disobedient. Those exalted to heaven shall be brought down to hell. (Mat_11:28) It was necessary for our admonition that the chosen people should not afford the world the spectacle of a nation sinning unpunished. (1Co_10:11)
2. In the punishment inflicted. For how literally have these words been fulfilled! What an evidence of the truth of God the history of Israel supplies! This, at any rate, is no vaticinium ex eventu. "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears". (Luk_4:21) "A proverb and a byword eighteen centuries at least testify to the truth of these words. "Cast outof my sight;" let the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem (see Joshua, B.J. 5. ch. 10-13, 6. passim. "Never" he says, "did any other city suffer such miseries") explain to us these words. And there is not a country of Europe, there is hardly a city, in which the history of the Jew is not traced in blood, written within and without in" mourning and lamentation and woe." Claudius expelled them from Borne; (Act_18:2) our Edward I drove them out of Guienne and England. "Ivanhoe" gives some idea of their treatment in this country; but a romance could not record a tithe of the horrors of which Clifford"s Tower in York or the Jews" house in Lincoln could tell. And yet it is allowed that they have always been treated more tenderly in England than in the rest of Europe. But even here, and down to the present day, the word "Jew" is too often a name of hate. In Servia, in Moldavia and Wallachia, they are still the objects of fierce, persecution and.not always unmerited obloquy. Even the "Anti-Semitic League, now (1880) being organized in Germany, is a part of the "severity" of God, a proof of the "sure word of prophecy." In Jerusalem, again, the metropolis of their race, they are accounted the filth and offscouring of all things. At the Greek Easter the refrain is often heard in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, "O Jews, O Jews, your feast is a feast of apes." What a commentary, too, is the Jews" "place of wailing" on this scripture I The "holy and beautiful house" a desolation, the temple precincts trodden under foot of the Gentiles I Conqueror after conqueror, pilgrim after pilgrim, has asked the question, "Wherefore hath the Lord done thus?" etc., while the "ever extending miles of gravestones and the ever lengthening pavement of tombs and sepulchres" answer, "Because they have forsaken the Lord their God," etc. (ver. 9; Jer_22:8, Jer_22:9)
Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast, When will ye fly away and be at rest? The wild dove hath its nest, the fox its cave, Mankind their country Israel but the grave.
Application. Rom_2:21. In the history of the Israelitish nation we may see the principle of God"s dealing with individual souls (see Keble"s Occasional Papers, etc., pp. 485 sqq.) But we may also read in it a warning for the Christian Church. (Rev_2:5)
HOMILIES BY J. WAITE. Vers. 1-9.
The Reviewed Covenant.
This Divine manifestation was probably similar in form to that with which Solomon was favoured at the beginning of his reign, of which it is said, "In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night". (1Ki_3:5) We have no means of judging as to the precise time of this occurrence; but the close connection of thought between what God here says to Solomon and the prayer at the dedication (seen most clearly in 2Ch_7:14, 2Ch_7:15) leads us to suppose that it took place immediately after that event. It illustrates:
I THE FIDELITY OF GOD AND THE BLESSED RESULTS THAT ATTEND IT. God"s faithfulness is seen
(1) in the answering of the prayer have heard thy prayer," etc. The vision was itself an instant and very gracious Divine response. All true prayer is heard. No pure breath of supplication, the incense of the heart, ever ascends to Heaven in yam. God does not disappoint the hopes and longings He has Himself awakened. As the vapours that rise from land and sea sooner or later return again, distilling in the silent dew, descending in fruitful showers upon the earth not one fluid particle is lost so every cry of filial faith that goes up to the great Father of all comes back in due time in some form of heavenly benediction. And more, the answer is often far larger and richer than our expectations. He "doeth exceeding abundantly," etc.. (Eph_3:20) Solomon had prayed "That thine eyes may be open towards this house." God answers, "Mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually." The very heart of God dwells where His suppliant people are. This anthropopathic mode of speech is a gracious Divine accommodation to our human wants and weaknesses. God condescends to us that we may the better rise to Him. It is the necessarily imperfect yet most welcome expression of a sublime reality that we could not otherwise know. God has a tender "heart" towards us as well as an observant "eye." And wherever we seek Him with all our hearts there His heart responds to the throbbing of ours a sympathetic personal Presence, meeting our approach, pitying our necessities, giving love for love. Note, too, the constancy of this grace "perpetually." "The gifts and calling of God are without repentance." Wherever He records His name there He "dwells." When He blesses, when He gives or forgives, it is "forever." If the grace is cancelled, if the benediction is withdrawn, the fault is ours, not His. "Though we believe not, yet He abideth faithful; He cannot deny Himself". (2Ti_2:18)
(2) In the repetition of the promise, "If thou wilt walk before me," etc. (vers. 4, 5). The promise is reiterated as a sacred and inviolable engagement which God on His part will never break. "The sure mercies of David." All Divine promises are sure. We have but to place ourselves in the line of their fulfilment and all is well with us. They are steadfast as the ordinances of heaven and earth. Natural laws are God"s promises in the material realm. Obedience to them is the sure path to physical well being. Are His counsels in the moral and spiritual sphere likely to be less steadfast and reliable? Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the promises of His grace can never fail. "They stand fast forever and ever and are done in truth and uprightness". (Psa_111:8)
II THE INFIDELITY OF MAN AND THE FATAL CONSEQUENCES THAT FOLLOW IT. "But if ye shall at all turn from following me," etc. Here is a solemn note of warning, the presage of that guilty apostasy by which the Jewish people became in after years the most signal example to men and nations of the waywardness of human nature and the retributive justice of God. We are reminded that the faithfulness of God has a dark as well as a bright side to it. As the cloud that guided the march of the Israelites out of Egypt was light to them, but a source of blinding confusion and miserable discomfiture to their adversaries, so this and every other attribute of God bears a different aspect towards us according to the relation in which we stand to it, the side on which we place ourselves. Be true to Him, and every perfection of His being is a joy to you, a guide, a glory, a defence; forsake Him, and they become at once ministers of vengeance. Even His love, in its infinite rectitude and purity, dooms you to the penalty from which there can be no escape. Whether in the physical or the spiritual realms, one feature of the very beneficence of God"s laws is that they must avenge themselves. Learn here
(1) that all human loss and misery spring from forsaking God. "If ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children," then shall all these woes come upon you. All sin is a departure from the living God. "My people have committed two evils, they have forsaken me," etc. (Jer_2:13) Adam cast off his allegiance to God when He listened to the voice of the tempter. Idolatry in its deepest root has this meaning. (Rom_1:21-28) Every sinful life is a more or less intentional and deliberate renunciation of God, and its natural results are shame, and degradation, and death. The course of the prodigal in Christ"s parable is a picture of the hopeless destitution of every soul that forsakes its home in God. "They that are far from thee shall perish". (Psa_73:27)
(2) That according to the height of privilege so is the depth of the condemnation when that privilege is abused. The very height of the "hallowed house" shall make the ruin the more conspicuous and the more terrible. There is no heavier judgment that God pronounces upon men than when He says, "I will curse thy blessings." The best things are capable of the worst abuse. And when the highest sanctities of life are violated they become the worst grounds of reproach and sources of bitterness. The greater the elevation, the deeper and more dreadful the fall. "Thou Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven," etc.. (Luk_10:15)
(3) That one inevitable penalty of transgression is contempt and scorn. "Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people." "He that passeth by shall be astonished and shall hiss." "When the salt has lost its savour it is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under foot of men". (Mat_5:13) The wicked may be in honour now, but the time is coming when they "shall awake to shame and everlasting contempt. W.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain Chapter divides itself into two sections: 1Ki_9:1-9, Gods answer,…
SEVERAL IMPERIAL TRANSACTIONS
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—
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Chapter divides itself into two sections: 1Ki_9:1-9, Gods answer, of promise and warning, to Solomon’s prayer; 1Ki_9:10-27, transactions between Solomon and Hiram, with a record of Solomon’s levy of labourers, his officers and servants, his navy and foreign trade.
1Ki_9:1. It came to pass, &c.—i.e., “at the end of twenty years” (1Ki_9:10), for 1Ki_9:1 begins a narrative which 1Ki_9:2 interrupts; 1Ki_9:2-9 being a parenthesis. Solomon’s desire, חֵשֶׁק—(1Ch_7:11), “All that came into Solomon’s heart.” Thenius suggests “pleasure buildings” as in distinction from public works. But 1Ki_9:19 explains his “desire” as having reference to “Jerusalem, Lebanon, and all the land of his dominion”—probably aqueducts, &c.
1Ki_9:2. That the Lord appeared, &c.—Rather, “for the Lord appeared,” as interposing this section, which continues till 1Ki_9:10 resumes the narrative. The second time as, &c.—In Gibeon, during the night after his sacrifices (chap 1Ki_3:5); in this instance, during the night following the dedication prayer and sacrificial offerings; and again “in a dream.”
HOMILETICS OF 1Ki_9:1-2
THE PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF DIVINE MANIFESTATION TO MAN
At two important eras in the career of Solomon, Jehovah appeared to him. The first appearance was at Gibeon, at the outset of his kingly career, when the Lord gave him not only what he asked for, but also riches, dignity, and fame: the second occurred some years after, when Solomon had completed all his great works, and stood at the highest pinnacle of his external and imperial grandeur. Each appearance had its own peculiar significance and worth. The one afforded the opportunity and power to advance on a pathway of unexampled greatness and authority; the other was fraught with warning as to the danger of apostasy and decline, and that at a time when he had reached the very summit of success. Favoured, indeed, is the man whose life is divinely guided in its beginning, prospered in its progress, and cautioned and guarded in its mid-career. To fall, after being thus divinely fenced, is a saddening proof of the fickleness of human promises, of base ingratitude, of gross criminality. Every revelation of God to man is a distinguished privilege and a grave responsibility.
I. That Divine manifestation to man is an act of gracious condescension. In all ages man has eagerly longed for revelations of the Divine. Heathen authors speak of the appearance of gods on the earth, and of the exaltation of heroic men to the dignity of deity; the former in the incarnations of the Eastern world, the latter in the apotheoses of the Western. Though these are but poetic fancies, they indicate the strong aspirations of the human heart after God. Sin has broken the union that once existed between God and man, and created a moral gulf which man is wholly unable to cross. But the infinite mercy of God has followed man in all his wanderings, met him more than half way, and bridged the otherwise impassable chasm. The yearnings of humanity have been satisfied by Divine manifestations. The revelations of Jehovah in Israel were preliminary and prophetic of the great revelation in which He was Himself to appear in the person of His Son, and thus restore the harmony between God and man that had been disturbed by sin. Sin was the reason for the incarnation: the needs of humanity were met by the gracious condescension of God.
II. That Divine manifestation to man often occurs at a critical juncture in his individual history. Solomon was now at the height of his fame—in the full tide of prosperity. Temptations unlike any he had had before assailed him, and he was, perhaps, less prepared to resist them. There was no one around him who had the courage or the ability to warn him of his dangers. At this crisis, Jehovah appeared to him a second time, and, while encouraging him in the pathway of integrity, cautioned him as to the consequences of disobedience. How deep and untiring is the interest God takes in His children. His manifestations are the most timely, and His words fraught with profound significance. The extremity of the individual life has been the opportunity for Divine interference; the crisis has been successfully passed, and the destiny changed. The Divine manifestations are unmistakable. A poor Arabian of the Desert was one day asked how he came to be assured that there was a God. “In the same way,” said he, “that I am able to tell by the print impressed on the sand whether it was a man or a beast that had passed this way.” The manifestation of the God-Man was at a critical period in the world’s history; and who shall estimate the influence of that manifestation on the destinies of the human race!
III. That Divine manifestation to man involves a solemn responsibility.
1. Because it is made to one who can apprehend and appreciate its significance. It is not a display to insensate and unthinking matter. However gorgeous might be the revelation in its external aspect, there is nothing in star, or flower, or tree to catch and respond to its meaning; they robe themselves in the glory, while all unconscious of the truth it unfolds. But the revelation to man is to one gifted with intelligence and formed in the Divine image. “If we think of God, we think of Him after our image; and we do not think incorrectly. And as God has ever thought of and willed Himself, so has He ever lovingly willed man, in order to impart Himself to him.” Thus having affinity with the Divine nature, man is competent to understand the meaning and appreciate the value of Divine manifestations.
2. Because it is made to one who is capable of carrying out the Divine behests. Man has capacity for accomplishing great things. Vast, indeed, is his power for good or for evil. Marvellous are the productions of human genius. Solomon had just exemplified what one man could do, when divinely aided, in building up an empire which was the wonder of succeeding ages. Man is exalted to the highest dignity when he becomes a medium for carrying out Divine ideas and purposes.
3. Because it is made to one who may abuse the blessings it confers. The will of man is free, and that which may be the instrument of the greatest good may become a power for propagating terrible mischief. The noble may become ignoble, the refined base, the honoured contemptible. Few great men exercise the questionable caution of a certain celebrated musical composer who spent the last forty years of his life in almost complete idleness, saying, “An additional success would add nothing to my fame; a failure would injure it. I have no need of the one, and I do not choose to expose myself to the other.” Mayhap, it would have been well for some lives if they had terminated when, to all appearance, they had reached the highest point of moral goodness, rather than be prolonged to present such pitiful examples of degeneracy and sin.
LESSONS:—
1. God honours man by His manifestations.
2. The most blessed manifestation is that which is made to the heart. 3 Every manifestation of God is a prelude and motive to loftier enterprise and toil.
4. To disregard Divine manifestation is to incur unutterable calamity.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1Ki_9:1-2. The second appearance of Jehovah to Solomon.—
1. The point of time at which it occurred: after the completion of the great works of the kingdom.
2. The object of the appearance: promise and warning.
—The appearance with which Solomon was favoured after the completion of his many grand edifices, as the text clearly and positively says, is expressly placed in relation to and contrasted with that which he had in the beginning of his reign at Gibeon (1Ki_3:5). He had succeeded in all that he had undertaken. Not only did he himself stand at the summit of fortune, but his people had never before reached such a great and prosperous state, being blessed with peace and quiet without, and with prosperity and comfort within. Then came the second appearance, which contained, with the remembrance of the prayer answered at the dedication of the Temple and the promise of blessing in the future, a threatening and warning very wholesome, and even necessary now, for Solomon himself, who, though hitherto loyal and faithful to the Lord, was open to the temptation to fall away, as the after-history shows. It was also needed by that ever-restless, fickle people which, in the enjoyment of the greatest happiness, were in danger of forgetting their Lord and God, and of relapsing into the idolatrous worship which was more agreeable to the flesh.—Lange.
—This was a great engagement upon Solomon to cleave close to that God who had appeared unto him twice (1Ki_11:9). See an analogical appearance to all that love Him (Joh_14:21); and be instructed, lest God’s soul depart from us (Jer_6:8), for our evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God (Heb_3:12).—Trapp.
—The danger of transitions in life.—
1. Every period in life has its special dangers.
2. The greatest danger is present when in a state of transition from one period into another.
3. In every such transition special help and wisdom should be sought.
4. It is an unspeakable boon to be conscious at such times of the Divine presence and guidance.
5. To ignore the lessons of such periods is to invite disaster and ruin.
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
PROMISES AND THREATENINGS
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1Ki 9:1 - 1Ki 9:9.
The successful end of a great work is often the beginning of a great reaction. When the tension is slackened, the whole nature of the worker is relaxed, and the temptation to slothful self-indulgence is strong. God knows our frame, and mercifully times His manifestations to the moments of special need. So, when Solomon had finished his great task, ‘the Lord appeared the second time, as He had appeared at Gibeon.’ There had been no manifest token of approval during all the years of building the Temple, for none was needed; but now there was danger that the finished work might be followed by languor and indifference, and therefore once more God spoke words of stimulus, both promises and warnings.
A solemn alternative is set before the king, both parts of which are fitted to rouse his energy and inspire him to faithful obedience. The same alternatives are presented to each of us. In 1Ki 9:3 - 1Ki 9:5 God promises blessed results from clinging to Him and keeping His statutes; in 1Ki 9:6 - 1Ki 9:9 He mercifully threatens the tragic issues of departure. In applying these to ourselves we must remember that outward prosperity was attached to a devout life more closely in Israel than it is now. But, though the form of the blessings dependent on doing God’s will alters, the reality remains unaltered.
I. The promises to Solomon are preceded by the assurance that his prayer had been heard. The answer corresponds very beautifully to the petitions. God has ‘put His name’ in the Temple, as the descent of the Glory to rest between the cherubim visibly showed, and thus has fulfilled Solomon’s petition; but the answer surpasses the prayer in that the presence of ‘the Name’ is promised ‘for ever.’ Similarly, in Psa 132:1 - Psa 132:18, the answer to the petition ‘Arise into Thy rest’ transcends the petition which it answers, and adds the same promise of perpetuity, ‘This is My rest for ever.’ Again, Solomon had prayed, ‘that Thine eyes may be open towards this house,’ and God answers with the expanded promise that not His eyes only, but His heart shall be there perpetually. He is ‘able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,’ and He delights to surprise us with over-answers to our prayers. We cannot widen our desires so far but that His gifts will stretch beyond them on every side.
But the promise of perpetual dwelling in the Temple is conditional, as appears in the latter part of God’s answer, though no condition is stated at first. The promises to Solomon individually are all contingent. The all-important ‘if’ at the beginning of 1Ki 9:4 governs the whole. The divine eulogium on David, which introduces these promises, suggests how mercifully God regards the imperfect lives of His servants. That merciful interpretation of conduct is removed by a whole universe from palliation of sin. It affords no ground for our thinking little of our inconsistencies. David’s crime was sternly rebuked and sorely punished, but still his life, in its main drift and outline, could be presented as a pattern, as being marked by integrity of heart and uprightness. The moon shines like a disc of silver, though its surface is pitted with extinct volcanoes.
We may note, too, the pregnant description in outline of the elements of a devout life, as here enjoined on Solomon. The first requisite is to walk before God; that is, to nourish a continual consciousness of His presence, and to regulate all actions and thoughts under the thrilling and purifying sense of being ‘ever in the great Taskmaster’s eye.’ Only we are not to think of Him as only a Taskmaster, but as a loving Friend and Helper. A child is happy in its little work or play when it knows that its father is looking on with sympathy. The sense of God’s eye being on us should ‘make a sunshine in a shady place,’ should lighten labour and sweeten care. It is at the root of practical obedience, as its place in this sequence shows; for there follow it, in 1Ki 9:4, ‘integrity of heart and uprightness,’ on which again follow obedience to all God’s commandments.
First must come the clear recognition of God’s relation to us. That recognition will influence our relation to Him, bending hearts to love and wills to submit, and the whole inward being to cleave to Him. Thence, and only thence, will issue in the life the streams of practical obedience. It is vain to seek to produce righteous deeds unless our hearts are right, and it is as vain to labour at making our hearts right unless thoughts of what God is to us have purified them. Morality is rooted in religion. On the other hand, no knowledge of the truth about God is worth anything unless it touches the hidden man of the heart, and then passes outward to mould conduct. ‘Faith without works is dead.’ Correct theology and glowing emotions lack their consummation if they do not impel to holy and God-pleasing living.
The reward promised in 1Ki 9:5 is for Solomon alone. His throne is to be ‘established for ever.’ The duration intended by that expression is therefore not absolutely unlimited, but equivalent to ‘during thy lifetime.’ Solomon could only affect himself by his obedience. The continuance of the kingdom after him depended on his successors. His possession of the throne during his life was the beginning of the fulfilment of the promise to David referred to in 1Ki 9:5, but it was only the beginning, and, like all God’s promises, it was contingent on obedience. We receive no outward kingdom if we are servants of God; but, in deepest truth, the righteous man is a king, ‘lord of himself, though not of lands.’ All creatures serve the soul that serves God, and all Christ’s brethren share in His royalty.
II. The second part of this divine utterance is addressed to the whole nation, as is marked by the ‘ye’ there compared with the ‘thou’ in 1Ki 9:4, and it lays down for succeeding generations the conditions on which the new Temple, that stood glittering in the bright Eastern sunshine, should retain its pristine beauty. While the address to Solomon incited to obedience by painting its blessed consequences, that to the nation reaches the same end by the opposite path of darkly portraying the ruin that would be caused by departure from God. God draws by holding out a hand full of good things, and He no less lovingly drives by stretching out a hand armed with lightnings.
A plain declaration of the evils that dog disobedience is as loving as a bright vision of the good that attends on submission. The sternest threatenings of Scripture are spoken that they may never need to be executed. There is no more foolish misconception of Christianity than that which calls it harsh because it reveals that ‘the wages of sin is death.’ Note that the threatenings come second, not first. God’s heart is averse to smite. To lavish blessing is His delight, and judgment is ‘His work, His strange work,’ forced on Him by sin.
The special sin against which Israel was warned was that to which it was specially prone and tempted by its circumstances. When all the nations ‘worshipped stocks and stones,’ it was hard to ‘keep thy faith so pure’ as to have no share in the universal bewitchment. So the whole history of the people is one of lapses into idolatry and of chastisements leading to temporary amendment, until the long, sharp lesson of the Captivity eradicated the disposition to be as the nations around. No doubt, idolatry in its crudest forms is outgrown now in Western lands, but sense still craves material embodiment of the unseen, and still feels the pressure of the material and palpable. Hence the earthward direction of so many lives. Asthmatical patients often breathe more easily in the slums of a city than in pure mountain air, and sense-bound men find difficulty in respiration on the heights of a religion which minimises the appeal to sense.
The penalty attached to departure from God was the loss of the land. Israel kept it on a tenure like that of some of our English nobility, who hold their estates on condition of doing some service to the sovereign. Of course, that connection between serving God and national prosperity involved continual supernatural intervention, and cannot be applied entirely to national prosperity now; but it still remains true that moral and religious corruption saps the foundations of a people’s well-being, and, when carried far enough, destroys a people’s existence. The solemn threat of becoming ‘a proverb and a byword’ among all peoples is quoted, apparently from Deu 28:37, and has been only too terribly fulfilled for weary centuries.
The promise in 1Ki 9:3, that God’s eyes and heart should be perpetually on the Temple, has now the condition attached that Israel should cleave to the Lord. Otherwise it will be cast out of His sight, and be a mark for scorn and wonder. The vivid representation of a dialogue between passers-by is quoted from Deu 29:24 - Deu 29:26, where it is spoken in reference to the nation. It carries the solemn thought that God’s name is made known among the heathen by the punishment of His unfaithful people, not less really, and sometimes more strikingly, than by the blessings bestowed on the obedient. If we will not magnify Him by joyous service, by rewarding which, with good He can magnify Himself, He will magnify Himself on us by retribution, the more severe as our blessings have been the greater. The lightning-scathed tree, standing white in the forest, witnesses to the power of the flash, as its leafy sisters in their green beauty proclaim the energy of the sunshine. Israel has, perhaps, been a more convincing witness for God, in its homeless centuries, than ever it was when at rest in the good land. ‘If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest He also spare not thee.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain God's Response to Solomon's Prayer. Solomon and Hiram
God's Response to Solomon's Prayer. Solomon and Hiram
1. When.. finished] The Temple does not seem to have been dedicated until all the king's buildings were completed, the Temple and Palace being probably included within a single wall and regarded as a unity. In 1Ki_9:3-9 is contained the divine response to the prayer offered by Solomon at the dedication festival.
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3. Mine eyes.. perpetually] Though God's care extends over all His creation, yet those are nearest to His heart who render to Him the sincerest and worthiest service. At Jerusalem not only did the splendour of the Temple attest Israel's desire to pay honour to the Lord, but the worship conducted there was the most spiritual of contemporary forms of devotion, being free from the sensuous and often impure elements that entered into religious rites elsewhere.
8. At this house, which is high] The original has 'the house shall be high,' which may mean 'shall be conspicuous,' as a warning to others. But the Syriac has 'this house shall be a heap' (of ruins).
11. Twenty cities] As the payment for the supply of timber consisted of wheat and oil (1Ki_5:9-11), the cities must have been in return for the supply of gold: see on 2 Ch 8 2. Galilee] The region thus designated is not defined in the OT., but the name seems to have been applied to a part of Zebulun and Naphtali, where the non-Israelite population was numerous enough to lead to its being called 'the Galilee (or Circuit) of the Gentiles' (Isa_9:1). In NT. times it extended from the Leontes in the N. to the ridge of Carmel in the S.
13. Cabul] There was a city called Cabul in Asher (Jos_19:27), and its name may have been taken to describe the district owing to its assonance with a Heb. phrase signifying 'as good as nothing.'
14. Sixscore talents] weighing nearly 13,000 lb.
15. Millo] some part of the fortifications of Jerusalem is meant, perhaps a solid tower, but its place is not known. The LXX renders it by 'citadel,' and its importance is evidenced by its being so frequently rebuilt (1Ki_11:27; 2Ch_32:5). Hazor and Megiddo] Hazor, near Lake Merom, guarded the northern frontier, whilst Megiddo protected the approach to the plain of Esdraelon from the SW. Gezer] on the W. border of Ephraim, the modern Tell Jezer, 18 m. from Jerusalem. Gezer and Bethhoron (1Ki_9:17) protected the valley of Aijalon.
16. A present] RV 'a portion' (or dowry).
18. Baalath] a little N. of Beth-horon the nether. Tadmor, afterwards called Palmyra, in the Syrian desert, NE. of Damascus. Another reading has 'Tamar,' a place in the S. of Judah (Eze_47:19), the same as Hazezor Tamar or Engedi (Gen_14:7; 2Ch_20:2). In the land] i.e. within the borders of Israel. This, as it stands, is only appropriate as a description of Tamar, but it is possible that some name (e.g. of 'Aram' or of 'Hamath'), descriptive of the locality of Tadmor, has been lost.
19. Desired to build] i.e. for his pleasure: cp. 1Ki_9:1. In Lebanon] where residence would be desirable during the summer heats.
22. No bondmen] This apparently means that no native Israelites were permanently compelled to render forced service. But a considerable body of such was temporarily employed upon the construction of the Temple (1Ki_5:13): cp. also 1Ki_11:28; 1Ki_12:4.
23. Five hundred and fifty] These were probably the officers who directed the labour of the 30,000 native Israelites: 2Ch_8:10 has 250.
24. Unto her house] see 2Ch_7:8. For Millo see on 2Ch_7:15.
25. Three times in a year] see 2Ch_8:13, and cp. Exo_23:14-17; Exo_34:23; Deu_16:1-17.
26. Ezion-geber.. Eloth] The two places were at the N. extremity of the gulf of Akaba.
28. Ophir] variously identified with the Indian coast (near the mouth of the Indus), the E. coast of Africa (Abyssinia or Somaliland), and S. Arabia. In favour of the latter is the fact that in Gen_10:29; Ophir is represented as the son of Joktan, the ancestor of several Arabian tribes. Four hundred and twenty talents] For the weight of a talent see Gen_9:14.
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 5. Jehovah Appears unto Solomon and the Greatness of…
5. Jehovah Appears unto Solomon and the Greatness of the King
CHAPTER 9
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1. The second appearance of the LORD to Solomon (1Ki 9:1-9)
2. Transactions with Hiram (1Ki 9:10-14)
3. The levy of the king (1Ki 9:15-23)
4. Pharaoh’s daughter occupies the house (1Ki 9:24)
5. The king’s offerings (1Ki 9:25)
6. Solomon’s navy (1Ki 9:26-28)
Jehovah’s righteous government in the midst of His people Israel had now been established. This government was given and entrusted to Solomon the son of David, so that, in a sense, Solomon occupied the throne of the Lord. All depended upon the faithfulness of Solomon. Therefore the LORD appeared unto him the second time, not to say once more: “Ask what I shall give thee,” but to assure him that He would keep His promise made to David and if he would be faithful his throne would be established. Then He warns against disobedience. If he serves other gods, Israel was to be cut off from the land and the house would be forsaken. How all this came to pass, Solomon’s idolatry, disobedience, the subsequent shameful history of Israel’s apostasy, we shall soon have to follow. Then God used Nebuchadnezzar to carry out the judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple. Another son of David will receive some day the throne and the government will rest in His hands. In Him all will be accomplished which the prophets have spoken and which was foreshadowed in Solomon.
The transaction with Hiram is interesting. Besides furnishing Solomon with timber he also gave him gold; this amounted to 120 talents of gold. Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in Galilee. When he came to look at them, he was displeased with them and called them Cabul, which probably means “as nothing.” These cities may have been given to King Hiram for the gold Solomon had received from him. The cities were later restored to Solomon by Hiram, most likely after Solomon had paid back the gold Hiram had furnished.
The activity of the great King in building fortresses and cities is described in this chapter. Hazor became under him a stronghold in defence of Syria. The plain of Jezreel had for a protection Megiddo. Gezer and Baalath were other strongholds. Tadmor is Palmyra, called so by the Greeks and Romans, while it is called still today Tadmor. In this chapter (verse 18) the name is given in Hebrew as “Tamar”; in 2Ch 8:4 it is “Tadmor.” Tamor means “palm tree,” the same as Palmyra. Chronicles uses Tadmor because it was known by that name after the exile.
And Solomon had a fleet of ships, manned mostly by the experienced shipmen of King Hiram. Another fleet is mentioned in 10:22, a navy of Tharshish, which, with Hiram’s navy, sailed every three years to fetch gold, silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. Ophir has been variously located. Peru, the Molucca Islands, Armenia, Arabia and parts of Africa have been suggested. All these statements show the great prosperity of the kingdom.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain The Lord’s Answer to Solomon’s Prayer
The Lord’s Answer to Solomon’s Prayer
v. 1. And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the Lord, which occupied seven years, and the king’s house, his own palace, which occupied thirteen years, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, such public works as he undertook in various parts of his dominions,
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v. 2. that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon, 1Ki 3:5.
v. 3. And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication that thou hast made before Me, at the dedication of the Temple. I have hallowed this house which Thou hast built to put My name there forever; by filling the Temple with the cloud of His gracious presence He assured Solomon and all Israel of His merciful assistance; and Mine eyes and Mine heart shall be there perpetually, His eyes, to watch over His chosen people, also against their enemies, and His heart in sincere love and solicitude for their welfare.
v. 4. And if thou wilt walk before Me as David, thy father, walked, in his entire conduct, in integrity of heart, in true piety, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep My statutes and My judgments, both the precepts concerning Israel alone and those pertaining to mankind in general,
v. 5. then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel forever, as I promised to David, thy father, 2Sa 7:12, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
v. 6. But if ye shall at all turn from following Me, ye or your children, for this matter concerned not only the reigning family, but the entire nation, and will not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them,
v. 7. then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them, eradicate, utterly destroy them; and this house, which I have hallowed for My name, will I cast out of My sight, reject it as a sanctuary of Jehovah; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people;
v. 8. and at this house, which is high, a very conspicuous object to all passers-by, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss, in mockery and derision; and they shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land and to this house?
v. 9. And they shall answer, Because they forsook the Lord, their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshiped them, and served them; therefore hath the Lord brought upon them all this evil. The threat is identical with that of Deu 28:37-45. Cf Lev 26:14; Jos 23:16. Even the believers, who serve the Lord with gladness, are in need of continual admonition to remain in faith and in obedience, lest they be tempted to unfaithfulness and fall.
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
translationWords
Solomon
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house
Yahweh
king
palace
Gibeon
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.