| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
1 Kings Chapter
Five
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO 1 KINGS 5
This
chapter relates Solomon's preparation for building the temple: on Hiram, king
of Tyre, sending a congratulatory letter to him, he returned another to him,
signifying his intention to build an house for God, and requesting him to
supply him with timber, and men to work it, 1 Kings 5:1; to
which Hiram readily agreed, and sent him cedar and fir, and Solomon in return
sent him food for his household; and things went on very amicably between them,
1 Kings 5:7; the
chapter concludes with an account of Solomon's workmen, where, how, and in what
they were employed, 1 Kings 5:13.
1 Kings 5:1 Now
Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had
anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.
YLT
1And Hiram king of Tyre
sendeth his servants unto Solomon, for he heard that they had anointed him for
king instead of his father, for Hiram was a lover of David all the days;
And Hiram king of Tyre sent servants unto Solomon,.... His
ambassadors, to condole him on the death of his father, and congratulate him on
his accession to the throne; this king is called by the Phoenician historiansF19Apud
Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 17, 18. Hirom, and by EupolemusF20Apud
Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 33, 34. Suron, as he is Huram in 2 Chronicles 2:3;
and by Theophilus of AntiochF21Ad Antolyc. l. 3. p. 131, 132. Hierom
the son of Abelmalus, in the twelfth year of whose reign the temple was built:
for he had heard that they had anointed him, king in the room of
his father; that the Israelites had anointed him king:
for Hiram was ever a lover of David; a friend and ally of
his; and we never read of the Tyrians being at war with him, or assisting any
of his enemies.
1 Kings 5:2 2 Then Solomon sent to
Hiram, saying:
YLT
2and Solomon sendeth unto
Hiram, saying,
And Solomon sent to Hiram,.... A letter, either by
the hand of his ambassadors when they returned, as Kimchi thinks, or by
ambassadors Solomon sent on purpose. JosephusF23Antiqu. l. 8. c. 2.
sect. 8. appeals to the Tyrian archives for the genuineness of these letters
that passed between Hiram and Solomon; and Eupolemus, an Heathen writerF24Ut
Supra. (Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 32,34.) has both this which
Solomon sent to Hiram, and that which Hiram sent in answer to it, which agree
with those in the sacred records:
saying: as follows.
1 Kings 5:3 3 You know how my father
David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God
because of the wars which were fought against him on every side, until the Lord put his
foes[a] under the
soles of his feet.
YLT
3`Thou hast known David my
father, that he hath not been able to build a house to the name of Jehovah his
God, because of the wars that have been round about him, till Jehovah's putting
them under the soles of his feet.
Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house
unto the name of the Lord his God,.... As he designed, and
was desirous of; and which Hiram might know not only by common fame, but from
David himself, between whom there was an intercourse, and that in relation to
cedars for building, which David had of Hiram, 2 Chronicles 2:3;
for the wars which were about him on every side; or warriors,
as the Targum, the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, and Syrians:
until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet; made them
subject and tributary to him, as he did at length, see 2 Samuel 7:1,
&c. so the "Cetib", or textual reading, is; but the
"Keri", or marginal reading, is, "under the soles of my
feet"; that is, Solomon's, which agrees with what follows; it was true of
both.
1 Kings 5:4 4 But now the Lord my God has
given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor evil
occurrence.
YLT
4`And now, Jehovah my God
hath given rest to me round about, there is no adversary nor evil occurrence,
But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side,.... From
foreign enemies; for Solomon had no wars with any:
so that there is neither
adversary; or Satan, no internal enemy in his kingdom, as well as no
external ones, Adonijah, Joab, and other ill-designing persons, being cut off:
nor evil occurrent; nothing that rose up, and met him, to
discourage or hinder the prosecution of the good work he had in view.
1 Kings 5:5 5 And behold, I propose to
build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to my
father David, saying, “Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place,
he shall build the house for My name.”
YLT
5and lo, I am saying to
build a house to the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spake unto David my
father, saying, Thy son whom I appoint in thy stead on thy throne, he doth
build the house for My name.
And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord
my God,.... For his worship, and for his honour and glory:
as the Lord spake unto David my father; by the
prophet Nathan, 2 Samuel 7:12;
saying, thy son whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he
shall build an house unto my name; which was no small
encouragement to Solomon to go about this work; in which he was a type of
Christ, the builder of his temple, the church, see Zechariah 6:12.
1 Kings 5:6 6 Now therefore, command
that they cut down cedars for me from Lebanon; and my servants will be with
your servants, and I will pay you wages for your servants according to whatever
you say. For you know there is none among us who has skill to cut timber
like the Sidonians.
YLT
6`And now, command, and they
cut down for me cedars out of Lebanon, and my servants are with thy servants,
and the hire of thy servants I give to thee according to all that thou sayest,
for thou hast known that there is not among us a man acquainted with cutting
wood, like the Sidonians.'
Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedars out of Lebanon,.... That is,
order his servants to cut them down there for him. Some think that Lebanon
belonged to the land of Israel, and therefore Solomon did not ask for the
cedars upon it, but for his servants to hew them for him; but as it lay upon
the borders of Israel, part of it might belong to them, and another part to
Hiram, and on which the best cedars might grow, and so he furnished Solomon
both with trees, and men to cut them, as it seems from 1 Kings 5:10; see
also 2 Chronicles 2:3;
and my servants shall be with thy servants: to assist
them, and to carry the timber from place to place, and to learn how to hew
timber:
and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants, according to all
that thou shalt appoint; pay them for their work and service, as Hiram himself should
judge fit and reasonable for them; no mention being made of paying for the
timber, seems to countenance the notion that the trees were Solomon's; but when
the quantity of provisions sent yearly to Hiram for his household, besides what
the servants had, is observed, it seems to have been sent as an equivalent to
the timber received by Solomon, see 1 Kings 5:10;
for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to
hew timber like unto the Sidonians; it is not said Tyrians,
the Sidonians, perhaps, being more skilful in this than they were; and the
Sidonians are said by HomerF25Iliad. 23. ver. 743. to be πολυδαιδαλοι, very ingenious:
and they were both under the jurisdiction and at the command of Hiram; so
EupolemusF26Ut supra. (Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 32,
34.) makes the inscription of Solomon's letter to him to run thus, to Suron (that
is, Hiram) king of Tyre, Sidon, and Phoenicia. The Jews being chiefly employed
in husbandry, and in feeding cattle, were very unskilful in mechanic arts, and
in this of cutting down trees, and hewing timber; for there is skill to be
exercised therein; the proper time of cutting down trees should be observed,
the part in which they are to be cut, and the position in which they are to be
put when cut down, as VitruviusF1De Architectura, l. 2. c. 9.
directs, with other things, and PlinyF2Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 39.
observes the same.
1 Kings 5:7 7 So it was, when Hiram
heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly and said, Blessed be
the Lord
this day, for He has given David a wise son over this great people!
YLT
7And it cometh to pass at
Hiram's hearing the words of Solomon, that he rejoiceth exceedingly, and saith,
`Blessed [is] Jehovah to-day, who hath given to David a wise son over this
numerous people.'
And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon,.... The
letter read he sent him:
that he rejoiced greatly; that the friendship
which had subsisted between him and David was like to be continued between him
and his successor, but chiefly for what follows:
saying, blessed be the Lord this day; or Jehovah,
by which he seems to have some knowledge of the true God, the God of Israel,
and might worship him, though along with him other deities, as some Heathen
princes did:
which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people; which he
perceived by the letter he sent him, and by his solicitous concern to build an
house for the worship and honour of God, and by various other things which his
ambassadors reported to him they had seen and heard in Solomon's court.
1 Kings 5:8 8 Then Hiram sent to
Solomon, saying: I have considered the message which you sent me, and
I will do all you desire concerning the cedar and cypress logs.
YLT
8And Hiram sendeth unto
Solomon, saying, I have heard that which thou hast sent unto me, I do all thy
desire concerning cedar-wood, and fir-wood,
And Hiram sent to Solomon,.... A letter to him, to
the following purpose:
saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for; whether he
could, and whether it was fitting he should grant his request; which was acting
like a wise and prudent prince:
and I will do all thy desire
concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir; or of
cypress, as in Josephus's copy of this letter, and which grew on LebanonF3Diodor.
Sic. l. 19. p. 700. ; these were odorous, sound, and durable timber, especially
the cedar, and therefore chosen by Solomon for building.
1 Kings 5:9 9 My servants shall bring them
down from Lebanon to the sea; I will float them in rafts by sea to the place
you indicate to me, and will have them broken apart there; then you can take them
away. And you shall fulfill my desire by giving food for my household.
YLT
9my servants bring down from
Lebanon to the sea, and I make them floats in the sea unto the place that thou
sendest unto me, and I have spread them out there; and thou dost take [them]
up, and thou dost execute my desire, to give the food of my house.'
My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea,.... The
Mediterranean sea, on which Tyre stood:
and I will convey them by sea in floats; which were
either a sort of carriage for the timber the Tyrians and Sidonians had, being
furnished with various navigable vessels; or these were the timber itself, and
the planks of it, which being fastened together, were set afloat under the
direction of some boats with oars, of which they had plenty:
unto the place that thou shalt appoint me; which was
Joppa, as appears from 2 Chronicles 2:16;
belonging to the land of Israel, in the same sea:
and will cause them to be discharged there; either to be
unloaded from the vessels, or to be unloosed and taken up separately:
and thou shalt receive them; by his servants
appointed there to bring them to Jerusalem, which was forty miles from Joppa:
and thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my
household; signifying, that all that he desired in return was, that he
would supply him with corn or wheat, which he stood in need of, and his letter
in JosephusF4Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 2. sect. 8.) expresses; and
we find in later times this place was supplied with bread corn from Judea, see Ezra 3:7 Acts 12:20.
1 Kings 5:10 10 Then Hiram gave Solomon
cedar and cypress logs according to all his desire.
YLT
10And Hiram is giving to
Solomon cedar-trees, and fir-trees, all his desire,
So Hiram, gave Solomon cedar trees, and fir trees,.... Ordered
his servants to cut them down from Lebanon, and sent them to him in floats,
which he received:
according to all his desire; he had as
many as he requested, and what he wanted.
1 Kings 5:11 11 And Solomon gave Hiram
twenty thousand kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty[b] kors of
pressed oil. Thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year.
YLT
11and Solomon hath given to
Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat, food for his house, and twenty cors of
beaten oil; thus doth Solomon give to Hiram year by year.
And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for
food to his household,.... This measure was the Hebrew measure "cor", or
"corus", and, according to Bishop CumberlandF5Scripture
Weights and Measures, c. 3. p. 86. , its contents were 17,477 solid inches; it
was equal to ten ephahs, each of which held two gallons and an half, and the
cor held seventy five wine gallons five pints, and somewhat more; according to
someF6Vid. Scheuchzer. Physic. Sacr. p. 517. , what it held was
equal to six hundred forty eight Roman pounds; so that twenty thousand of them
contained 12,960,000 pounds of wheat:
and twenty measures of pure oil; squeezed out of the
olives without breaking them; the same kind of measure is here expressed as
before, and the quantity answered to 12,960 Roman pounds; another writerF7Van
Till in Cantic. Mosis, p. 54. reckons a cor to contain 1080 Roman pounds; so
that Hiram had every year 21,600 pounds of oil. In 2 Chronicles 2:10,
it is twenty thousand baths of oil now not to take notice that the measures are
different, a bath was but the tenth part of a cor, reference is had to
different things; here the writer relates what was given to Hiram for his own
family, there what was given to the workmen, where several other things are
mentioned besides these:
thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year: so long as
the building lasted, and the workmen were employed; but Abarbinel thinks that
he gave it to him as long as he lived, out of his great munificence and liberality.
1 Kings 5:12 12 So the Lord gave Solomon
wisdom, as He had promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon,
and the two of them made a treaty together.
YLT
12And Jehovah hath given
wisdom to Solomon as He spake to him, and there is peace between Hiram and
Solomon, and they make a covenant both of them.
And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him,.... Which,
among other things, appeared in his preparations for building the temple, and
in his agreements with Hiram for timber and workmen for that purpose and by
continuing and confirming friendship between himself and Hiram, who was so
serviceable to him:
and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they two made a
league together; in order to continue and establish peace and friendship between
them, which Solomon might lawfully do, the Tyrians being no part of the seven
nations with whom alliances were forbidden.
1 Kings 5:13 13 Then King Solomon raised
up a labor force out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand
men.
YLT
13And king Solomon lifteth up
a tribute out of all Israel, and the tribute is thirty thousand men,
And King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel,.... Not of
money, but of men, as follows:
and the levy was thirty thousand men; for what
purpose, and how they were employed, 1 Kings 5:14 shows.
1 Kings 5:14 14 And he sent them to
Lebanon, ten thousand a month in shifts: they were one month in Lebanon and
two months at home; Adoniram was in charge of the labor force.
YLT
14and he sendeth them to
Lebanon, ten thousand a month, by changes, a month they are in Lebanon, two
months in their own house; and Adoniram [is] over the tribute.
And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses,.... In their
turns; these are the servants of his he proposed to be with Hiram's servants,
assisting in cutting down the trees, and squaring the timber in Lebanon, 1 Kings 5:6;
a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; that they
might not be overworked; for they wrought but four months in the year in the
hard service in Lebanon, the rest of their time was spent in managing their
domestic affairs; these were Israelites:
and Adoniram was over the levy: the same that
was over the tribute or the collectors of the tax, 1 Kings 4:6; and,
according to the Targum, these were such persons.
1 Kings 5:15 15 Solomon had seventy
thousand who carried burdens, and eighty thousand who quarried stone in
the mountains,
YLT
15And king Solomon hath
seventy thousand bearing burdens, and eighty thousand hewing in the mountain,
And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens,.... Seventy
thousand to carry the stones from the mountains out of which they were dug, and
which were near Jerusalem, to the city; these were strangers in Israel, as were
those that follow:
and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains: eighty
thousand that dug the stones out of the quarries, and squared them; these, with
the others, made 150,000, see 2 Chronicles 2:17;
according to Jacob LeonF7Relation of Memorable Things in the Temple,
ch. 3. p. 14. , the number of workmen at the temple for seven years was
163,600, and some make them more.
1 Kings 5:16 16 besides three thousand
three hundred[c] from the
chiefs of Solomon’s deputies, who supervised the people who labored in the
work.
YLT
16apart from the heads of the
officers of Solomon, who [are] over the work, three thousand and three hundred,
those ruling over the people who are working in the business.
Besides the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the
work,.... Over the whole work, preparatory for the building of the
temple; though it seems chiefly to have respect to that of hewing the stones,
and bringing them to the city:
three thousand and three hundred which ruled over the people that
wrought in the work; to keep them to their work, and to see that they performed it
well: in 2 Chronicles 2:18;
they are said to be 3600, which is three hundred more than here; those three
hundred are the chief officers mentioned in the former part of this verse,
which were over the whole work, and even over the 3600 overseers, and with them
made up the sum of 3600; so Jacob LeonF8Relation of Memorable Things
in the Temple, ch. 3. p. 14. observes there were 3300 master workmen, and three
hundred commanders over them all.
1 Kings 5:17 17 And the king commanded
them to quarry large stones, costly stones, and hewn stones, to lay the
foundation of the temple.[d]
YLT
17And the king commandeth,
and they bring great stones, precious stone, to lay the foundation of the
house, hewn stones;
And the king commanded, and they brought great stones,.... Not in
quality, but in quantity, large stones, fit to lay in the foundation; strong,
and durable against all the injuries of time, as Josephus saysF9Antiqu.
l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2. :
costly stones; not what are commonly called precious
stones, as gems, pearls, &c. but stones of value, as marble, porphyry,
&c.
and hewed stones; not rough as
they were taken out of the quarry, but hewed, and made smooth:
to lay the foundation of the house; which, though out of
sight, was to be laid with goodly stones for the magnificence of the building;
so the church of Christ, its foundation is said to be laid even with sapphires
and other precious stones, see Isaiah 54:11.
1 Kings 5:18 18 So Solomon’s builders,
Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared
timber and stones to build the temple.
YLT
18and the builders of
Solomon, and the builders of Hiram, and the Giblites hew, and prepare the wood
and the stones to build the house.
And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them,.... The
stones; for it seems Solomon had not only hewers of wood, but of stone, from
Hiram:
and the stonesquarers; or rather the Giblites,
the men of Gebal, which were under the jurisdiction of Tyre, and were skilful
in this sort of work, as some of them were in others, see Ezekiel 27:9;
so they prepared timber and stones to build the house; both
Solomon's and Hiram's builders, and the large number of workmen, both
Israelites and strangers; which latter were an emblem of the Gentiles concerned
in the building of the spiritual temple, the church of Christ, Zechariah 6:15; and
whereas the number of strangers that wrought for the building was far greater
than that of the Israelites, it may denote the greater number of Gentiles in
the Gospel church state mentioned besides these: thus gave Solomon to Hiram
year by year: so long as the building lasted, and the workmen were employed;
but Abarbinel thinks that he gave it to him as long as he lived, out of his
great munificence and liberality.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)