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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)