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for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 1.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Hiram</span> (In vers. 10, 18, the name is spelled <span class="accented">Hirom</span> (<span class="hebrew">חִירום</span>), whilst in Chronicles, with one exception (<a href="/1_chronicles/14-1.htm">1 Chronicles 14:1</a>, where the <span class="accented">Keri</span>, however, follows the prevailing usage), the name appears as <span class="accented">Huram</span> (<span class="hebrew">חוּרָם</span>). In Josephus it is <span class="greek">Αἰρωμος</span>. This prince and his friendly relations with the Jews are referred to by the Tyrian historians, of whose materials the Greek writers Dins and Menander of Ephesus (<span class="accented">temp.</span> Alexander the Great) availed themselves. According to Dins (quoted by Josephus contr. Apion, 1:17) Hiram was the son of Abibaal. Menander states that the building of the temple was commenced in the twelfth year of Hiram's reign, which lasted 34 years (Jos. Ant. 8:03.1; Contr. Ap. 1:18). Hiram is further said to have married his daughter to Solomon and to have engaged with him in an intellectual encounter which took the shape of riddles] king of Tyre [Heb. <span class="hebrew">צור</span>, <span class="accented">rock</span>, so called because of the rocky island on which old Tyro was built, sometimes called <span class="hebrew">מִבְצַר לֺצר</span>, the fortress of, or fortified Tyro (<a href="/joshua/19-29.htm">Joshua 19:29</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/24-7.htm">2 Samuel 24:7</a>, etc.) The capital of Phoenicia. In earlier times, Sidon would seem to have been the more important town; hence the Canaanites who inhabited this region were generally called Zidonians, as in ver. 6] <span class="cmt_word">sent his servants</span> [<span class="accented">legatos</span>, Vatablus] <span class="cmt_word">unto Solomon</span> [The Vat. LXX. has here a strange reading, "To <span class="accented">anoint</span> Solomon," etc. The object of this embassy was evidently to recognize and congratulate the youthful king (the Syriac has a gloss, <span class="accented">"and he blessed him,"</span> which well represents one object of the embassy) and at the same time to make overtures of friendship. An alliance, or good understanding, with Israel was then, as at a later period (<a href="/acts/12-20.htm">Acts 12:20</a>) of great importance to them of Tyre and Sidon. Their narrow strip of seaboard furnished no corn lands, so that their country depended upon Israel for its nourishment]; <span class="cmt_word">for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of David his father</span> [<span class="accented">i.e.</span>, he had heard of the death of David and the accession of Solomon; possibly of the events narrated in chap. 1.]: <span class="cmt_word">for Hiram was ever</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">all the days</span>: <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, of their reigns; so long as they were contemporary sovereigns] <span class="cmt_word">a lover of David.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-2.htm">1 Kings 5:2</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 2.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Solomon sent to Hiram.</span> [According to Josephus (Ant. 8:02. 6), he wrote a letter, which together with Hiram's reply (ver. 8) was preserved among the public archives of Tyro. The account of <a href="/2_chronicles/2.htm">2 Chronicles 2</a>, which as a rule is more detailed than that of the Kings, begins here. It does not notice, that is to say, the prior embassy of the Phoenician king, as the object of the chronicler is merely to narrate the measures taken for the erection of the temple], <span class="cmt_word">saying</span> [The return embassy gave Solomon the opportunity to ask for the timber, etc., that he desired.] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-3.htm">1 Kings 5:3</a></div><div class="verse">Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 3.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house</span> [Hiram could not fail to know this, as his relations with David had been close and intimate. Not only had he "sent cedar trees and carpenters and masons" to build David's house (<a href="/2_samuel/5-11.htm">2 Samuel 5:11</a>), but "they of Tyro brought much cedar wood to David" (<a href="/1_chronicles/22-4.htm">1 Chronicles 22:4</a>) for the house of the Lord] <span class="cmt_word">unto the name of the Lord</span> [<span class="accented">i.e.</span>, to be dedicated to the Lord as His shrine and habitation (cf. <a href="/deuteronomy/12-5.htm">Deuteronomy 12:5, 11</a>; and ch. 8:18, 19, 20, etc.)] <span class="cmt_word">for the</span> wars [Heb., <span class="accented">war.</span> As we have singular noun and plural verb, Ewald, Rawlinson, <span class="accented">al.</span> assume that <span class="accented">war</span> stands for <span class="accented">adversaries</span>, as the next clause seems to imply. Bahr and Keil, however, with greater reason, interpret, "for the war with which they surrounded him;" a construction (<span class="hebrew">סָבַב</span> with double accusative) which is justified by <a href="/psalms/109-3.htm">Psalm 109:3</a>] <span class="cmt_word">until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet</span> [until, <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, He trampled them down. The same image is found in some of David's psalms, <span class="accented">e.g.</span>, <a href="/psalms/7-5.htm">Psalm 7:5</a>; <a href="/psalms/60-12.htm">Psalm 60:12</a>; cf. <a href="/psalms/8-6.htm">Psalm 8:6</a>; <a href="/psalms/91-13.htm">Psalm 91:13</a>; <a href="/isaiah/63-3.htm">Isaiah 63:3</a>; <a href="/romans/16-20.htm">Romans 16:20</a>; <a href="/ephesians/1-22.htm">Ephesians 1:22</a>; <a href="/hebrews/2-8.htm">Hebrews 2:8</a>.] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-4.htm">1 Kings 5:4</a></div><div class="verse">But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, <i>so that there is</i> neither adversary nor evil occurrent.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 4.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">But now the Lord my God hath given me rest</span> [In fulfilment of the promise of <a href="/1_chronicles/22-9.htm">1 Chronicles 22:9</a>. David had had a brief rest (<a href="/2_samuel/7-1.htm">2 Samuel 7:1</a>), Solomon's was permanent. He was "a man of rest"] <span class="cmt_word">on every side</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">round about</span>, same word as in ver. 3, and in <a href="/1_chronicles/22-9.htm">1 Chronicles 22:9</a>], <span class="cmt_word">so that there is neither adversary</span> [Hadad and Rezon, of whom this word is used (<a href="/1_kings/11-14.htm">1 Kings 11:14, 23</a>), apparently belonged to a somewhat later period of his reign] nor evil occurrent [Rather, "occurrence," or "plague" (<span class="hebrew">פֶגֵע</span>), <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, "rebellion, famine, pestilence, or other suffering" (Bahr). David had had many such "occurrences" (<a href="/2_samuel/15-14.htm">2 Samuel 15:14</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/20-1.htm">2 Samuel 20:1</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/21-1.htm">2 Samuel 21:1</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/24-15.htm">2 Samuel 24:15</a>).] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-5.htm">1 Kings 5:5</a></div><div class="verse">And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 5.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And, behold, I purpose</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">behold me saying</span> (<span class="hebrew">אָמַר</span>, with infin, expresses purpose. Cf. <a href="/exodus/2-14.htm">Exodus 2:14</a>; <a href="/2_samuel/21-16.htm">2 Samuel 21:16</a>)] <span class="cmt_word">to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying</span> [<a href="/2_samuel/7-12.htm">2 Samuel 7:12, 13</a>. He thus gives Hiram to understand that he is carrying out his father's plans, and plans which had the Divine sanction, and that this is no fanciful project of a young prince], <span class="cmt_word">Thy son whom I will set upon thy throne in thy</span> <span class="cmt_word">room, he shall build an</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">the</span>] <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>house unto my name.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-6.htm">1 Kings 5:6</a></div><div class="verse">Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that <i>there is</i> not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 6.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">the</span> Lebanon, <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, the White (<span class="accented">so.</span> mountain). "It is the <span class="accented">Merit Blanc</span> of Palestine" (Porter); but whether it is so called because of its summits of snow or because of the colour of its limestone is uncertain. Practically, the cedars are now found in one place only, though Ehrenberg is said to have found them in considerable numbers to the north of the road between Baalbek and Tripoli. "At the head of Wady Kadisha there is a vast recess in the central ridge of Lebanon, some eight miles in diameter. Above it rise the loftiest summits in Syria, streaked with perpetual snow... In the very centre of this recess, on a little irregular knoll, stands the clump of cedars" (<span class="accented">Ibid.</span>, Handbook, 2 p. 584), over 6,000 feet above the level of the sea. It would seem as if that part of Lebanon where the cedars grew belonged to Hiram's dominion. "The northern frontier of Canaan did not reach as far as Bjerrsh" (Keil), where the cedar grove is now. The idea of some older writers that the cedars belonged to Solomon, and that he only asked Hiram for artificers ("that they <span class="accented">hew</span> me cedar trees," etc.) is negatived by ver. 10. It is true that "all Lebanon" was given to Israel (<a href="/joshua/13-5.htm">Joshua 13:5</a>), but they did not take it. They did not drive out the Zidonians (ver. 6; <a href="/judges/1-31.htm">Judges 1:31</a>) or possess" the land of the Giblites" (ver. 5; <a href="/judges/3-3.htm">Judges 3:3</a>). It should be stated here, however, that the cedar of Scripture probably included other varieties than that which now, alone bears the name (see on ver. 8)], <span class="cmt_word">and my servants shall be with Shy servants</span> [<span class="accented">i.e.</span>, sharing and lightening the work]: <span class="cmt_word">and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants</span> [Solomon engaged to pay and did pay both Hiram and his subjects for the services of the latter, and he paid both in kind. See below, on ver. 11] <span class="cmt_word">according to all that thou shalt appoint</span> [This would seem to have been 20,000 measures of wheat and 20 measures of pure oil annually, ver. 11]: <span class="cmt_word">for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">knoweth</span>, same word as before] <span class="cmt_word">to hew timber like unto the Zidonlans</span> [<span class="accented">Propter vicina nemora.</span> Grotius, <span class="accented">Sidou</span> (Heb. <span class="hebrew">צִידון</span>), means "fishing." See note on ver. 18. By profane, as well as sacred writers, the Phoenicians are often described by the name Zidonians, no doubt for the reason mentioned in the note on ver. 1. See Homer, Iliad 6:290; 23. 743; Odys. 4:84, 618; 17:4.24. Cf. Virg. AEn. 1. 677, 678; 4:545, etc. <a href="/genesis/10-15.htm">Genesis 10:15</a>; <a href="/judges/1-31.htm">Judges 1:31</a>; <a href="/judges/3-3.htm">Judges 3:3</a>; <a href="/1_kings/11-1.htm">1 Kings 11:1, 33</a>, etc. "The mechanical skill of the Phoenicians generally, and of the Zidonians in particular, is noticed by many ancient writers," Rawlinson, who cites instances in his note. But what deserves especial notice here is the fact that the Zidonians constructed their houses of <span class="accented">wood</span>, and were celebrated from the earliest times as skilful builders. The fleets which the Phoenicians constructed for purposes of commerce would ensure them a supply of clever workmen. Wordsworth aptly remarks on the part the heathen thus took in rearing a temple for the God of Jacob. Cf. <a href="/isaiah/60-10.htm">Isaiah 60:10, 13</a>.] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-7.htm">1 Kings 5:7</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed <i>be</i> the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 7.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And It came to pass, when Hiram</span> <span class="cmt_word">heard the words of Solomon</span> [reported by his ambassadors], <span class="cmt_word">that he rejoiced greatly</span> [see note on ver. 1. The continuance of the <span class="accented">entente cordiale</span> was ensured], <span class="cmt_word">and said, Blessed be the Lord</span> [In <a href="/2_chronicles/2-12.htm">2 Chronicles 2:12</a>, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel that made heaven and earth." We are not warranted by the expression of the text in concluding that Hiram believed in the exclusive divinity of the God of Israel, or "identified Jehovah with Melkarth his god" (Rawlinson), much less that he was proselyte to the faith of David and Solomon. All that is certain is that he believed the Jehovah as God was quite compatible with the retention of a firm faith in Baa1 and Astarte. It is also possible that he here adopts a language which he knew would be acceptable to Solomon, or the historian may have given us his thoughts in a Hebrew dread It is noticeable that the LXX. has simply <span class="greek">εὐλογητὸς ὁ θεὸς</span>] <span class="cmt_word">which hath given unto David a wise son</span> [Compare <a href="/1_kings/1-48.htm">1 Kings 1:48</a>; <a href="/1_kings/2-9.htm">1 Kings 2:9</a>. The proof of wisdom lay in Solomon's fulfilling his wise father's purposes, and in his care for the worship of God. "Wise," however, is not used here in the sense of "pious," as Bahr affirms. In Hiram's lips the word meant discreet, sagacious. He would hardly recognize the fear of the Lord as the beginning of wisdom] <span class="cmt_word">over this great people.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-8.htm">1 Kings 5:8</a></div><div class="verse">And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: <i>and</i> I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 8.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Hiram sent to Solomon</span> [in writing, <a href="/2_chronicles/2-11.htm">2 Chronicles 2:11</a>. It is instructive to remember in connexion with this fact that, according to the universal belief of antiquity, the use of letters, <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, the art of writing, was communicated to the Greeks by the Phoenicians. Gesenius, indeed, holds that the <span class="accented">invention</span> of letters is also due to them. See the interesting remarks of Mr. Twisleton, Dict. Bib. 2. pp. 866-868], <span class="cmt_word">saying</span>, <span class="cmt_word">I have considered the things which thou sentest unto me for</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">heard the things</span> (<span class="accented">i.e.</span>, message) <span class="accented">which thou sentest unto</span> me]: <span class="cmt_word">and I will do all thy desire concerning</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">in, i.e.</span>, as to] timber [or <span class="accented">trees</span>] of cedar [Heb. <span class="accented">cedars</span>] <span class="accented">and timber of fir</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">trees of cypresses.</span> This is, perhaps, the proper place to inquire what. trees are intended by the words <span class="hebrew">אֶרֶז</span>, and <span class="hebrew">בְּרושׁ</span>, here respectively translated" cedar" and "fir." As to the first, it is impossible to restrict the word to the one species (<span class="accented">Pinus cedrus or Cedrus Libani</span>) which is now known as the cedar of Lebanon, or, indeed, to <span class="accented">any</span> single plant. That the <span class="accented">Cedrus Libani</span>, one of the most magnificent of trees, is meant in such passages as <a href="/ezekiel/31.htm">Ezekiel 31</a>, <a href="/psalms/92-12.htm">Psalm 92:12</a>, etc., admits of no manner of doubt. It is equally clear, however, that in other passages the term "cedar" must refer to some other tree. In <a href="/numbers/19-6.htm">Numbers 19:6</a>, and <a href="/leviticus/14-6.htm">Leviticus 14:6</a>, <span class="accented">e.g., the juniper</span> would seem to be meant. "The cedar could not have been procured in the desert without great difficulty, but the juniper (<span class="accented">Juniperus oxycedrus</span>) is most plentiful there." (The "cedar" of our pencils, it may be remarked, is a kind of juniper - <span class="accented">Juniperus Bermudiana.</span>) In <a href="/ezekiel/27-5.htm">Ezekiel 27:5</a>, "they have taken cedars of Lebanon to make <span class="accented">masts</span> for thee," it is probable that the <span class="accented">Pinus</span> <span class="accented">Halepensis</span>, not, as was formerly thought, the Scotch fir (<span class="accented">Pinus sylvestris</span>), is intended. The <span class="accented">Cedrus Libani</span> appears to be indifferently adapted to any such purpose, for which, however, the <span class="accented">Pinus Halepensis <span class="cmt_word"></span>is</span> eminently fitted. But in the text, as throughout ch. 5-8, the reference, it can hardly be doubted, is to the <span class="accented">Cedrus Libani.</span> It is true the wood of this species is neither beautiful nor remarkably durable. Dr. Lindley calls it the "worthless, though magnificent cedar," but the former adjective, however true it may be of English-grown cedar, cannot justly be applied to the tree of the Lebanon mountain. The writer has some wood in his possession, brought by him from the Lebanon, and though it has neither fragrance nor veining, it is unmistakably a hard and resinous wood. And it should be remembered that it was only employed by Solomon in the <span class="accented">interior</span> of the temple, and was there, for the most part, overlaid with gold, and that the climate of Palestine is much less destructive than our own. There seems to be no sufficient reason, therefore, for rejecting the traditional and till recently universal belief that the <span class="accented">Cedrus Libani</span> was the timber chosen for the temple use. Mr. Houghton, in Smith's Dict. Bib., vol. 3. App. A. p. 40, who speaks of it "as being <span class="greek">κατ ἐξοχὴν</span>, <span class="accented">the</span> firmest and grandest of the conifers," says at the same time that "it has no particular quality to recommend it for building purposes; it was probably therefore not very extensively used in the construction of the temple." But no other tree can be suggested which better suits the conditions of the sacred narrative. The <span class="accented">deodara</span>, which has found favour with some writers, it is now positively stated, does not grow near the Lebanon. It may be added that, under the name of <span class="accented">Eres, the</span> yew was probably included. The timber used in the palaces of Nineveh, which was long believed to be cedar, is now proved to be yew (Dict. Bib., art. "Cedar"). However it is certain that <span class="hebrew">אֶרֶז</span> is a <span class="accented">nomen generale</span> which includes, at any rate, the pine, the cedar, and the juniper, in confirmation of which it may be mentioned that at the present day, "the name <span class="accented">arz is</span> applied by the Arabs to all three" (Royle, in Kitto's Cyclop., art. "Eres"). The Grove of Cedars now numbers about 450 trees, great and small. Of these about a dozen are of prodigious size and considerable antiquity, possibly carrying us back (as the natives think) to the time of Solomon. Their precise age, however, can only be a matter of conjecture. The identification of the "fir" is even more precarious than that of the cedar. Celsius would see in this the true cedar of Lebanon. Others identify it with the juniper (<span class="accented">Juniperus excelsa</span>) or with the <span class="accented">Pinus Halepensis</span>, but most writers (among whom are Keil and Bahr) believe the evergreen cypress (<span class="accented">Cupressus sempervirens</span>) to be intended. Very probably the name <span class="accented">Berosh</span> comprehended two or three different species, as the cypress, the juniper, and the savine. The first named grows even near the summits of the mountain. Bahr says it is inferior to cedar (but see above). According to Winer, it is well fitted for building purposes, as" it is not eaten by worms, and is almost imperishable and very light." It is certainly of a harder and closer grain, and more durable than the <span class="accented">Cedrus Libani.</span> It shows the brevity of our account that Solomon has not mentioned his desire for "fir" as well as" cedar." This is disclosed in Hiram's reply, and in the parallel passage of the chronicler. It is also to be noticed that in the text the request for <span class="accented">materials</span> is more prominently brought to view, while in Chronicles the petition is for <span class="accented">workmen.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-9.htm">1 Kings 5:9</a></div><div class="verse">My servants shall bring <i>them</i> down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive <i>them</i>: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 9.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">My servants shall bring them</span> [No word in the Hebrew; "Timber of Cedar," etc., must be supplied or understood from the preceding verse] <span class="cmt_word">down</span> [It is generally a steep descent from the cedar grove, and indeed all the Lebanon district, to the coast] <span class="cmt_word">from</span> <span class="cmt_word">Lebanon unto the sea</span> [This must have been a great undertaking. The cedars are ten hours distant from Tripoli, and the road must always have been a bad one. ("What a road it is for mortals. In some spots it seems to have been intended for mountain goats only ..... It winds up sublime glens, and zigzags up rocky acclivities, and passes over stone-strewn terraces," etc. (Porter, Handbook, p. 583.) To the writer it appeared to be the most rugged and dangerous road in Palestine. It is possible that the timber was collected and floated at Gebal (Biblus. See note on ver. 18). Beyrout, the present port of the Lebanon, is 27 hours distant <span class="accented">via Tripoli.</span> But cedars would then, no doubt, be found nearer the sea. And the ancients (as the stones of Baalbek, etc., prove) were not altogether deficient in mechanical appliances. The transport of cedars to the Mediterranean would be an easy undertaking compared with the carriage of them to Nineveh, and we know from the inscriptions that they were imported by the Assyrian kings] <span class="cmt_word">and I will convey them by se</span>a in floats [Heb. "<span class="accented">I</span> <span class="accented">will make</span> (or put) <span class="accented">them rafts in the sea."</span> This was the primitive, as it was the obvious, way, of conveying timber, among Greeks and Romans, as well as among Eastern races. The reader will probably have seen such rafts on the Rhine or other river] <span class="cmt_word">unto the place which</span> <span class="cmt_word">thou shalt appoint</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">send</span>] me [In <a href="/2_chronicles/2-16.htm">2 Chronicles 2:16</a>, Hiram assumes that this place will be Joppa, now Yafo, the port of Jerusalem, and 40 miles distant from the Holy City. The transport over these 40 miles, also of most rugged and trying road, must have involved, if possible, a still greater toil than that from Lebanon to the sea] <span class="cmt_word">and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">do</span>, same word as in ver. 8, and probably used designedly - "I will perform thy desire.., and thou shalt perform my desire." There shall be a strict <span class="accented">quid pro quo</span>] <span class="cmt_word">my desire, in giving food for my household</span> [Hiram states in his reply in what shape he would prefer the hire promised by Solomon (ver. 6). The food for the royal <span class="accented">household</span> must be carefully distinguished from the food given to the <span class="accented">workmen</span> (<a href="/2_chronicles/2-10.htm">2 Chronicles 2:10</a>). The fact that 20,000 ears of wheat formed a part of each has led to their being confounded (<span class="accented">e.g.</span> in the marginal references). It is noticeable that when the <span class="accented">second</span> temple was built, cedar wood was again brought to Jerusalem, <span class="accented">rid</span> Joppa, in return for "meat and drink and oil unto them of Zidon" (<a href="/ezra/3-7.htm">Ezra 3:7</a>). The selection of <span class="accented">food</span> as the hire of his servants by Hiram almost amounts to an undesigned coincidence. Their narrow strip of cornland, between the roots of Lebanon and the coast - Phoenicia proper ("the great plain of the city of Sidon," Josephus. Ant. 5:03, 1) is only 28 miles long, with an average breadth of one mile-compelled the importation of corn and oil. Ezekiel (Ezekiel 27:17) mentions wheat, honey, oil, and balm as exported from Palestine to the markets of Tyre. It has been justly remarked that the fact that Phoenicia was thus dependent upon Palestine for its breadstuffs explains the unbroken peace that prevailed between the two countries (Heeren. See Dict. Bib. if. p. 865). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-10.htm">1 Kings 5:10</a></div><div class="verse">So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees <i>according to</i> all his desire.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 10.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">So Hiram gave</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">kept giving, supplied</span>] <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>Solomon cedar trees and fir</span> [or cypress] <span class="cmt_word">trees, according to all his desire.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-11.htm">1 Kings 5:11</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat <i>for</i> food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 11.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And</span> <span class="cmt_word">Solomon gave Hiram</span> <span class="cmt_word">twenty thousand measures</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">cots.</span> See <a href="/1_kings/4-22.htm">1 Kings 4:22</a>] <span class="cmt_word">of wheat</span> for food [<span class="hebrew">מכלת</span> for <span class="hebrew">מאכלת</span>] <span class="cmt_word">to his household</span> [Rawlinson remarks that this was much less than Solomon's own consumption (<a href="/1_kings/4-22.htm">1 Kings 4:22</a>). But he did not undertake to feed Hiram's entire court, but merely to make an adequate return for the timber and labour he received. And the consumption of <span class="accented">fine flour in</span> Solomon's household was only about 11,000 cors <span class="accented">per annum</span>] <span class="accented"><span class="cmt_word"></span>and twenty measures of pure oil</span> [lit., <span class="accented">beaten oil, i.e.</span>, such as was obtained by pounding the olives, when not quite ripe, in a mortar. This was both of whiter colour and purer flavour, and also gave a clearer light, than that furnished by the ripe olives in the press. See the authorities quoted in Bahr's Symbolik, 1. p. 419]: <span class="cmt_word">thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year</span> [probably so long as the building lasted or timber was furnished. But the agreement may have been for a still longer period.] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-12.htm">1 Kings 5:12</a></div><div class="verse">And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 12.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And the Lord gave</span> [Can there be any reference to the repeated "gave" of the two preceding verses?] <span class="cmt_word">to Solomon wisdom, as he promised him</span> (<a href="/1_kings/3-12.htm">1 Kings 3:12</a>) <span class="cmt_word">and there was peace</span> [one fruit of the gift. Cf. <a href="/james/3-17.htm">James 3:17</a>] <span class="cmt_word">between Hiram and Solomon, and they two made a league together</span> [Heb. "cut a covenant." Cf. <span class="greek">ὅρκια τέμνειν</span>. Covenants were ratified by the slaughter of victims, between the parts of which the contracting parties passed (<a href="/genesis/15-18.htm">Genesis 15:18</a>; <a href="/jeremiah/34-8.htm">Jeremiah 34:8, 18, 19</a>). Similarly <span class="greek">σπονδή</span>, "libation," in the plural, means "league, truce," and <span class="greek">σπονδὰς τέμνειν</span> is found in classic Greek.] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-13.htm">1 Kings 5:13</a></div><div class="verse">And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 13.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And King Solomon raised a levy</span> [Marg., <span class="accented">tribute of men, i.e.</span>, conscription] out of all Israel [<span class="accented">i.e.</span>, the people, not the land - Ewald] and the levy was thirty thousand men. [That is, if we may trust the figures of the census given in <a href="/2_samuel/24-9.htm">2 Samuel 24:9</a> (which do not agree, however, with those of <a href="/1_chronicles/21-5.htm">1 Chronicles 21:5</a>), the conscription only affected one in <span class="accented">forty</span> of the male population. But even the lower estimate of Samuel is regarded with some suspicion. Such a levy was predicted (<a href="/1_samuel/8-16.htm">1 Samuel 8:16</a>). </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-14.htm">1 Kings 5:14</a></div><div class="verse">And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, <i>and</i> two months at home: and Adoniram <i>was</i> over the levy.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 14.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand a month, by courses</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">changes</span>]: <span class="cmt_word">a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home</span> [they had to serve, that is to say, four months out of the twelve - no very great hardship], <span class="cmt_word">and Adoniram</span> [see on 1 Kings 4:6; 12:18] <span class="cmt_word">was over the levy.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-15.htm">1 Kings 5:15</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 15.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains.</span> [These 150,000, destined for the more laborious and menial works, were not Israelites, but Canaanites. We learn from <a href="/2_chronicles/2-17.htm">2 Chronicles 2:17, 18</a> that "all the strangers that were in the land of Israel" were subjected to forced labour by Solomon - there were, that is to say, but 150,000 of them remaining. They occupied a very different position from that of the 30,000 Hebrews. None of the latter were reduced to bondage (<a href="/1_kings/9-22.htm">1 Kings 9:22</a>), while the former had long been employed in servile work. The Gibeonites were reduced to serfdom by Joshua (<a href="/joshua/9-27.htm">Joshua 9:27</a>), and the rest of the Canaanites as they were conquered (<a href="/joshua/6-10.htm">Joshua 6:10</a>; <a href="/joshua/17-13.htm">Joshua 17:13</a>; <a href="/judges/1-29.htm">Judges 1:29, 30</a>). In <a href="/1_chronicles/22-2.htm">1 Chronicles 22:2</a>, we find some of them employed on public works by David. By the "hewers" many commentators have supposed that stonecutters alone are intended (so Jos., Ant., 8:02.9) partly because stone is mentioned presently, and partly because <span class="hebrew">חָצַב</span> is mostly used of the quarrying or cutting of stone, as in <a href="/deuteronomy/6-11.htm">Deuteronomy 6:11</a>; <a href="/deuteronomy/8-9.htm">Deuteronomy 8:9</a>; <a href="/2_kings/12-12.htm">2 Kings 12:12</a>, etc. Gesenius understands the word both of stone and wood cutters. But is it not probable that the latter alone are indicated? That the word is sometimes used of woodcutting <a href="/isaiah/10-15.htm">Isaiah 10:15</a> shows. And the words, "<span class="accented">in</span> <span class="accented">the mountain"</span> (<span class="hebrew">בָּהָר</span>) almost compel us so to understand it here. "The mountain" must be Lebanon. But surely the <span class="accented">stone</span> was not transported, to any great extent, like the wood, so great a distance over land and sea, especially when it abounded on the spot. (The tradition that the stone was quarried at Baalbek is quite unworthy of credence. It has no doubt sprung from the huge stones found there. "The temple was built of the beautiful white stone of the country, the hard <span class="accented">missal"</span> (Warren, p. 60.) It is true the number of wood cutters would thus appear to be very great, but it is to be remembered how few comparatively were the appliances or machines of those days: almost everything must be done by manual labour. And Pliny tells us that no less than 360,000 men were employed for twenty years on one of the pyramids. It is possible, however, that the huge foundations mentioned below (ver. 17) were brought from Lebanon.] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-16.htm">1 Kings 5:16</a></div><div class="verse">Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which <i>were</i> over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 16.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">Beside</span> [without counting] <span class="cmt_word">the chief of Solomon's officers</span> [Heb. <span class="accented">the princes of the overseers, i.e.</span>, the princes who acted as overseers, <span class="accented">principes qui praefecti erant</span> (Vatabl.)] <span class="cmt_word">which were over the work three thousand and three hundred</span> [This large number proves that the "chiefs of the overseers" cannot be meant. Were all the 3,300 <span class="accented">superior</span> officers, there must have been quite an army of subalterns. But we read of none. In <a href="/1_kings/9-23.htm">1 Kings 9:23</a>, an additional number of 550 "princes of the overseers" (same expression) is mentioned, making a total of 3,850 superintendents, which agrees with the total stated in the Book of Chronicles. It is noteworthy, however, that the details differ from those of the Kings. In <a href="/2_chronicles/2-17.htm">2 Chronicles 2:17</a> we read of a body of 3,600 "overseers to set the people a work," whilst in <a href="/1_kings/8-10.htm">1 Kings 8:10</a> mention is made of 250 "princes of the overseers." These differences result, no doubt, from difference of classification and arrangement (J.H. Michaelis). In Chronicles the arrangement is one of <span class="accented">race, i.e.</span>, 3,600 aliens <span class="hebrew">גּרֵים</span>; cf. <a href="/2_chronicles/2-18.htm">2 Chronicles 2:18</a>) and 250 Israelites, whilst in Kings it is one of <span class="accented">status, i.e.</span>, 3,300 inferior and 550 superior officers. It follows consequently that all the inferior and 300 of the superior overseers were Canaanites] <span class="cmt_word">which ruled over the people</span> <span class="cmt_word">that wrought in the work.</span> </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-17.htm">1 Kings 5:17</a></div><div class="verse">And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, <i>and</i> hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 17.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And the king commanded and they brought</span> [or <span class="accented">cut out, quarried</span> (Gesen.), as in <a href="/ecclesiastes/10-9.htm">Ecclesiastes 10:9</a>; see also ch. 6:7 (Heb.) ] <span class="cmt_word">great stones, costly</span> [precious, not <span class="accented">heavy</span>, as Thenius. Cf. <a href="/psalms/36-8.htm">Psalm 36:8</a>; <a href="/psalms/45-9.htm">Psalm 45:9</a>; <a href="/esther/1-4.htm">Esther 1:4</a> in the Heb.], <span class="cmt_word">stones and</span> [omit <span class="accented">and.</span> The hewed stones <span class="accented">were the</span> great and costly stones] <span class="cmt_word">hewed stones</span> [or <span class="accented">squared</span> (<a href="/isaiah/9-10.htm">Isaiah 9:10</a>; cf. <a href="/1_kings/6-36.htm">1 Kings 6:36</a>; <a href="/1_kings/7-9.htm">1 Kings 7:9</a>; <a href="/1_kings/11-12.htm">1 Kings 11:12</a>). We learn from <a href="/1_kings/7-10.htm">1 Kings 7:10</a> that the stones of the foundation of the <span class="accented">palace</span> were squared to 8 cubits and 10 cubits] <span class="cmt_word">to lay the foundation of the house.</span> [Some of these great squared stones, we can hardly doubt, are found <span class="accented">in situ</span> at the present day. The stones at the south-east angle of the walls of the Haram (Mosque of Omar) are "unquestionably of Jewish masonry" (Porter, Handbook, p. 115). "One is 23 2:9 in. long; whilst others vary from 17 to 20 feet in length. Five courses of them are nearly entire" (<span class="accented">ib.</span>) As Herod, in rebuilding the edifice, would seem to have had nothing to do with the foundations, we may safely connect these huge blocks with the time of Solomon. It is also probable that some at least of the square pillars, ranged in fifteen rows, and measuring five feet each side, which form the foundations of the Mosque <span class="accented">El Aksa</span>, and the supports of the area of the Haram, are of the same date and origin (cf. Ewald, Hist. Israel, 3:233). Porter holds that they are "coeval with the oldest part of the external walls." Many of them, the writer observed, were monoliths. The extensive vaults which they enclose are unquestionably "the subterranean vaults of the temple area" mentioned by Josephus (B.J. 5:3. 1), and the <span class="accented">"cavati sub terra montes"</span> of Tacitus. It may be added here that the recent explorations in Jerusalem have brought to light many evidences of Phoenician handiwork.] </div> <div class="versenum"><a href="/1_kings/5-18.htm">1 Kings 5:18</a></div><div class="verse">And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew <i>them</i>, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.</div><div class="comm"><span class="cmt_sub_title">Verse 18.</span> - <span class="cmt_word">And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone squarers:</span> [the marg. <span class="accented">Giblites, i.e.</span>, people of Gebal, is to be preferred. For Gebal ( = mountain) see <a href="/joshua/13-5.htm">Joshua 13:5</a> ("the land of the Giblites and Lebanon"); <a href="/psalms/83-7.htm">Psalm 83:7</a> ("Gebal and they of Tyro"); and <a href="/ezekiel/27-9.htm">Ezekiel 27:9</a>, where the LXX. translate the word <span class="accented">Biblus</span>, which was the Greek name of the city and district north of the famous river <span class="accented">Adonis</span>, on the extreme border of Phoenicia. It is now known as <span class="accented">Jebeil.</span> It has been already remarked that Tyre and Sidon, as well as Gebal, have Hebrew meanings. These are among the proofs of the practical identity of the Hebrew and Phoenician tongues. The Aramaean immigrants (<a href="/deuteronomy/26-5.htm">Deuteronomy 26:5</a>; <a href="/genesis/12-5.htm">Genesis 12:5</a>) no doubt adopted the language of Canaan (Dict. Bib., art. "Phoenicians"). Keil renders, <span class="accented">"even</span> the Giblites." He would understand, <span class="accented">i.e.</span>, that the Zidonian workmen were Giblites; but this is doubtful. The Giblites are selected, no doubt, for special mention because of the prominent part they took in the work. Gebal, as its ancient and extensive ruins prove, was a place of much importance, and lying as it did on the coast, and near the cedar forests, would naturally have an important share in the cutting and shipping of the timber. Indeed, it is not improbable that it was at this port that the land transport ended, and the rafts were made. A road ran anciently from Gebal to Baalbak, so that the transport was not impracticable. But as the forests were probably of great extent, there may have been two or three depots at which the timber was floated] so they prepared timber [Heb. <span class="accented">the timber</span>] and stones [Heb. <span class="accented">the stones</span>] to build the house. [The LXX. (Vat. and Alex. alike) add here, "<span class="accented">three</span> <span class="accented">years."</span> It is barely possible that these words may have dropped out of the text, but they look more like a gloss, the inference from the chronological statement of <a href="/1_kings/6-1.htm">1 Kings 6:1</a>.] <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> <span class="p"><br /><br /></span> </div></div></div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Pulpit Commentary, Electronic Database. 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