Chapter 5

1 Hiram, sending to congratulate Solomon, is certified of his purpose to build the temple, and desired to furnish him with timber thereto. 7 Hiram, blessing God for Solomon, and requesting food for his family, furnisheth him with trees. 13 The number of Solomon’s workmen and labourers.

1. Hiram king of Tyre. In 2 Sam. 5:11 and 1 Chron. 14:1 Hiram is mentioned as having sent workmen and materials to David for the building of his house. Josephus cites Menander of Ephesus, who wrote, in Greek, a history of Tyre about 300 b.c., to the effect that Hiram was the son of Abibaal and that he reigned 34 years, dying at the age of 53, and being succeeded by his son Baleazar (Against Apion 1. 18). According to Josephus the Temple was built in the 11th (Antiquities viii. 3. 1) or the 12th (Against Apion 1. 18) year of Hiram. Since the founding of the Temple took place in the fourth year of Solomon (1 Kings 6:1), the reign of Hiram must have overlapped that of David by some seven or eight years.

3. An house. After having given a general description of Solomon’s government, the record proceeds with an account of the great undertaking of his reign, the building of the Temple. A parallel account of this important enterprise is found in 2 Chron. 2 to 4.

For the wars. It was not that David was so occupied with wars during his reign that he did not find time or opportunity to build the Temple, but that the Lord did not permit him to do this because of his having been so much a man of war (1 Chron. 22:8).

4. Rest. It was not the Lord’s purpose that Israel should be in constant war against her neighbors. During the reign of David war was necessary for the establishment of the throne. But God had promised David a son who would be a “man of rest,” and that He would “give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days” (1 Chron. 22:9). The name Solomon means “peaceable.” Solomon recognized the fact that the rest he enjoyed had come to him as a blessing from God.

5. I purpose to build. David had purposed to build a house for God, but because God had not permitted him to carry out this noble purpose, he charged his son with this responsibility (1 Chron. 22:6–16). Solomon took upon himself this responsibility not only as a charge from his father but as a sacred commission from God. David’s purpose became his purpose, and God’s will his will. His first great business in life became that of building the Temple of the Lord.

The Lord spake. When David first proposed to build a house for the Lord, God sent a message through Nathan the prophet making plain to David that this work should be undertaken not by him but by his son (2 Sam. 7:2–17; 1 Chron. 17:1–15). God Speaks to men in various ways, but frequently a prophet is chosen as the channel of communication.

6. Command thou. There is given here in abbreviated form a portion of Solomon’s message to Hiram, which is given much more fully in 2 Chron. 2:3–10. The request was not only for cedar trees but also for almug (2 Chron. 2:8) and fir trees (1 Kings 5:8, 10), and also for “a man cunning to work in gold,” silver, brass, and iron (2 Chron. 2:7). In return for the timber, Solomon undertook to provide Hiram with provisions of wheat, barley, wine, and oil (2 Chron. 2:10; cf. 1 Kings 5:11). The specific purpose of the building of the Temple is presented in much fuller detail in 2 Chron. 2:4–6.

Cedar trees. The famous cedar of Lebanon was highly prized in antiquity. The Tyrians used it for masts for their ships (Eze. 27:5). Kings of Assyria and Babylon employed it for their temples and palaces. In Egypt cedar from Lebanon was used to a great extent. The forests of Lebanon were proverbial for their beauty and fragrance (Ps. 92:12; S. of Sol. 4:11; 5:15; Isa. 35:2; Eze. 31:3–9; Hosea 14:6, 7), watered by ever-flowing streams from snowy heights (S. of Sol. 4:15; Jer. 18:14; Eze. 31:4, 5, 7), while the rest of Palestine might be parched and dry. The modern cedar of Lebanon is usually from 50 to 80 ft. high and has a dome-shaped form. The leaves are produced in tufts, and the branches are long, spreading, and contorted. The famous cedars have largely disappeared from the Lebanon Mts. The tree still flourishes, however, in the Taurus Mts.

That can skill. The Phoenicians in general and the Sidonians in particular are mentioned frequently in ancient literature for their mechanical and artistic skills. They were especially noted for the work of cutting logs and transporting timber.

7. Rejoiced greatly. There seems to have been a genuine friendship between Hiram and Solomon, going back, no doubt, to the sincere friendship between Hiram and David. Hiram’s answer to Solomon’s request is given more fully in 2 Chron. 2:11–16.

Blessed be the Lord. This is an unusual response from a king of Tyre. Through his contacts with David and Solomon, Hiram had heard of the God of the Hebrews. The name of Jehovah at this time came to be honored by many of the neighbors of Israel, and the principles of His law and government came to be better understood. Barriers were broken down and conversions took place. There is no evidence, however, that Hiram himself became a worshiper of Jehovah or that his present answer gave evidence of a basic change in his religious beliefs. The words seem rather to be those of deference to the God of Israel, whom Hiram now acknowledged to have “made heaven and earth” (2 Chron. 2:12).

8. All thy desire. A more gracious response could not have been expected from anyone. Hiram entered fully into Solomon’s plans and agreed to do all that was requested. What he did was done with a willing spirit and a happy heart. The tasks of earth would be much lighter if the same spirit were found more often in the hearts of those who are given opportunities to respond to requested favors.

9. From Lebanon. The logs were probably floated down the mountains or let down on slides. Thence they were transported to the sea and collected into floats or rafts and conveyed to Joppa (2 Chron. 2:16), 34 mi. (54.4 km.) from Jerusalem. In the building of the second Temple, the same course was followed (Ezra 3:7).

10. Hiram gave Solomon. There appears to have been a formal, written agreement between Solomon and Hiram (2 Chron. 2:11). Solomon set forth the terms of the contract, and they were promptly accepted by Hiram. Hiram agreed to deliver the timber desired by Solomon in harmony with the stipulations agreed upon. Josephus states that copies of the letters between Hiram and Solomon were still in existence in the days of Menander (c. 300 b.c.), and could be seen in the Tyrian archives (Antiquities viii. 5. 3).

11. Solomon gave Hiram. The arrangement entered into between Solomon and Hiram was mutually advantageous. Solomon needed timber of which he had little and Hiram had much. Hiram needed foodstuffs of which Phoenicia produced little and of which Israel may have had an oversupply. Both gave of what they had and received what they needed, and both were benefited as a result. Both were happy in this arrangement that promoted prosperity as well as peace.

Year by year. Solomon’s building activities continued over a period of years, and arrangements were made whereby a specified amount of wheat and oil was turned over to Hiram year by year in exchange for continued supplies and the services of the Tyrian workmen.

12. Wisdom. Wisdom is needed in all the affairs of life, in religion as well as business, in government as well as agriculture, in the home as well as the school. Wisdom promotes contentment and prosperity, happiness and godliness. True wisdom comes from God and leads to God.

13. Raised a levy. This seems to have been the first time that the Israelites were called upon to perform forced labor. Samuel had foretold that with the coming of the kingdom this would be the case (1 Sam. 8:16). David had bound into forced service “the strangers that were in the land of Israel” (1 Chron. 22:2), but Israelites thus far had escaped such service. In connection with the building of the Temple, 30,000 laborers were drafted. Supposing a population of 1,300,000 able-bodied Israelites (2 Sam. 24:9), this would be one out of 43.

14. A month. This arrangement of only one month of service in three must have made this system of forced labor much less obnoxious than would otherwise have been the case. This type of labor was not looked upon as bond service of the type that was levied upon strangers, for “of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen” (1 Kings 9:22). But it was nevertheless highly distasteful and was one of the chief causes of discontent at the close of Solomon’s reign (1 Kings 12:4).

Adoniram. One of the chief officers of the state (see on ch. 4:6).

15. Bare burdens. These laborers were not Israelites but strangers (2 Chron. 2:17, 18), such as were appointed by David to “hew wrought stones” (1 Chron. 22:2). They were true bond servants, or slaves, and gave continuous service in such fields of heavy labor as the bearing of burdens or the hewing of stones.

16. Solomon’s officers. The number is given here as 3,300, but a parallel passage gives 3,600 (2 Chron. 2:18). 1 Kings 9:23 gives the number of the “chief of the officers that were over Solomon’s work” as 550, whereas 2 Chronicles 8:10 gives the number of “the chief of king Solomon’s officers” as 250. It will be noticed that the total number of officers of all classes in each case is 3,850. It appears that the writers of Kings and Chronicles classified the officers differently. It is even possible that there was a reorganization, in which some were promoted, and that one writer gives the classification as it was before, and the other as it was after, the reorganization.

17. Great stones. These stones were large and carefully hewn. Much labor was spent in preparing them and transporting them from the quarry to the site of the Temple in Jerusalem. They may have been employed not so much for the foundation of the Temple itself as for the substructure of the Temple area, formed into a square on the irregular summit of Mt. Moriah. In this substructure vast stones are still to be seen, which until recently were thought to date from the age of Solomon, but are now known to go back no further than Herodian times. Some of these stones are 30 ft. long and 7 1/2 ft. high.

18. Stonesquarers. The correct reading is “Giblites,” as in the margin. They were the inhabitants of Gebal, or Byblos, (see Eze. 27:9), a coastal city of Phoenicia. It seems that they were skillful workers in stone and were employed any other experts for the performance of tasks requiring special skills.