5 And, behold, I purpose H559 to build H1129 an house H1004 unto the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 my God, H430 as the LORD H3068 spake H1696 unto David H1732 my father, H1 saying, H559 Thy son, H1121 whom I will set H5414 upon thy throne H3678 in thy room, he shall build H1129 an house H1004 unto my name. H8034
And when thy days H3117 be fulfilled, H4390 and thou shalt sleep H7901 with thy fathers, H1 I will set up H6965 thy seed H2233 after H310 thee, which shall proceed H3318 out of thy bowels, H4578 and I will establish H3559 his kingdom. H4467 He shall build H1129 an house H1004 for my name, H8034 and I will stablish H3559 the throne H3678 of his kingdom H4467 for H5704 ever. H5769
And Solomon H8010 determined H559 to build H1129 an house H1004 for the name H8034 of the LORD, H3068 and an house H1004 for his kingdom. H4438 And Solomon H8010 told out H5608 threescore and ten H7657 thousand H505 men H376 to bear burdens, H5449 and fourscore H8084 thousand H505 H376 to hew H2672 in the mountain, H2022 and three H7969 thousand H505 and six H8337 hundred H3967 to oversee H5329 them. And Solomon H8010 sent H7971 to Huram H2361 the king H4428 of Tyre, H6865 saying, H559 As thou didst deal H6213 with David H1732 my father, H1 and didst send H7971 him cedars H730 to build H1129 him an house H1004 to dwell H3427 therein, even so deal with me. Behold, I build H1129 an house H1004 to the name H8034 of the LORD H3068 my God, H430 to dedicate H6942 it to him, and to burn H6999 before H6440 him sweet H5561 incense, H7004 and for the continual H8548 shewbread, H4635 and for the burnt offerings H5930 morning H1242 and evening, H6153 on the sabbaths, H7676 and on the new moons, H2320 and on the solemn feasts H4150 of the LORD H3068 our God. H430 This is an ordinance for ever H5769 to Israel. H3478 And the house H1004 which I build H1129 is great: H1419 for great H1419 is our God H430 above all gods. H430 But who is able H6113 H3581 to build H1129 him an house, H1004 seeing the heaven H8064 and heaven H8064 of heavens H8064 cannot contain H3557 him? who am I then, that I should build H1129 him an house, H1004 save only H518 to burn sacrifice H6999 before H6440 him? Send H7971 me now therefore a man H376 cunning H2450 to work H6213 in gold, H2091 and in silver, H3701 and in brass, H5178 and in iron, H1270 and in purple, H710 and crimson, H3758 and blue, H8504 and that can skill H3045 to grave H6605 H6603 with the cunning men H2450 that are with me in Judah H3063 and in Jerusalem, H3389 whom David H1732 my father H1 did provide. H3559 Send H7971 me also cedar H730 trees, H6086 fir trees, H1265 and algum trees, H418 out of Lebanon: H3844 for I know H3045 that thy servants H5650 can skill H3045 to cut H3772 timber H6086 in Lebanon; H3844 and, behold, my servants H5650 shall be with thy servants, H5650
And speak H559 unto him, saying, H559 Thus speaketh H559 the LORD H3068 of hosts, H6635 saying, H559 Behold the man H376 whose name H8034 is The BRANCH; H6780 and he shall grow up H6779 out of his place, and he shall build H1129 the temple H1964 of the LORD: H3068 Even he shall build H1129 the temple H1964 of the LORD; H3068 and he shall bear H5375 the glory, H1935 and shall sit H3427 and rule H4910 upon his throne; H3678 and he shall be a priest H3548 upon his throne: H3678 and the counsel H6098 of peace H7965 shall be between them both. H8147
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on 1 Kings 5
Commentary on 1 Kings 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
1Ki 5:1-6. Hiram Sends to Congratulate Solomon.
1. Hiram … sent his servants unto Solomon—the grandson of David's contemporary [Kitto]; or the same Hiram [Winer and others]. The friendly relations which the king of Tyre had cultivated with David are here seen renewed with his son and successor, by a message of condolence as well as of congratulation on his accession to the throne of Israel. The alliance between the two nations had been mutually beneficial by the encouragement of useful traffic. Israel, being agricultural, furnished corn and oil, while the Tyrians, who were a commercial people, gave in exchange their Phœnician manufactures, as well as the produce of foreign lands. A special treaty was now entered into in furtherance of that undertaking which was the great work of Solomon's splendid and peaceful reign.
6. command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon—Nowhere else could Solomon have procured materials for the woodwork of his contemplated building. The forests of Lebanon, adjoining the seas in Solomon's time, belonged to the Phœnicians, and the timber being a lucrative branch of their exports, immense numbers of workmen were constantly employed in the felling of trees as well as the transportation and preparation of the wood. Hiram stipulated to furnish Solomon with as large a quantity of cedars and cypresses as he might require and it was a great additional obligation that he engaged to render the important service of having it brought down, probably by the Dog river, to the seaside, and conveyed along the coast in floats; that is, the logs being bound together, to the harbor of Joppa (2Ch 2:16), whence they could easily find the means of transport to Jerusalem.
my servants shall be with thy servants—The operations were to be on so extensive a scale that the Tyrians alone would be insufficient. A division of labor was necessary, and while the former would do the work that required skilful artisans, Solomon engaged to supply the laborers.
1Ki 5:7-12. Furnishes Timber to Build the Temple.
7. Blessed be the Lord—This language is no decisive evidence that Hiram was a worshipper of the true God, as he might use it only on the polytheistic principle of acknowledging Jehovah as the God of the Hebrews (see on 2Ch 2:11).
8. Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things … and I will do—The contract was drawn out formally in a written document (2Ch 2:11), which, according to Josephus, was preserved both in the Jewish and Tyrian records.
10. fir trees—rather, the cypress.
11. food to his household—This was an annual supply for the palace, different from that mentioned in 2Ch 2:10, which was for the workmen in the forests.
1Ki 5:13-18. Solomon's Workmen and Laborers.
13. Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel—The renewed notice of Solomon's divine gift of wisdom (1Ki 5:12) is evidently introduced to prepare for this record of the strong but prudent measures he took towards the accomplishment of his work. So great a stretch of arbitrary power as is implied in this compulsory levy would have raised great discontent, if not opposition, had not his wise arrangement of letting the laborers remain at home two months out of three, added to the sacredness of the work, reconciled the people to this forced labor. The carrying of burdens and the irksome work of excavating the quarries was assigned to the remnant of the Canaanites (1Ki 9:20; 2Ch 8:7-9) and war prisoners made by David—amounting to 153,600. The employment of persons of that condition in Eastern countries for carrying on any public work, would make this part of the arrangements the less thought of.
17. brought great stones—The stone of Lebanon is "hard, calcareous, whitish and sonorous, like free stone" [Shaw]. The same white and beautiful stone can be obtained in every part of Syria and Palestine.
hewed stones—or neatly polished, as the Hebrew word signifies (Ex 20:25). Both Jewish and Tyrian builders were employed in hewing these great stones.
18. and the stone squarers—The Margin, which renders it "the Giblites" (Jos 13:5), has long been considered a preferable translation. This marginal translation also must yield to another which has lately been proposed, by a slight change in the Hebrew text, and which would be rendered thus: "Solomon's builders, and Hiram's builders, did hew them and bevel them" [Thenius]. These great bevelled or grooved stones, measuring some twenty, others thirty feet in length, and from five to six feet in breadth, are still seen in the substructures about the ancient site of the temple; and, in the judgment of the most competent observers, were those originally employed "to lay the foundation of the house."