1 Kings 5:4 Komentář

The great work which Solomon was raised up to do was the building of the temple; his wealth and wisdom were given him to qualify him for that. In this, especially, he was to be a type of Christ, for "he shall build the temple of the Lord," Zac 6:12. In this chapter we have an account of the preparations he made for that and his other buildings. Gold and silver his good father had prepared in abundance, but timber and stones he must get ready; and about these we have him treating with Hiram king of Tyre. I. Hiram congratulated him on his accession to the throne (Kg1 5:1). II. Solomon signified to him his design to build the temple and desired him to furnish him with workmen (Kg1 5:2-6). III. Hiram agreed to do it (Kg1 5:7-9). IV. Solomon's work was accordingly well done and Hiram's workmen were well paid (Kg1 5:10-18).

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, Kg1 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, Kg1 5:7; the chapter concludes with an account of Solomon's workmen, where, how, and in what they were employed, Kg1 5:13.

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.

After this war one work remains for us, O leaders, that which Solomon achieved, The peaceful scion and the unarmed heir Of a warlike realm, whose father’s weary hand Was sullied by the ardent blood of kings. The blood effaced, a temple is upraised And golden altar, house sublime of Christ. Jerusalem then by its temple crowned, Received its God, now that the wandering ark On the marble altar found repose. In our camp let a sacred temple rise, that God may in its sanctuary dwell. What profits it to have repelled the hosts Of earthborn vices, if the Son of man From heaven descending, enter the body cleansed, But unadorned and not a temple fair? Thus far we have engaged in fierce conflict: Now let white-vestured Peace perform its tasks, And youth unarmed build up a sacred house.

Hiram, king of Tyre, sends to congratulate Solomon on his accession to the kingdom, Kg1 5:1. Solomon consults him on building a temple for the Lord, and requests his assistance, Kg1 5:2-6. Hiram is pleased and specifies the assistance which he will afford, Kg1 5:7-9. He sends cedars and fir trees, Kg1 5:10. The return made by Solomon, Kg1 5:11. They form a league, Kg1 5:12. Solomon makes a levy of men in Israel to prepare wood and stones, Kg1 5:13-18.

There is neither adversary - אין שטן eyn satan, there is no satan - no opposer, nor any kind of evil; all is peace and quiet, both without and within. God has given me this quiet that I may build his temple. Deus nobis haec otia fecit.

HIRAM SENDS TO CONGRATULATE SOLOMON. (Kg1 5:1-6) 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.

Preparations for Building the Temple - 1 Kings 5 Immediately after the consolidation of his kingdom, Solomon commenced the preparations for the building of a temple, first of all by entering into negotiations with king Hiram of Tyre, to procure from him not only the building materials requisite, viz., cedars, cypresses, and hewn stones, but also a skilled workman for the artistic work of the temple (Kg1 5:1-12); and, secondly, by causing the number of workmen required for this great work to be raised out of his own kingdom, and sending them to Lebanon to prepare the materials for the building in connection with the Tyrian builders (Kg1 5:13-18). - We have a parallel passage to this in 2 Chron 2, which agrees with the account before us in all the leading points, but differs in many of the details, omitting several things which were not essential to the main fact, and communicating others which are passed over in our account, e.g., Solomon's request that a Tyrian workman might be sent. This shows that the two accounts are extracts from a common and more elaborate source, the historical materials being worked up in a free and independent manner according to the particular plan adopted by each of the two authors. (For further remarks on the mutual relation of the two narratives, see my apologetischer Versuch ber die Bcher der Chronik, pp. 216ff.)