1 Re 5:7 Commento

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.

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.

This Hiram had been converted to [the worship of] God through his relationships with David, and “he rejoiced greatly, when he heard” that a house would be built for the Lord. He asks to be supplied with bread and oil in exchange for the wood that he delivers because the Tyrians and the Sidonians, as it appears, did not sow or harvest since their commerce was exclusively maritime.

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.

Blessed be the Lord this day - From this, and indeed from every part of Hiram's conduct, it is evident that he was a worshipper of the true God; unless, as was the case with many of the heathens, he supposed that every country had its own god, and every god his own country, and he thanked the God of Israel that he had given so wise a prince to govern those whom he considered his friends and allies: but the first opinion seems to be the most correct.

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.

FURNISHES TIMBER TO BUILD THE TEMPLE. (Kg1 5:7-12) 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 Ch2 2:11).

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.)