Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
SulomorCi Twelve OJ/icers. 1 KINGS V. Hivum Sends to Congraiulate hinu vation of the Egyptian people. 31. wiser than all men —i.e., all his contemporaries, either at home or abroad, than Ethan—Or Jeduthun, of the family of Merari (1 Chronicles 6.11). Heman—(1 Chronicles 1.5. 17-1.4). The chief of the temple musicians, and the king's seers (1 Chronicles 25. oj; the other I wo are not known, the sons of Mahol—Either another name for Zerah (1 Chronicles nalist—an office of };irat iiiiportanre in Oriental courts, and the duties of wlii<-U consisted in chronicling tlie occurrences of every day. 4. Bella lali was over tlie Uost Formerly captain ol the guard; he lia<l sucoe<'de(l Joal) as commander of the forces. Za<lok aiui Atciatliar were the priests—Tlie tirst otiiy discilar)^e(l tlie sacred functions—tlie latter had lieen l);inislii-d to his country seat. Hud retiiined notliing more than the name r»f liigh priest.
2. ti), or taking it a-s a common noun, signilying a dance, a chorus, "the sons of Mahol" signily persons eminently skilled in poetry and music. 32. he spake three thousand proverlM!—Embodying his moral sentiments and sage observations on human life and character, a thousanil and five songs—Psalm 72., 127., 132., and the Song of Smigs are his. 33. lie spake of trees, fi-om the cedar . . . to the hyssop—All plants, from the greatest to the least. The Spirit of God has seen fit to preserve comparatively few memorials of tlie fiuits of his gigantic min<l. The greater part of those here a.scribed to him have long since fallen a pre.v to the raviiges of time, or perished in the Bal).vlonish captivity, probably because they were not inspired.
over the officent i.e., the provincial governors enumerated in V 17-19. the princlpnl officer, and t Jie king's friend—Perhaps president of the privy council, and .Solomon's confidential frienif or lavourite. Tliis high functionary had probably heen reared along with .Solomon. That hesi7ould heap those lionours on the sons of Xathan was most natural, considering the close intimiicy of the fatlier with tlie late king, and ine deep obligations under which Solomon personally lay to the prophet, fi. AhUliar was over tlie lioiuiehold—Steward or cliaiuber Uiin of the palace. Adoniraiii—Or -•VdolaJU (2 Samuel 20.21; ch. 12. 18), or Hadoram (2 Chronicles ID. IKj, wns ovtr tlie tribute—Not tlie collection of money or goods, but tlie levy of compulsory laliourers (cf. ch. '>. 18, U;.
CHAPTER V.
7-21. Hl.s Twelve OFficKlw. 7. Solomon had twelve officers over all Isi-ael. The royal revenues were rai.sed according to the ancient, and still, it) nian.v parts, existing usage of the East, not in mone.y pa.vmcnts, but in the produce of the soil. There would be always a considerable difficulty in the collection anil tran.smission of these tithes (1 Samuel 8. loj, and, therefore, to lacilitate the work, Solomon appointed twelve otficer*., who had e;icli the charge of a tritje or particular district of country, from
Ver. 1-6. HiKAM Senus to Congkatulate Solomon.
1. Iliram sent his servants lutto Solomon—The grandson of David's contemporary. [Kitto.] The same Hiram. [WiNEK and others.] The friendly relations which the icing of Tyre had cultivated with David are here seen renewed with his son and successor, by a message of condolence as v/cll as of congratulation on his accession to the throne of Israel. The alliance between the two nations liad been mutually beneficial b.y the encouragement of useful traffic. Lsrael, being agricultural, furnished corn and oil, while the T.vrians, who were a commercial people, gave in exchf.nge their Phoenician 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 tliat they liew me cedajr trees out of Lebanon—Nowhere else could Solomon have procured materials for the wood-work of his contemplated building. The forests of Ijcbanon, adjoining the seas in Solomon's time, belonged to the Phoenicians, 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; i. e., the logs being bound together, to the harbour of Joppa (2 Chronicles 2. hi), 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 insuflicient. A division of labour was necessary, and while the former would do the work that required skilful artisans, Solomon engaged to supply the labourers.
which, in monthly rotation, the supplies for the maintenance of the king s household were ilrawn, liaving first been deposited in "the store cities" which were erected for their reception (ch. 9. 19; 2 Chronicles 8. 4, Oi. 8, The sou of Hnr—Or, as the margin has it, Bcnhur, liei Mlekar. In the rural partsof Syria, and among the Arabs, it i.s still common to designate persons not b.v their own names, but as the Hons of their fatliers. 31. Solomon reigned overall kingdoms, from the river—All the potty kingdoms between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean were tributary to him. Similar is the statement in v. 24. 34. from Tlphsah—I. p., Thapsacus, a large and flourishing town on the west bank of the Euphrates, the name of which was derived from a celebrateil ford near it, the lowest on that river, even to Azzah— (. e., Gaza, on the south-western extremity, not far from the Mediterranean. 22. Solomon's prov Uion for one day—Not for the king's table only, but for all connected with the court, including, besides the royal establishment, those of his royal consorts, his principal oillrers, his body-guards, his foreign visitors, Ac. The (junntity of line tlour used is estimated at 24<) bushels: that of meal or common flour at 180. The numl)erof cattle required for consumption, besides poultry and several kinds of game, which were got in abundance on the mountains, did not exceed in proportion what is needed in other courts of the East. 2.5. every man under his vine aitd . . . fig tree—This is a common and beautiful metaphor for peace and sei-urily (Micah 1. 1
Zechariah 3. 10), founded on the practice, still common in modern Syria, of training these froit-trees up the walls and stairs of houses, so as to make a shady arbor, beneath which the people sit and recreate themselves. 2G. forty thousand stalls—For the royal mews (see on 2 Chronicles
7-12. FlIKNISHES TiMBEU TO BUILD THE TBMPLE. 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 .leliovah as the God of the Hebrews (see on 2 Chronicles 2. 12). 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 (2 Chronicles 2. 11), which, according to Josephus, was preserved both in the Jewisli and Tyrian records. 10. fir trees—Rather, the cypress. 11. food to his household This was an annual supply for the palace, dill'erent from that mentioned in 2 Chronicles 2. 10, which was for the workmen in the forests.
9. iV). 28. barley . . . and straw—Straw is not useil for litter, but barley mixed with chopped straw is the usual fodder of horses. Dromedaries—The one-humped camel, distinguished for their great fleetness.
His Wisdom. 29. God gave wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart —<. e., High powers of mind, great capacity for receiving as well as aptitude for communicating knowledge, 30. Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of the children of the East— i. e., the Arabians, Chaldeans and" Perslans(Genesi8 2i. 6). ell the wisdom of Egypt—Egypt wa« renowned as the seat of learning and sc Iciku-s, and the existing monuments, which so clearly describe the ancient state ol society and the arts, show the high cultii:>-18. Solomon's Woukmen and LAnouiiEBS. 13. Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel—The renewed notice of Solomon's divine gift of wisdom (v. 12) Is evU den'ly 'ntroduced to prepare for this record of the struos