9:11-14Was Solomon being unfair to Hiram? It is not clear from these verses whether Solomon gave these towns to Hiram, or they were collaterat until he could repay Hiram for the gold he had borrowed. Second Chronicles 8:1, 2 implies that the towns were returned to Solomon. In either case, Hiram probably preferred a piece of land on the coast more suitable for trade (the name he gave these cities, Cabu/, sounds like the Hebrew word for “worthless”). In the end, Hiram was repaid many times over through his trade partnerships with Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:10, 21). Because Phoenicia was on friendly terms with Israel and dependent on it for grain and oil, Hiram’s relationship with Solomon was more important than a feud over some cities.
Life Application Study Bible1 KingsChapter 9
1 Kings 9
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 528, 529, 530
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91 Kings 9
The LORD’s Response to Solomon
1So Solomon finished building the Temple of the LORD, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do. 2Then the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as he had done before at Gibeon. 3The LORD said to him, “I have heard your prayer and your petition. I have set this Temple apart to be holy— this place you have built where my name will be honored forever. I will always watch over it, for it is dear to my heart. 4“As for you, if you will follow me with integrity and godliness, as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees, and regulations, 5then I will establish the throne of your dynasty over Israel forever. For I made this promise to your father, David: ‘One of your descendants will always sit on the throne of Israel.’ 6“But if you or your descendants abandon me and disobey the commands and decrees I have given you, and if you serve and worship other gods, 7then I will uproot Israel from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make Israel an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations. 8And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads in amazement. They will ask, ‘Why did the LORD do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’ 9“And the answer will be, ‘Because his people abandoned the LORD their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down to them. That is why the LORD has brought all these disasters on them.”
Solomon’s Agreement with Hiram
10‘0Tt took Solomon twenty years to build the LORD’s Temple and his own royal palace. At the end of that time, ‘the gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to King Hiram of Tyre. (Hiram had previously provided all the cedar and cypress timber and gold that Solomon had requested.) '?But when Hiram came from Tyre to see the towns Solomon had given him, he was not at all pleased with them. 13“What kind of towns are these, my brother?” he asked. So Hiram called that area Cabul (which means “worthless”), as it is still known today. 14Nevertheless, Hiram paid* Solomon 9,000 pounds* of gold.
Solomon’s Many Achievements
‘This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD’s Temple, the royal palace, the supporting terraces,* the wall of Jerusalem, and the cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16(Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer, killing the Canaanite population and burning it down. He gave the city to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon. 17So Solomon rebuilt the city of Gezer.) He also built up the towns of Lower Beth-horon, 18Baalath, and Tamar* in the wilderness within his land. 19He built towns as supply centers and constructed towns where his chariots and horses* could be stationed. He built everything he desired in Jerusalem and Lebanon and throughout his entire realm. 20There were still some people living in the land who were not Israelites, including Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 21These were descendants of the nations whom the people of Israel had not completely destroyed.* So Solomon conscripted them for his labor force, and they serve in the labor force to this day. 22But Solomon did not conscript any of the Israelites for forced labor. Instead, he assigned them to serve as fighting men, government officials, officers and captains in his army, commanders of his chariots, and charioteers. 23Solomon appointed 550 of them to supervise the people working on his various projects. 24Solomon moved his wife, Pharaoh’s daughter, from the City of David to the new palace he had built for her. Then he constructed the supporting terraces. 9:14a Or For Hiram had paid. 9:14b Hebrew 120 talents (4,000 kilograms]. 9:15 Hebrew the millo; also in 9:24. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 9:18 An alternate reading in the Masoretic Text reads Tadmor. 25Three times each year Solomon presented burnt offerings and peace offerings on the 9:25 altar he had built for the LORD. He also burned incense to the LORD. And so he finished the Exod ee work of building the Temple. 9:26 26King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, a port near Elath* in the land of wpe 2248 Edom, along the shore of the Red Sea.* 27Hiram sent experienced crews of sailors to sail the 9.27; ships with Solomon's men. 28They sailed to Ophir and brought back to Solomon some six- 1 Kgs 10:11 teen tons* of gold.
Textual footnotes
- parallel text at 2 Chr 7:8-10.
- Festival of Shelters; compare parallel text at 2 Chr 7:9-10.
- to the Lono, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
- 9:19 Or and charioteers.
- 9:21 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people
- 9:26a As in Greek version (see also 2 Kgs 14:22; 16:6); Hebrew reads Fioth, a variant spelling of Elath.
- 9:26b Hebrew sea of reeds.
- 9:28 Hebrew 420 talents {14 metric tons].
Life Application Notes 2 notes
9:16At this time Israel and Egypt were the major powers in the Near East. For many years Egypt had retained control of Gezer, even though it was in Israelite territory. In Solomon's time the Pharaoh gave the city to his daughter, whom Solomon married, putting Gezer under Israelite control. Intermarriage among royal families was common, but it was not endorsed by God (Deuteronomy 17:17).
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Study feature · page 529
SOLOMON’S BUILDING PROJECTS Solomon became known as one of the great builders in Israel's history. He built Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer as fortress cities at key points during his reign. He also febuilt the cities of lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tadmor.
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