Discovery Box1 Kings 5:1-13
Context5:1 (5:15) 1 King Hiram of Tyre 2 sent messengers 3 to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place. (Hiram had always been an ally of David.) 5:2 Solomon then sent this message to Hiram: 5:3 “You know that my father David was unable to build a temple to honor the Lord 4 his God, for he was busy fighting battles on all fronts while the Lord subdued his enemies. 5 5:4 But now the Lord my God has made me secure on all fronts; there is no adversary or dangerous threat. 5:5 So I have decided 6 to build a temple to honor the Lord 7 my God, as the Lord instructed my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne in your place, is the one who will build a temple to honor me.’ 8 5:6 So now order some cedars of Lebanon to be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants. I will pay your servants whatever you say is appropriate, for you know that we have no one among us who knows how to cut down trees like the Sidonians.”
5:7 When Hiram heard Solomon’s message, he was very happy. He said, “The Lord is worthy of praise today because he 9 has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation.” 5:8 Hiram then sent this message to Solomon: “I received 10 the message you sent to me. I will give you all the cedars and evergreens you need. 11 5:9 My servants will bring the timber down from Lebanon to the sea. I will send it by sea in raft-like bundles to the place you designate. 12 There I will separate the logs 13 and you can carry them away. In exchange you will supply the food I need for my royal court.” 14
5:10 So Hiram supplied the cedars and evergreens Solomon needed, 15 5:11 and Solomon supplied Hiram annually with 20,000 cors 16 of wheat as provision for his royal court, 17 as well as 20,000 baths 18 of pure 19 olive oil. 20 5:12 So the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he had promised him. And Hiram and Solomon were at peace and made a treaty. 21
5:13 King Solomon conscripted 22 work crews 23 from throughout Israel, 30,000 men in all.
[5:1] 1 sn The verse numbers in the English Bible differ from those in the Hebrew text (BHS) here; 5:1-18 in the English Bible corresponds to 5:15-32 in the Hebrew text. See the note at 4:21.
[5:1] 2 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[5:1] 3 tn Heb “his servants.”
[5:3] 4 tn Heb “a house for the name of the
[5:3] 5 tn Heb “because of the battles which surrounded him until the
[5:5] 6 tn Heb “Look, I am saying.”
[5:5] 7 tn Heb “a house for the name of the
[5:5] 8 tn Heb “a house for my name.” The word “name” sometimes refers to one’s reputation or honor. The “name” of the
[5:7] 9 tn Or “Blessed be the
[5:8] 11 tn Heb “I will satisfy all your desire with respect to cedar wood and with respect to the wood of evergreens.”
[5:9] 12 tn Heb “I will place them [on? as?] rafts in the sea to the place where you designate to me.” This may mean he would send them by raft, or that he would tie them in raft-like bundles, and have ships tow them down to an Israelite port.
[5:9] 13 tn Heb “smash them,” i.e., untie the bundles.
[5:9] 14 tn Heb “as for you, you will satisfy my desire by giving food for my house.”
[5:10] 15 tn Heb “and Hiram gave to Solomon cedar wood and the wood of evergreens, all his desire.”
[5:11] 16 sn As a unit of dry measure a cor was roughly equivalent to six bushels.
[5:11] 18 tc The Hebrew text has “twenty cors,” but the ancient Greek version and the parallel text in 2 Chr 2:10 read “twenty thousand baths.”
[5:11] 20 tn Heb “and Solomon supplied Hiram with twenty thousand cors of wheat…pure olive oil. So Solomon would give to Hiram year by year.”
[5:12] 21 tn Heb “a covenant,” referring to a formal peace treaty or alliance.
[5:13] 23 sn Work crews. This Hebrew word (מַס, mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
