King James Version
1 Kings 5
18 verses with commentary
Preparations for Building the Temple
And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuan...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Hiram **is first mentioned in 2Samuel 5:11 (and the parallel, 1Chronicles 14:1) as having sent workmen and materials to David for the building of his house. He is described as a “lover of David.” Ancient tradition makes him a tributary or dependent monarch; and his attitude, as described in Scripture, towards both David and Solomon agrees with this. Josephus (*100* *Apion, i.* 17, § 18) cite...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution to 1 Kings' theological message about kingship, covenant, and faithfulnes...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The t...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Thou knowest.**—In the description (1Chronicles 22:4) of David’s collection of materials for the Temple, it is noted that “the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.” Hence Hiram knew well his desire of building the Temple, and the care with which, when disappointed of it, he prepared for the happier experience of his successor.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 21
2Sa 21:1-9. The Three Years' Famine for the Gibeonites Cease by Hanging Seven of Saul's Sons.
**1. the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites--**The sacred history has not recorded either the time or the reason of this massacre. Some think that they were sufferers in the atrocity perpetrated by Saul at Nob (1Sa 22:19), where many of t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah--**Under pretense of a rigorous and faithful execution of the divine law regarding the extermination of the Canaanites, he set himself to expel or destroy those whom Joshua had been deceived into sparing. His real object seems to have been, that the possessions of the Gibeonites, being forfeited to the crown, might be divided among his own peopl...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. purpose: Heb. say
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. appoint: Heb. say
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Cedar trees out of Lebanon.**—The central range of Lebanon is bare; but in the lower ranges there is still—probably in old times there was to a far greater extent—a rich abundance of timber, specially precious to the comparatively treeless country of Palestine. The forest of Lebanon was proverbial for its beauty and fragrance (Song of Solomon 4:11; Hosea 14:6-7), watered by the streams from ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Heb...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Blessed be the Lord.**—Hiram’s answer is one of deference, still more clearly marked in 2Chronicles 2:12-16. His acknowledgment of Jehovah the God of Israel is a token rather of such deference to Israel, than of any acceptance of Him as the one true God.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. considered: Heb. heard
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**6. Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul--**The practice of the Hebrews, as of most Oriental nations, was to slay first, and afterwards to suspend on a gibbet, the body not being left hanging after sunset. The king could not refuse this demand of the Gibeonites, who, in making it, were only exercising their right as blood-avenger...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. appoint: Heb. send
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Shall bring them.**—The timber was to be carried down, or, perhaps, let down on slides along the face of the mountain towards the sea, and brought round by rafts to Joppa (2Chronicles 2:16), to save the enormous cost and difficulty of land carriage. The grant of “food for his household” in return (instead of “hire”) brings out that which is recorded so many ages afterwards in Acts 12:20—that...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 5
Chapter Outline
Solomon's agreement with Hiram.(1-9)
Solomon's workmen for the temple.(10-18)
**Verses 1-9**
Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, no Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in ...
Read full commentary →So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution to 1 Kings' theological message...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel--**Merab, Michal's sister, was the wife of Adriel; but Michal adopted and brought up the boys under her care.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. measures: Heb. cors
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The temple represents God's dwelling among His...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Twenty thousand measures of wheat.**—This agrees well enough with the calculation in 1Kings 4:22 of ninety measures a day—something over 32,000 a year—for Solomon’s Court, presumably greater than that of Hiram. But the “twenty measures of oil “—even of the pure refined oil—is so insignificant in comparison, that it seems best to adopt the Greek reading here (agreeing with 2Chronicles 2:10, ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9. they hanged them in the hill before the Lord--**Deeming themselves not bound by the criminal law of Israel (De 21:22, 23), their intention was to let the bodies hang until God, propitiated by this offering, should send rain upon the land, for the want of it had occasioned the famine. It was a heathen practice to gibbet men with a view of appeasing the anger of the gods in seasons of famine, a...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. Solomon's God-given wisdom points to Christ, 'in whom are hidden a...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**10. Rizpah ... took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock--**She erected a tent near the spot, in which she and her servants kept watch, as the relatives of executed persons were wont to do, day and night, to scare the birds and beasts of prey away from the remains exposed on the low-standing gibbets.
2Sa 21:12-22. David Buries the Bones of Saul and Jonathan in Their Father's Sepulch...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. levy: Heb. tribute of men
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contribution to 1 Kings' theologi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Levy out of all Israel.**—This, though far from being onerous, appears to have been at this time exceptional. For in 1Kings 9:22 we read that “of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains.” Thus exceptionally introduced at first for the special service of God, it may have been the beginning of what was h...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for un...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**12. David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son, &c.--**Before long, the descent of copious showers, or perhaps an order of the king, gave Rizpah the satisfaction of releasing the corpses from their ignominious exposure; and, incited by her pious example, David ordered the remains of Saul and his sons to be transferred from their obscure grave in Jabesh-gilead to ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding this passage's contributi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important f...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **The chief of Solomon’s officers **we should certainly have supposed to have been taken from the Israelites (as clearly were the 550 named in 1Kings 9:23). But the passage in Chronicles (2Chronicles 2:18)—reckoning them at 3,600—seems to imply that they were, like the overseers of Israel in the Egyptian bondage (Exodus 5:14-15), taken from the subject races.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The temple represents God's dwelling among His people and foreshadows Christ as ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Great stones.**—The stones, so emphatically described as “great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones,” were necessary, not so much for “the foundation” of the Temple itself, which was small, but for the substructure of the area, formed into a square on the irregular summit of Mount Moriah. In this substructure vast stones are still to be seen, and are referred by many authorities to the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-22. Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel--**Although the Philistines had completely succumbed to the army of David, yet the appearance of any gigantic champions among them revived their courage and stirred them up to renewed inroads on the Hebrew territory. Four successive contests they provoked during the latter period of David's reign, in the first of which the king ran so...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house. stonesquares: or, Giblites
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of preparations for building the temple, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The temple represents God's dwelling among His people and foreshadow...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **The stone-squarers.**—This rendering is a curious gloss on the proper name, “*Giblites” *(see margin)—the inhabitants of Gebal (mentioned in Ezekiel 27:9 in connection with Tyre, and probably in Psalm 83:7), a city on the coast of Phœnicia—simply because the context shows that they were clever in stone-squaring. As they are distinguished from Hiram’s builders, it is possible that they were ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**15-22. Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel--**Although the Philistines had completely succumbed to the army of David, yet the appearance of any gigantic champions among them revived their courage and stirred them up to renewed inroads on the Hebrew territory. Four successive contests they provoked during the latter period of David's reign, in the first of which the king ran so...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-18**
The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men....
Read full commentary →