King James Version
1 Kings 9
28 verses with commentary
The Lord Appears to Solomon
And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The temple represents God'...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **And it came to pass.**—The obvious *primâ facie *meaning of this verse would land us in much difficulty. By 1Kings 6:38; 1Kings 7:1, we find that, while the Temple was built in seven years, the erection of the palace and the other buildings occupied thirteen years; and from 1Kings 5:10 and 2Chronicles 8:1 it appears that these works were successive, and therefore that the completion of the p...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-31. Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba--**He renews to her the solemn pledge he had given, in terms of solemnity and impressiveness which show that the aged monarch had roused himself to the duty the emergency called for.
1Ki 1:32-49. Solomon, by David's Appointment, Is Anointed King.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, 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 t...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28-31. Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba--**He renews to her the solemn pledge he had given, in terms of solemnity and impressiveness which show that the aged monarch had roused himself to the duty the emergency called for.
1Ki 1:32-49. Solomon, by David's Appointment, Is Anointed King.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3-9) **And the Lord said unto him.**—This vision of the Lord presents a remarkable contrast with that recorded in 1Kings 6:11-13, while the Temple was in building. Then all was promise and encouragement; now, not only is warning mingled with promise, but, as in Solomon’s own prayer, the sadder alternative seems in prophetic anticipation to overpower the brighter. In this there is (as has been oft...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33. cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule--**Directions were forthwith given for the immediate coronation of Solomon. A procession was to be formed by the "servants of their lord"--that is, the king's bodyguard. Mules were then used by all the princes (2Sa 13:29); but there was a state mule of which all subjects were forbidden, under pain of death, to make use, without special permissi...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, 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
(5) **If thou wilt walk.**—The fall of the house of Solomon from dominion over all Israel is an emphatic comment on the conditional nature of this promise. Yet the essence of the covenant with David was kept in that preservation of the diminished kingdom to an unbroken succession of his descendants—singularly contrasted with the changes of dynasty in the greater rival kingdom—which is expressly de...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**34. anoint him--**done only in the case of a new dynasty or disputed succession (see on 1Sa 16:13; 2Sa 2:1).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apo...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**35. Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne--**The public recognition of the successor to the throne, during the old king's lifetime, is accordant with the customs of the East.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people:</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building,...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Then will I cut off.**—These warnings were repeated with terrible force by Jeremiah on the eve of their fulfilment. (See Jeremiah 7:12-14; Jeremiah 24:9; Jeremiah 25:9.) The destruction of the Temple is by him compared with that which fell on Shiloh—no doubt, after the great defeat by the Philistines in the time of Eli (1 Samuel 4, 5), although the history gives no record of it. The continue...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **At this house, which is high.**—The word “which” is not in the original Hebrew here (although found in the present Hebrew text of 2Chronicles 7:21). The true meaning is certainly “This house shall be high;” which is the reading of the LXX., while the Vulg. has a good explanatory gloss, “This house shall be for an example.” Various corrections have been proposed, but there seems no necessity ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Brought . . . out of the land of Egypt.**—This is appealed to here in exactly a converse sense to the mention of it in Solomon’s prayer. There it was made the ground for pleading with the Lord for His continued favour (see 1Kings 8:51-53); here for His claim of the undivided allegiance of the people, for it marked His new “covenant” with the people, now become a nation (see Jeremiah 31:32), ...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 9
Chapter Outline
God's answer to Solomon.(1-9)
The presents of Solomon and Hiram.(10-14)
Solomon's buildings, His trade.(15-28)
**Verses 1-9**
God warned Solomon, now he had newly built and dedicated the temple, that he and his people might not be high-minded, but fear. After all the services we can perform, we stand upon the same terms with the Lord as before. Nothi...
Read full commentary →Solomon's Other Activities
And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king's house,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The temple represents God's dwelling among His people a...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **And it came to pass.**—To this detailed account of the building and consecration of the Temple, ending at 1Kings 9:9, succeed, first, a notice of a visit of Hiram; and then a section of wholly different character, a series of brief notes (evidently official records), of the works and the government of Solomon, which continues—broken only by the episode of the visit of the Queen of Sheba—to ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**39. an horn of oil out of the tabernacle--**It was the sacred oil (Ex 30:25) with which the kings were anointed.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14**
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.
( Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragi...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Gave Hiram . . . cities.**—This implies a debt to him for timber and gold, and probably stone also, over and above the payment in kind stipulated for in 1Kings 5:9. From the notice in 2Chronicles 8:2, that, when these cities were restored by Hiram, Solomon rebuilt them, and peopled them with Israelites, it seems likely that they were previously cities of the subject races, which he would ha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**40. all the people came up after him--**that is, from the valley to the citadel of Zion.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14**
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.
And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. pleased: Heb. were not right in his eyes
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, 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 co...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) The cities are said to have been in “the land of Galilee.” The name *Galilee*, signifying properly a “circle” or “ring” of territory, is used twice in the Book of Joshua for a region round Kedesh-Naphtali (Joshua 20:7; Joshua 21:32), lying to the north-west of the Lake of Gennesareth, and extending to the Waters of Merom. (See also 2Kings 15:29.) The western portion of this territory would li...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14**
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.
And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. Cabul: that is, displeasing, or, dirty
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understa...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(13) **Cabul.**—The derivation of this word is uncertain. Josephus evidently did not know it as a Hebrew word; for he expressly says, that in the Phænician language it signifies “what is unpleasing.” (*Ant. viii.* 100:5, sect. 3). A city Cabul is mentioned in Joshua 19:27, in the territory of Asher, evidently on the Tyrian frontier, and in the neighbourhood in question. Hiram, it is thought, takes...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14**
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.
And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, 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 ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(14) **Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.**—The payment, on any calculation, was a large one, though little more than a sixth of Solomon’s yearly revenue. (See 1Kings 10:14.) How it is connected with the previous verses is matter of conjecture. It may possibly be a note referring back to 1Kings 9:11, and explaining the amount of gold which Hiram had sent. If this is not so, it would ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 10-14**
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.
And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostas...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(15) **The levy.**—This (see 1Kings 5:13; 1Kings 5:15) was both of Israelites and of the subject races, first originated for the building of the Temple, afterwards extended to the other great building works.
The building works enumerated are, first in Jerusalem, then in various parts of the country of critical importance, either for war or for commerce.
**Millo,** or (as it always has the definite...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon's wife.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic aposta...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(16) **A present**—that is, of course, a dowry, on her marriage with Solomon.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And Solomon built Gezer, and Bethhoron the nether,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, 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 k...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(17) **Beth-horon the nether.**—The name “Beth-horon” (“the house of caves,”) was given to two small towns or villages (still called *Beit-ûr*), near Gezer, commanding the steep and rugged pass from the maritime plain, celebrated for three great victories of Israel—the great victory of Joshua (Joshua , 10), the victory of Judas Maccabæus (1 Maccabees 3:13-24), and the last victory of the Jews over...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, 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 abo...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(18) **Baalath** is said by Josephus to have been in the same neighbourhood; and this agrees with the mention of it in Joshua 19:44, as lying in the region assigned to Dan, on the edge of the Philistine country. The three, Gezer, Beth-horon, and Baalath, evidently form a group of fortified places commanding the passes from the sea-coast.
**Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land.**—The Hebrew text h...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. that which: Heb. the desire of Solomon which he desired
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple buildin...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(19) **That which Solomon desired to build.**—See, in Ecclesiastes 2:4-10, the description of the vineyards, and gardens, and orchards, in Jerusalem, with trees of all manner of fruits and pools of water, “whatsoever mine eyes desired;” and in Song of Solomon 2:10-13; Song of Solomon 4:8; Song of Solomon 7:11-13, the vivid pictures of the pleasure-gardens of Lebanon. The text seems evidently to re...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances importan...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(20) **A tribute of bond service.**—This was probably not originated, but simply enforced and organised, by Solomon. It dated, in theory at least, from the Conquest. The most notable example of it is the case of the Gibeonites (Joshua 9:21-27); but there are incidental notices of similar imposition of serfship in Judges 1:28; Judges 1:30; Judges 1:33; Judges 1:35. Many of the dangers of the stormy...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**41-49. Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating--**The loud shouts raised by the populace at the joyous proclamation at Gihon, and echoed by assembled thousands, from Zion to En-rogel, were easily heard at that distance by Adonijah and his confederates. The arrival of a trusty messenger, who gave a full detail of the coronation ceremony [1Ki 1:43-...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**50-53. Adonijah ... went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar--**most probably the altar of burnt offering which had been erected on Mount Zion, where Abiathar, one of his partisans, presided as high priest. The horns or projections at the four corners of the altar, to which the sacrifices were bound, and which were tipped with the blood of the victim, were symbols of grace and salvation t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →But 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, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But 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, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(22) **No bondmen.**—This exemption, however it may have continued in theory, must virtually have been set aside in the later days of Solomon. (See 1Kings 12:4.) They are here described as occupying the position of a dominant race—as warriors, servants about the person of the king, princes, and officers in the array—like the free vassals under a feudal monarchy. But as the absolute power of the ki...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**50-53. Adonijah ... went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar--**most probably the altar of burnt offering which had been erected on Mount Zion, where Abiathar, one of his partisans, presided as high priest. The horns or projections at the four corners of the altar, to which the sacrifices were bound, and which were tipped with the blood of the victim, were symbols of grace and salvation t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuanc...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(23) **Five hundred and fifty.**—In 1Kings 5:16 we read of just six times as many officers as those here mentioned over the workers for the Temple. But in that passage there would seem to be reference to the special levy then raised; here the description is apparently of a regularly established system.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**50-53. Adonijah ... went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar--**most probably the altar of burnt offering which had been erected on Mount Zion, where Abiathar, one of his partisans, presided as high priest. The horns or projections at the four corners of the altar, to which the sacrifices were bound, and which were tipped with the blood of the victim, were symbols of grace and salvation t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>But Pharaoh's daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. The temple represents God's dwelling among His people and ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(24) **Pharaoh’s daughter came up . . .**—In 2Chronicles 8:11 a reason is assigned for this removal: “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy whereunto the ark of the Lord hath come.” In this passage the notice of her withdrawal is evidently connected with the building of “the Millo” described in 1Kings 9:15, which perhaps trenched on her former qu...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**50-53. Adonijah ... went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar--**most probably the altar of burnt offering which had been erected on Mount Zion, where Abiathar, one of his partisans, presided as high priest. The horns or projections at the four corners of the altar, to which the sacrifices were bound, and which were tipped with the blood of the victim, were symbols of grace and salvation t...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house. upon the altar that: Heb. upon it, etc
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple build...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(25) **And three times in a year.**—This verse seems by the last words to be a kind of note or postscript to the description of the completion and consecration of the Temple. To the record of the great inaugural sacrifice it adds a notice of the solemn renewal of the royal offering, both of victims and of incense, three times in a year—no doubt at the three great feasts, the Passover, the Feast of...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. shore: Heb. lip
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for unders...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(26) **Ezion-geber**.—This place is first noticed in Numbers 33:35 and Deuteronomy 2:8 as a station in the wanderings of the Israelites, reached not long before their entrance into Canaan. It lies at the head of the Gulf of Akabah, the nearest point of the Red Sea, on the edge of the mountain country of Edom. Its very name (“the giant’s backbone”) indicates the nature of the country around it, whi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
CHAPTER 2
1Ki 2:1-11. David Dies.
**1. David ... charged Solomon his son--**The charge recorded here was given to Solomon just before his death and is different from the farewell address delivered in public some time before (1Ch 28:2-9). It is introduced with great solemnity.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, 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 pass...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(27) **Shipmen that had knowledge of the sea**.—The Tyrians were known far and wide as the great sailors both of the Mediterranean and the seas beyond it, till they were rivalled and superseded by their own colonists in Carthage and by the Greeks. How greatly their seamanship, their commerce, and their civilisation impressed the imagination of Israel, is shown in the magnificent chapters of Ezekie...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**2. I go the way of all the earth--**a beautiful and impressive periphrasis for death.
**be thou strong, ... show thyself a man--**This counsel is similar to the apostolic direction (1Co 16:13) and refers to the fortitude or strength of mind that was required to discharge the onerous functions of king.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
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KJV Study Commentary
<strong>And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.</strong><br><br>This verse contributes to the broader narrative of god's covenant with solomon and his building projects, within the book's focus on Solomon's wisdom, temple building, and tragic apostasy. <br><br>The Hebrew text reveals nuances important for understanding ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(28) **Ophir.**—All that can be certainly gathered from the mention of Ophir in the Old Testament is, first; that it was situated to the east of Palestine and approached by the Red Sea (as is clear from this passage, from 1Kings 22:48, and from 2Chronicles 8:18; 2Chronicles 9:10), and next, that so famous was the gold imported from it, that the “gold of Ophir” became proverbial (Job 22:24, Job_28:...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**3. keep the charge of the Lord thy God--**that is, the divine law in all its ceremonial as well as moral requirements. But particular reference was intended to its political institutions, as it was only by strictly maintaining the conduct that became the Hebrew monarch (De 17:10-20), that he would secure the blessing of peace and prosperity to his reign (see on De 4:5; De 29:10).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 15-28**
Here is a further account of Solomon's greatness. He began at the right end, for he built God's house first, and finished that before he began his own; then God blessed him, and he prospered in all his other buildings. Let piety begin, and profit follow; leave pleasure to the last. Whatever pains we take for the glory of God, and to profit others, we are likely to have the adv...
Read full commentary →