Preface: In 1Kings 5, Solomon and his father’s friend, King Hiram connect, both having genuine respect for one another. They will work together to gather and prepare the raw materials for both the Temple and (later) for Solomon’s palace. Most of this chapter is devoted to the negotiation between the two men and the number of men involved in this project.

This should be the most extensive examination of 1Kings 5 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Quotations:

 

Thomas Coke: There can be no reason why any Christian prince may not make a league and peace with the Great Turk, Mogul, or the Tartar, as well as David and Solomon did with Hiram...the elements of the Christian religion advise and enjoin a peace with all men; that is, to refrain from and avoid all acts of hostility with all the world, who will live peaceably with us, as the best...way to propagate the...truth.

 

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.

 

Bobby Unser quote (a graphic) taken from brainy quote; accessed March 9, 2017.

 

Max Brooks, from The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead: If you believe you can accomplish everything by "cramming" at the eleventh hour, by all means, don't lift a finger now. But you may think twice about beginning to build your ark once it has already started raining.

 

Alexander Graham Bell: Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds. I may be given credit for having blazed the trail, but when I look at the subsequent developments I feel the credit is due to others rather than to myself.

 

Albert Einstein, from Living Philosophies: Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of other men —above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.

 

Abraham Lincoln: Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.

Outline of Chapter 5:

Introduction

         vv.     1–12         Solomon’s Negotiations with Hiram for Help with Building the Temple

         vv.    13–18         Solomon’s Initial Workforce

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Preface               Bobby Unser quote (a graphic)

         Introduction         1Kings Image

         Introduction         The Temple and the Line of Promise

         Introduction         The Abbreviated Timeline of the Kings

         Introduction         The Prequel of 1Kings 5

         Introduction         The Bridgeway Bible Commentary’s Prequel

         Introduction         The Principals of 1Kings 5

         Introduction         The Places of 1Kings 5

         Introduction         Map of Tyre and Israel

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for 1Kings 5

         Introduction         Matthew Henry’s Synopsis of 1Kings 5

         Introduction         A Summary of 1Kings 5 from Bible Study Outlines

         Introduction         The Annotated Bible’s Outline

         Introduction         Peter Pett’s Chiasmatic Approach to 1Kings 5

         Introduction         The Pulpit Commentary Summarizes 1Kings 5

         Introduction         The Summarized Bible Synopsis of 1Kings 5

         v.       1              Smith on Hiram

         v.       1              Hiram, King of Tyre (a graphic)

         v.       1              Keil and Delitzsch on the Length of Hiram’s Reign

         v.       1              Information about Hiram from Various Sources

         v.       1              Easton on Tyre

         v.       1              Commentators on Tyre

         v.       4              The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary on the Blessings of Peace

         v.       4              A Young Barack Obama (a political cartoon)

         v.       4              Peter Pett: “What Solomon said was wrong” (including my commentary)

         v.       5              Is Building the Temple Just One Big Mistake? A Debate.

         v.       5              Why Solomon Builds the Temple, and not David

         v.       5              Regarding typology and the church

         v.       5              Photos of the Sagrada Familia

         v.       5              Berachah Church (photo)

         v.       6              On the Cedars of Lebanon (Various Commentators)

         v.       6              The Skill of the Sidonians, from Various Commentators

         v.       6              Vitruvius Records Rules for Felling Timber

         v.       7              King Hiram (a graphic) This section includes secular history of King Hiram.

         v.       7              Commentators who do not believe that Hiram trusted in the God of David

         v.       7              Hiram Believes in the Revealed God

         v.       7              A Friendship Preserved by a Cigar Company (a photo)

         v.       9              Moving the Lumber (Several Commentators)

         v.       9              The Twelve Tribes of Israel (a map)

         v.       9              Route of the Lumber (several commentators)

         v.      10              The Cedars of Tyre (a photo)

         v.      11              Manuscript Errors in the Bible

         v.      11              Michael Kroger: Role of the Autographs

         v.      11              Michael Kroger: Corruption of the Manuscripts

         v.      11              Conclusions we can draw from the study of textual accuracy

         v.      11              Links to Preservation of the Text of Scripture

         v.      11              Pure Olive Oil (Several Commentators)

         v.      11              Solomon’s Annual Payment to Hiram (from The College Press Bible Study)

         v.      11              Hiram, Solomon and Self-interest

         v.      11              Personal attacks on those in service to God

         v.      11              The believer and the ministries of others

         v.      11              The Exchange of Goods and Services Between Solomon and Hiram

         v.      12              Various Commentators on Solomon’s Wisdom

         v.      12              The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary on Kingly Wisdom

         v.      12              1Kings 5:12 (AKJV)

         v.      12              Tyre and Israel—a lesson on personal influence (from The Pulpit Commentary)

         v.      12              Various Opinions About Solomon’s Treaty/Agreement with Hiram

         v.      13              Various Commentators on Solomon’s Labor Force of Israelites

         v.      13              Solomon’s work projects and Adoram, who was over the labor

         v.      14              Were Solomon’s Workers Remunerated?

         v.      14              ISBE on Adoniram

         v.      14              Matthew Poole on the Largeness of This Project

         v.      15              Various Commentators on the Stone Workers

         v.      16              1Kings 5:16 (a graphic)

         v.      16              Various Commentators on the Number of Workers

         v.      16              Various Commentators on the Number of Supervisors in Kings and Chronicles

         v.      16              The College Press Bible Study Makes the Numbers Work

         v.      16              The College Press Bible Study Table which Makes the Numbers Work

         v.      16              Lange on the workmen at the Temple building

         v.      16              Organization of Solomon’s Work Force from the College Press Bible Study

         v.      16              The Arguments Made for Socialism (or Communism)

         v.      17              The Kind of Stones Named Here (Various Commentators)

         v.      17              The Stone Foundation for the Temple (Various Commentators)

         v.      18              Various Commentators on, Stone Squarers or Gebalites

         v.      18              King Solomon Builds a Temple for God (an illustration)

         v.      18              The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary on Phœnician Skills

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why 1Kings 5 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from 1Kings 5

         Summary            George Will: Pencils and Politics

         Summary            B. H. Carroll Summarizes 1Kings 5

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes 1Kings 5

         Summary            Parallel Passages: 1Kings 5 and 2Chronicles 2

         Addendum          Temple Diagram #1 from The College Press Bible Study

         Addendum          Temple Diagram #2 from The College Press Bible Study

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          The Expositor’s Bible Commentary on Solomon’s Skills as a Builder

         Addendum          The Temple and Jesus Christ (from the Pulpit Commentary)

         Addendum          Two Opinions on the Tabernacle versus the Temple

         Addendum          More quotations from Pett on the Temple

         Addendum          Genocides and Political Killings of the 20^th Century

         Addendum          Anti-Religious Meme (a graphic)

         Addendum          Anti-Religious Meme2 (a graphic)

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of 1Kings 5

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of 1Kings 5

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of 1Kings 5

Definition of Terms
1st Advent	The time period when Jesus was born and had His earthly ministry. This time period extends from His birth to His death, resurrection and ascension.
2nd Advent of Jesus Christ	Jesus Christ will return to earth at the end of the Tribulation with His saints to destroy the armies gathered against Israel and to restore the earth to perfect environment. (Bible Doctrine Resource) (McLaughlin—which appears to be where BDR got this doctrine from)
Age of Israel	This is the period of time in history where God works through believers in nation Israel. God also worked through the Abraham and those descended from him until nation Israel was established. See the Three Dispensations: The Age of Israel, the Age of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
Autographs	An autograph is an error-free copy of an original manuscript of a book of the Bible. We have no original manuscripts and we have no actual autographs.
Church Age	The period of time in history where God works through the body of believers, also known as the church. This age began on the Day of Pentecost, following our Lord’s resurrection and ascension, and continues today. See the Three Dispensations: The Age of Israel, the Age of the Hypostatic Union and the Church Age (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
Edification Complex	"Edification" in the Greek is oikodomê (οἰκοδομη), which means a building or structure. The edification of the soul is accomplished by a building, or Edification Complex, that is constructed in the soul of the believer through the metabolization of Bible Doctrine. See the Doctrine of the Edification Complex of the Soul (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).
Operation Z	Operation Z refers to the process of receiving aand retaining Bible doctrine in the human soul. The pastor-teacher teaches the Word of God accurately from the pulpit and we hear and consider that information. This is known as the staging area of the soul; and doctrine retained here is of no use to us. It is simply iinformation. When we believe what we have heard, then the doctrine is transferred to our heart, into our thinking; and I would say that it is then placed into the human spirit. The human soul contains information about ourselves and our surroundings; and the human spirit contains information about ourselves, God, and our relationship with Him. See also Bible Doctrine Resource.
The Revealed God (or, the Revealed Lord)	We all come to a time of God-consciousness where we understand the concept and possibility of the existence of God. At that point, we face 2 great questions: (1) do we want to know this God and (2) are will willing to believe in God as He has revealed Himself or do we make a god in our own image and worship that? In both the Old and New Testaments, God will make Himself known (He reveals Himself) to those who will believe in Him and to others as well. We know Him firmly and concretely as Jesus Christ; and in the Old Testament, He is known as the God of the Jews, the Creator of the Universe, the God of Moses (or of Abraham), etc.
The Temple	The Temple is a permanent structure as the place of worship of the Revealed God, originally built by Solomon. Both Solomon and the Temple represent the Lord Jesus Christ and His reign in the Millennium. See the Temple, Description and Measurements (Grace Notes); Solomon’s Temple (Redeeming Grace); the Temple (Redeeming Grace).
Typology	A type is a preordained representation wherein certain persons, events, and institutions of the O.T. stand for corresponding persons, events, and institutions of the N.T. Types are pictures or object lessons by which God has taught His redemptive plan. They are a shadow of things to come, not the image of those things (Col. 2:17 Heb. 8:5 10:1). See the Doctrine of Typology (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

——————————

An Introduction to 1Kings 5

I ntroduction: 1Kings 5, along with the following 3 chapters, are primarily about the preparation for, the building of and consecrating of the Temple, which is one of the most important events to take place during the reign of Solomon. 1Kings 5 is primarily about the alliance between Solomon and Hiram (the king of Tyre), a business agreement between the two kings, and the initial gathering of materials which would be used to build the Temple.

1Kings Image, from Athney Creek Christian Fellowship; accessed March 9, 2017.

Hiram and Solomon relayed some messages back and forth, after the death of King David, wherein it is made clear that Solomon still respects the friendship and alliance between his father and Hiram; and he asks Hiram for help in building the Temple. Building is clearly Hiram’s forte—we hear more about his building projects than we hear about his reign in Tyre—and he jumps at the chance to work hand-in-hand with Solomon to build the Temple.

A portion of this chapter is given over to the negotiations which took place between the two men, determining who would be responsible for what; and the end of this chapter gives us an idea as to the incredible manpower which was involved in this project.

College Press Bible Study: Preparations for Temple construction commenced long before Solomon ascended the throne. The Temple site—Mt. Moriah—had been indicated by God to David in connection with the cessation of the plague against Jerusalem (2Sam. 24:18–25). But much had to be done in both leveling and raising that ground in order to secure a flat construction area. This work may have begun while David was yet king. The Scriptures explicitly state that David energetically engaged in gathering various materials for the Temple—gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood and precious stones (1Chron. 29:2–5). Once Solomon had successfully established himself on the throne of his father, he wholeheartedly devoted himself to those final preparations which were necessary before actual construction could commence. Chapter 5 tells (1) of his negotiations with Hiram of Tyre (1Kings 5:1–12); and (2) of the laboring force which he conscripted to assist in the project (1Kings 5:13–18).

Building a Temple is David’s original idea. He first reasoned that, if he lives in a luxurious palace, what sense does it make for the Ark of God to dwell in a tent? He realized that, if Israel had a permanent place in the land of promise, that there ought to be a permanent place for the worship of God as well. The Tabernacle was designed to be moved around, from time to time; but a Temple would be a permanent structure which remained in one place. It made sense to have a Tabernacle while Israel was traveling through the desert; but now that Israel had been established as a powerful, permanent nation, then God needed to have a permanent place of worship. God did not tell David that he needed to do this; David decided this on his own. As a result, God gave David the Davidic Covenant. However, God also told David that he would not be the man to build this Temple, but his son would do that (2Sam. 7:10–14 1Kings 5:3–5).

Let’s go back a little further to set this up: back in the days of Eli and Samuel, the Jews, involved in a war with the Philistines, grabbed up the Ark of God and took it into battle, using it as a good luck charm (which was not a proper use of the Ark). Well, it did not work and the Philistines captured the Ark and routed the Israelites. However, it caused the Philistines a great many problems, to a point where they finally returned the Ark to the people of Israel. However, the people of Israel did not fully understand how to move the Ark (they had not consulted the Law of Moses), so men died when trying to move it. Finally, it was taken to a person’s house and just kept there, and not used—the people had become afraid of the Ark and its power. It was King David who brought the Ark to Jerusalem and put it into use, but only after a man died trying to move it, forcing David to study the Law to figure out how to move it. See 2Samuel 6 (David Moves the Ark to Jerusalem) (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) for more details.

After bringing the Ark to Jerusalem, David designed a Tent for the Ark, because it could not just sit at someone’s house and it could not just sit outside in the element. The Ark of God was designed to be kept in the Tabernacle, but David did not bring them together (in his lifetime, the Ark had never been in the Tabernacle). So the Ark remained there in Jerusalem, probably as a place of worship (but the people did not have any kind of contact with the Ark). For this and other reasons, two high priests arose, one who ministered at the still-functioning Tabernacle and another who apparently ministered at the Tent of the Ark of God.

When David had time to catch his breath, as king of Israel, he became concerned that he lived in a palace, but the Ark was in a tent. This did not seem right to him; the incongruity of the matter led David to propose building the Temple to Nathan the prophet. God spoke to Nathan and told him that David would not build the Temple, but his son would. Nathan conveyed this to King David, along with the Davidic Covenant. See 2Samuel 7 (The Davidic Covenant) (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) for more details.

This chapter more or less ends with the materials having been gathered together to be used to build the Temple. 1Kings 6–7 will deal with the actual building of the Temple followed by the dedication of the Temple (1Kings 8).

College Press Bible Study: Without question the greatest achievement of Solomon’s glorious reign was the construction of the Jerusalem Temple. Using plans designed by David, and the expertise of Phoenician craftsmen, Solomon brought into being what surely must have been one of the wonders of ancient architecture. In chapter 5 the author relates the preparations which were made for this pious undertaking, and in chapter 6 he describes the Temple as it was completed.

We do not know at what point Solomon and Hiram began corresponding and gathering materials—it would make sense for Hiram to have contacted Solomon within a year of David’s death. The actual building of the Temple began in the 4^th year of Solomon’s reign (1Kings 6:1).

1Kings 5–6 will be interesting chapters, filled with numeric details about the building of the Temple: how many people were involved, how long it took, how much Solomon paid Hiram, and the dimensions of the Temple itself. From time to time, the Bible does deal in such specific numeric details.

We have no idea as to the source material for this chapter or for its parallel chapter 2Chron. 2, The details are not precisely the same. This does not mean that they are not complementary accounts; but it is reasonable to assume that they were composed hundreds of years apart—whether based upon the exact same source material or not, we have no idea.

The overall passage dealing with this is in 2Chron. 2–8; and it is quite a bit more detailed. That is quite interesting, as Chronicles is believed to have been written much later than Samuel or Kings. Perhaps the original document is 2Chron. 2–8; and this was used to write 1Kings 5–8, with some additional personal recollections added in. Chronicles would have been compiled from existing documents at a much later date; and it may have simply included entire documents here and there.

In what I have studied so far in Scripture, the people of Israel, in general, were never confused about the Temple, insofar as thinking God needed a place to stay or thinking that God was confined to the Temple. David did not have these ideas about the Temple; nor did Solomon. Whatever confusion that was possible concerning the Temple was also possible concerning the Tabernacle. For instance, if someone believed that God was limited or confined in some way by the Temple, then that same misunderstanding of doctrine could occur with the Tabernacle (or with the Ark of God). For instance, when fighting against the Philistines, the Jewish army seemed to think that either the Ark of God was a good luck charm or that God needed to be brought into the battle by means of carrying the Ark of God into battle back in 1Sam. 4. That is a result of the misapplication of doctrine and a misunderstanding of the Ark. The confusion exhibited in 1Sam. 4 is not an argument against Israel having the Ark. My point is, even though it is possible for people in Israel to become confused about God and the Temple; this is not a reason against building the Temple.

Peter Pett makes this comment: YHWH’s allowing of the building of the Temple would have caused no problem if only Israel (and later the Jews) had recognised that the physical Temple was but a symbol of the ‘spiritual house’ that YHWH would establish in the Coming King. How different history would have been in that case. But while they did partly grasp it in the idea of the coming of the Messiah, they had totally wrong ideas about Him, and on the whole both failed to recognise Him when He came, or to recognise that His coming signalled the demise of the Temple which had lost its significance with His coming. They had become wedded to the Temple. To them the Temple had become more important than the Messiah. Similar blindness to some extent pervades much of the church today.

Let me disagree with Pett, to some degree. The problem is not the Temple, per se, nor is it any of the symbols and types found in the Old Testament; the problem lies in the sin nature and the free will of man. We have the innate desire to twist and obscure Scripture, so that our own pet sins are justified (we see this most remarkably in the gay movement today, where the Scriptures of God are both reviled for condemning homosexuality as a sin; and distorted, so that they allege that the Bible does not really condemn homosexuality—somewhat of a schizophrenic position).

To state this a different way, we cannot say that the Temple was some sort of mistake, simply because this or that set of people misunderstood the Temple or used it as a place for misdeeds (as the Pharisees did during the time of our Lord).

Pett does make the interesting remark that, regarding prophecy, we are making the mistake of looking for a physical Temple in the Tribulation. That is an interesting theory, one which I have not explored (nor do I automatically accept it). I will place it in my brain to ruminate.

The rightness or wrongness of building the Temple will be discussed in much greater detail here.

Keil and Delitzsch: [T]he LXX ...concluded that, as the foundation for the temple was laid in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, the preliminary work must have occupied the first three years of his reign. To me, that seems fairly quick, for those massive stones to be dug out, cut and shaped, and then shipped down to Jerusalem. Based upon all that had to be done, laying the foundation seems as though it would be the longest portion of the building of the Temple. I would not be surprised if the actual building of the Temple, once the wood had been delivered and cut, took a year.

Most of the estimates are, the building of the Temple took 7 years. I would not be surprised if the majority of that time was spend on the foundation.

We need to know where this chapter takes place.
The Places of 1Kings 5
Place	Description
Israel	This is the land of Canaan, given to the sons of Jacob in Exodus, taken by Joshua and expanded upon by King David.
Tyre	A port city north of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea. Although Hiram is called the king of Tyre, he apparently reigns over a much larger area.
Map of Tyre and Israel. The city of Tyre is in the upper lefthand corner; and the Lebanon mountains are the mountains off to the right. This maps shows Israel and Judah as two separate countries, which would occur after Solomon’s reign. Jerusalem, where the materials would be carried to, is at the bottom of the map, to the left of the Dead Sea. Map is from http://www.bible-history.com/geography/ancient-israel/israel-old-testament.html accessed March 10, 2017.

Dr. Robert Dean, Jr.: Solomon and Hiram want their respective kingdoms to grow and expand in dominance, yet without military conquest. This is a fantastic alliance that develops because under Hiram the Phoenicians controlled the seaway and all trade that took place on the water. Israel controlled the land routes, so between them all trade in the ancient world was controlled by either Phoenicia, Tyre or Israel.

Dr. Thomas Constable: The main emphasis in this chapter is on the favorable response of the Phoenician king, Hiram, with which God blessed Israel through Solomon's wisdom (1Kings 5:7). Solomon wrote that "when a person's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Prov. 16:7). Such was God's blessing on Solomon at this time.

J. Vernon McGee: In chapter 5 Solomon works out a business deal with King Hiram of Tyre for cedar and workmen. Also out of Israel he raises a levy of thirty thousand workmen. Chapter 6 details the construction of this costly and ornate temple which took seven years to complete.

Dr. Robert Dean, Jr.: [Solomon] organises his labour force for the building of the temple in 5:13-18.Then the construction of the temple is described in 6:1-10, followed by the confirmation of the covenant with God. God appears to Solomon a second time and confirms the Davidic covenant with him in 6:11-13. Then there is the conclusion of construction in 6:14-38. Other construction is described in 7:1-12, specifically Solomon's own royal palace, and then there is a description of all of the articles and contents within the temple itself and how they were constructed in 7:13. The Temple is then dedicated in 1Kings 8.

The Bridgeway Bible Commentary lists Solomon’s building programs to run between 1Kings 5:1–9:25.

1Kings 5:1–18, in most English Bibles, is equivalent to 1Kings 5:15–32 in many Jewish and some Catholic Bibles. The final 14 verses of 1Kings 4 are the first 14 verses in the latter category of chapter and verse groupings. With 1Kings 6, all Bibles will synch up again.

The Greek, Latin and Syriac Bibles begin 1Kings 5 with v. 1 below. In the Hebrew Bible, the verse below is v. 15. The division of chapters and verses took place long after the Scriptures were written, so they are not a part of the inspiration of the Bible. I will make note of this in the first and in the final verse of the Hebrew exegesis which follows.

In the English, we carefully distinguish between the Tabernacle, the Temple; a person’s house and a palace—these are 4 very different things, even though each one is a man-made structure that can be lived in. In the Hebrew, this is not quite as distinct. In 1Kings 5, the only reference to the Temple will be with the word house. Even though I, and many other translators, will use the word Temple, the Hebrew word behind it is the common word for house.

In 1Kings 6, we will have a word for Temple and the word for house; but the word translated Temple or palace; is also used to refer to the Tabernacle (or Tabernacle complex) in the time of Eli and Samuel (1Sam. 1:9 3:3). I should do a doctrine of these different designations in 1Kings 6.

I often quote extensively from Peter Pett because he is an outstanding commentator. However, in this chapter, there are some views which he takes that I believe need to be corrected. Stating his case and then refuting it has nothing to do with Pett personally, whom I respect very much. The idea is to properly read and interpret this chapter, which includes some understanding of the principals and their motives. Often, taking another person’s views, stating them, and then refuting them, helps in our overall understanding of the material that is before us. One of the odd points-of-view is the idea that God was not really that thrilled with the idea of building a Temple and God would have preferred that David never thought of it. Pett says that Y^ehowah was not really enthusiastic about David’s suggestion to build the Temple, and that David never understood that the words of God were meant to discourage him, as no earthly Temple could be remotely acceptable to, or suitable for, the God of Sinai. Since we are going to spend 4 chapters on the Temple, it might be worthwhile settling this question in the initial chapter. Commentator James Burton Coffman takes a similar approach, so, part way into this chapter, we will evaluate in great detail whether or not the Temple is a good idea in God’s eyes.

——————————

Solomon's Negotiations with Hiram for Help with Building the Temple

2Chronicles 2:1–16

Fenton Ferrar and Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge both placed this event at 1014 b.c.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text. In Kings, I have used the webpage of Ernest C. Marsh.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so sends Hiram a king of Tyre his servants unto Solomon when he heard him they anointed for a king instead of his father. For a lover was Hiram to David all the days.

Revised Douay-Rheims         And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon: for he heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram had always been David's friend.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    AND Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram was always a lover of David.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Chiram king of Tyre sent his servants to anoint Solomon in the room of David his father, because Chiram always loved David.

Significant differences:           There is no real difference between these. The Revised Douay-Rheims has been updated.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             Now Hiram, king of Tyre, hearing that Solomon had been made king in place of his father, sent his servants to him; for Hiram had ever been a friend to David.

Easy English                          Solomon prepares to build the temple

Hiram (was the) king of Tyre. He heard that Solomon had become king after his father (David). So (Hiram) sent his servants to Solomon, because Hiram had always been a friend of David.

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  Solomon and Hiram

Hiram was the king of Tyre. He had always been David’s friend. So when Hiram heard that Solomon had become the new king after David, he sent his servants to Solomon.

God’s Word™                         Preparations for Building the Temple

King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father. Hiram had always been David’s friend.

The Message                         International Fame

Hiram king of Tyre sent ambassadors to Solomon when he heard that he had been crowned king in David’s place. Hiram had loved David his whole life.

NIRV                                      Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

Hiram was the king of Tyre. He heard that Solomon had been anointed as king. He heard that Solomon had become the next king after his father David. Hiram had always been David’s friend.

New Simplified Bible              When King Hiram of Tyre heard that Solomon succeeded his father as king he sent ambassadors to Solomon. He had always been a friend of David's.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Wood and stone for the temple

Because King Hiram of Tyre was loyal to David throughout his rule, Hiram sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that Solomon had become king after his father.

Contemporary English V.       King Hiram of Tyre had always been friends with Solomon's father David. When Hiram learned that Solomon was king, he sent some of his officials to meet with Solomon.

The Living Bible                     King Hiram of Tyre had always been a great admirer of David, so when he learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to extend congratulations and good wishes.

New Life Version                    Now Hiram the king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had set him apart to be king in place of his father. Hiram had always loved David.

New Living Translation           Preparations for Building the Temple

King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then HiRam, the king of Tyre sent his servants to anoint Solomon in place of his father David; for HiRam loved David throughout his life.

International Standard V        Preparations to Build the Temple

(2 Chronicles 2:1-18)

King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he learned that Solomon [Lit. he] had been anointed king to replace his father, because Hiram had been David’s lifelong friend [Lit. David’s friend all his days].

This v. is 4:15 in MT, 5:2 is 4:16, and so on through 5:18, which is 4:32 in MT

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Messengers, too, were sent by Hiram, king of Tyre, when he heard that Solomon had been anointed king in place of his father David, that had ever been Hiram’s friend.

Translation for Translators                                 Preparations for building the temple

Hiram, the king of Tyre city, had always been a close friend of King David. When he heard that Solomon had been appointed to become the king after his father was no longer king, he sent some messengers to Solomon to congratulate him.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Awful Scroll Bible                   Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent out his servants to Solomon, for he is to have heard that he is to have been anointed king, in place of his father; for Hiram, in his days, is to be loving David.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                The King of Tyre Supplies to Solomon Timber for the Temple (b.c. 1014)

Khirami King of Tzur” also sent his ministers to Solomon, when he heard that he had been consecrated king as his father’s viceroy, for Khiram and David were friends all their time.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And Hiram king of Tire sent his servants unto Salomon, for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father. And thereto Hiram was ever a lover of Davids.

HCSB                                     Hiram’s Building Materials

Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place, for Hiram had always been friends with David.

Jubilee Bible 2000                  Hiram, king of Tyre, also sent his slaves unto Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father; for Hiram had always loved David.

Lexham English Bible            Solomon’s Wisdom: Architecture

Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him as king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend for David.

NIV – UK                                Preparations for building the temple

When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David.

Tree of Life Version                Hiram Offers Materials

Then King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram was always a friend of David.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

The Heritage Bible                 And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon, because he had attentively heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father, because Hiram was a lover of David all his days.

New American Bible (2011)   Preparations for the Temple.

[5:15–32] The fifth major unit of the Solomon story explains the preparations Solomon made for the construction of the Temple. He negotiates with Hiram of Tyre for materiel (5:15–26), and conscripts a labor force for personnel (5:27–32). Compare 9:11–23, which returns to the same two themes after the Temple has been built and dedicated. 2 Chr 2:1–17 presents another version of the same material.

When Hiram, king of Tyre, heard that Solomon had been anointed king in place of his father, he sent an embassy to him; for Hiram had always been David’s friend. David’s friend: the term “to be a friend,” lit., “to love,” is political, and means that David and Hiram had been allies. The purpose of Hiram’s embassy is to determine whether Solomon is willing to continue the alliance. This unspoken agenda lies behind the negotiations about materials for the Temple, as the concluding v. 26 makes clear.

New Jerusalem Bible             ¹⁵ Hiram king of Tyre sent an embassy to Solomon, having learnt that he had been anointed king in succession to his father and because Hiram had always been a friend of David.

Revised English Bible            Building of the temple

WHEN Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father's place, he sent envoys to him, because he had always been friendly with David.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   THE ALLIANCE OF SHELOMOH WITH SOVEREIGN HIRAM

And Hiram sovereign of Sor

sends his servants to Shelomoh;

for he hears they anointed him sovereign

in the stead of his father

- for Hiram was all days a lover of David.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               15King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

The Complete Tanach           15And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, for he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram was ever a lover of David.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Chiram Melech Tzor sent his avadim unto Sh’lomo; for he had heard that they had anointed him Melech in the place of his av; for Chiram was ever an ohev (friend) of Dovid.

The Scriptures 1998              And Ḥiram sovereign of Tsor sent his servants to Shelomoh, because he heard that they had anointed him sovereign in place of his father, for Ḥiram had always loved Dawi.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Amplified Bible                Alliance with King Hiram

Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

The Expanded Bible              Preparing to Build the Temple

Hiram, the king of Tyre, had always been David’s friend. When Hiram heard that Solomon had been ·made [^Lanointed] king in ·David’s [^Lhis father’s] place, he sent his ·messengers [ambassadors; servants] to Solomon.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-10

Solomon's Message to Hiram

And Hiram, king of Tyre, sent his servants unto Solomon, being one of those kings whose ambassadors brought good wishes to the king of Israel and Judah; for he had heard that they had anointed him in the room of his father; for Hiram was ever a lover of David. He had reigned even in the time of David, and now that Solomon's accession to the throne was announced, the admirer of the father sent his congratulations to the son.

NET Bible®                             Solomon Gathers Building Materials for the Temple

5:1 (5:15)1 King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers [Heb “his servants.”] to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in his father’s place. (Hiram had always been an ally of David.).

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.

The Voice                               News of Solomon’s succession of David reached the ears of Hiram, king of Tyre. Because Hiram was a friend of David, he sent a group of his servants to visit Solomon. Solomon gave a message to Hiram’s servants, which they took back to Hiram.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

BRG Bible                              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.

Emphasized Bible                  And Hiram King of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon, for he had heard that, him, had they anointed king, in the room of his father,—for, Hiram, was, a lover, of, David continually.

English Standard V. – UK       Preparations for Building the Temple

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram always loved David.

Katapi New Study Bible         Solomon's temple project. 1Kgs.5.1-18 (1st Temple, Jerusalem) - 960bce | 2Chr.2.1-18

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father; for Hiram always loved David.

Modern English Version         Plans to Build the Temple

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, for he had heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David.

NASB                                     Alliance with King Hiram

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

New European Version          Hiram Cooperates with Solomon to Build the Temple

Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father: for Hiram had always admired David.

New King James Version       Solomon Prepares to Build the Temple

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.

Young’s Updated LT             And Hiram king of Tyre sends his servants unto Solomon, for he heard that they had anointed him for king instead of his father, for Hiram was a lover of David all the days.

The gist of this passage:     When Hiram, the king of Tyre, heard the Solomon was now king, he sent some of his messengers to Solomon, as Hiram and David were both great friends.

Translation: Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon... Hiram was one of David’s allies from the very beginning.

Hiram’s mixed race is, he is part Jewish. His mother was a widow in Naphtali and his father was a man from Tyre (1Kings 7:13–14). He is called the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan (2Chron. 2:13–14). This is not a contradiction. His mother could have originally come from Dan, married a man in Naphtali, who later died; and then married a man of Tyre.

Mike Smith: Although he is styled simply “king of Tyre”, Hiram evidently ruled over a large part of the Phoenician coast and the forested mountains of Lebanon; men from Sidon and Byblos (Gebal) were among the workers he supplied.

Some have questioned whether this is actually Hiram or his son. Whedon clearly sets out the case that this is Hiram: Whether this Hiram was the same king of Tyre who supplied David with cedars and carpenters to build his royal palace, (see 2Sam. 5:11,) some have presumed to doubt. But the positive statement of this verse, that Hiram was ever a lover of David, and the words of Solomon’s message, (2Chron. 2:3,) “As you dealt with David my father, and sent him cedars to build him a house,” seem clearly to put it beyond all question that the same Hiram who furnished David materials for his palace assisted Solomon in the building of the temple.

Whedon, however, adds: No one would ever have thought otherwise had not Menander of Ephesus, according to Josephus, (Jos. against Apion, 1, 18,) affirmed that Hiram reigned thirty–four years; and this seems not long enough to meet the demands of the scriptural narrative. According to 1Kings 9:10, he was still living in the twentieth year of Solomon’s reign, and this would leave only fourteen years in which to have had his intercourse with David. Accordingly David, who reigned in all but forty years, and seven of these at Hebron, must have reigned nineteen years at Jerusalem before he began to build his royal palace there, a supposition altogether improbable. In view, therefore, of the consistency and positive statements of the scriptural narrative, we conclude that Menander’s chronology is wrong, and that Hiram’s reign must have extended over a large portion of that of both David and Solomon.

Hiram is called Huram in 2Chron. 2:3; Josephus calls him Irom (there is no h in the Greek); and Eupolemus in Eusebius called him Suron.

Hiram, King of Tyre (a graphic); from Pin Interest; accessed March 9, 2017.

Although the Biblical Illustrator says that, by tradition, Hiram was a tributary or dependent monarch; I see no evidence of that in Scripture. Solomon sent a proposal to Hiram and Hiram countered that proposal with some additional provisions. That does not sound like a dependant or submissive monarch to me. The implication of the Bible Illustrator seems to be, there could not be an alliance between equals. Nations with large Christian populations cooperate all of the time, without one nation being necessarily subservient to the other.

The narrative seems to treat Hiram as a man with specific construction skills who has a great workforce; and it would only seem prudent for Solomon to at the very least, pick Hiram’s brain when it comes to the construction of the Temple.

Although, it is not really clear in this chapter concerning Hiram’s relationship with God, this seems to be evidenced by his words in 2Chron. 2:11–12 Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in a letter that he sent to Solomon, "Because the LORD loves His people, He has made you king over them." Hiram also said, "Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, Who made heaven and earth, Who has given King David a wise son, Who has discretion and understanding, Who will build a temple for the LORD and a royal palace for Himself. (ESV; capitalized) This sounds very much like a man who believes in the Revealed God. Let me add that, Hiram does not seem to be upset that God is showing some favoritism of the Jewish people and of nation Israel.

We need not think of ourselves as being in some kind of competition with other believers. Even though Paul speaks of himself as being in a race and wanting to win that race; this does not mean that he denigrated Peter or any of the other Apostles, to make himself seem better. R. B. Thieme, Jr. used to call that inordinate competition.

When I was a teacher, I had another math teacher tell me that she considered herself in competition with me, but in a friendly way. She knew that my standards were high and she set her standards high as well to compete with me. I was not aware of this until we had known each other for at least 10 years. Neither one of us denigrated the other; and her seeing this as competition merely encouraged her to continually up her game. Two doctrinal pastors may see this in a similar way; and try to push their congregations as much as possible to keep up with another pastor. This is fine; and most doctrinal pastors know that the gold standard, set by R. B. Thieme, Jr., where he taught 10 classes a week (at his peak). I am not aware of any doctrinal teacher who is able to reach that, even having the benefit of being taught by the Colonel.

Most people who read this are not Jewish. There ought to be no jealousy exhibited towards Jewish believers. We are all on the same team. We are all working toward the same ends. Similarly, we should not exhibit jealousy or any sort of animosity toward believers who have different spiritual gifts than we have. There are some people who are perfect for working among the masses; there are some who witness really well on a one-to-one basis. There are those who serve in soup kitchens or flop houses (there are probably better names for these things now); and there are many that we barely know exist, who may quietly show up to church and quietly leave; and yet have the most marvelous prayer life. I remember reading the prayers of General George Patton in Bill O’Reilly’s book, Killing Patton and being quite amazed at the content. I can assure you that my prayers are not a tenth of what Patton’s were. God’s plan includes all kinds of people of all kinds of background with a great variety of spiritual gifts. We do not denigrate the ministry of others or other people simply because we are dissimilar.

And let me add, you do not attack the personal ministries of other individuals. Now, cults, that is a different thing, if the movement is clearly a cult and the problems are doctrinal. However, I think that it is very bad form for a believer to complain about or denigrate a particular person’s ministry. If you think that Pastor Charlie Brown is a bad pastor; then you do not go to his church. If he believes in X, Y and Z and you think that those doctrines are false, then you deal with those doctrines, not with Charley Brown. You do not attack a pastor because you believe that he is presenting the prosperity gospel (the idea that God blesses his best believers with material prosperity). You attack the false doctrines; you do not attack pastors personally.

And how much money a pastor makes, whether it is $15,000 a year or $50 million a year; it is none of your business. There are a whole lot of people who question a pastor who makes over $30k or over $50k a year. That is really none of your business. That is an issue between the church, the church board and the pastor. What he does with his money is between the pastor and God. Bear in mind that, the more well-known a pastor is, the more security issues there are for that pastor and his family. Providing security is not anti-God and providing security costs money. So if a pastor has a 15 foot rock wall around his home and a moat, it is none of your business. His security measures are not relevant to whatever discussion you want to have. If you have any kind of a discussion or if you do any teaching, or if you post something on facebook, then always make it about doctrinal matters and never about a particular person. If a particular pastor or church does not teach eternal security, and you object, then you should focus on eternal security; not on that church, not on that pastor. You never say, “Pastor Charley Brown, of the 1^st Church of Lakeside Drive, does not teach eternal security—that is wrong, ladies and gentlemen and you ought never to go to the church or fellowship with that man.” Do not go after individual pastors. To his Master, he stands or falls; and if you attack him—particularly in the pulpit—then expect some discipline to come your way, even if he is wrong on this or that doctrine.

Let me give you a good example of this. Early on in my Christian life, before I knew anything, I was listening to R. B. Thieme, Jr. and attending a Baptist church. The pastor of that church asked to read a booklet by Thieme on the Blood of Christ (at the time, I did not know that this was a controversial doctrine). I obliged the pastor, he read the book, and then returned it to me, without comment. I did not ask for his opinion and he did not offer it to me. A lesser pastor may have said, “This is a dangerous doctrine; you need to be careful of this man.” I honestly do not know how my former Baptist pastor felt about R. B. Thieme, Jr. or even about the blood of Jesus Christ. I do not recall him even preaching a sermon on it. He may have quietly agreed with the book, he may have strongly disagreed, or he may have been ambivalent. Piecing things together, many decades later, I realize that he was interested in reading this book because this was the most controversial doctrine that R. B. Thieme, Jr. taught (according to most theologians). Now I recognize, over 40 years later, that my former Baptist pastor was doing things exactly right. He did not tear down another man’s ministry.

Bobby has, on occasion, mentioned doctrines that were being taught by pastors who came out of Berachah Church. He never mentioned the pastor’s name, his city or any other identifying factor. He simply went over the doctrine and mentioned that there were some, who came out of Berachah Church, who taught that doctrine incorrectly. That is exactly how it is supposed to be done. When it comes to important doctrines, a pastor needs to make certain that his congregation has heard and understand those doctrines. If there are others out there teaching something different, then it is reasonable to explain why the doctrine means A but not B.

Personally, I would not even name a Christian denomination from the pulpit in a negative way, unless that group was clearly a cult or had some very big issues which needed to be sorted out. However, when it comes to Baptists, Methodist, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, etc., I would not single any of those groups out and call them apostate or anti-God because they disagree with me about a handful of doctrines. My guess is, in some cities, the best church in town might be a Methodist or a Presbyterian church.

Back to our topic at hand. V. 1a Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent his servants to Solomon... Tyre was a very famous coastal city known for its trading. As we have studied in Scripture, some countries prospered by conquering other countries and taking their stuff and their people. Hiram seems to have figured out that one does not need to have an aggressive army in order to prosper. No doubt, Tyre was well-fortified and Hiram had a great army; but during this time, the wisest move was to interact with other nations in a friendly manner.

Translation: ...when he heard that they anointed him [as] king in the place of his father... It is not clear whether Hiram heard about the death of David, or whether he gets all of this news at the same time (David’s death and Solomon taking his place).

We are not told the content of the message from Hiram to Solomon; but it no doubt was an expression of sympathy because of the death of David; followed by congratulations to the new king. Hiram would also be looking to confirm or renew their alliance.

We had a very similar incident occurred back in 2Sam. 10, when the king of the Ammonites died and his son, Hanun, became the ruler. King David had an alliance with the father, so he sent a similar delegation to the son, to express David’s condolences and the renew their alliance. Hanun’s advisors suggested that David had sent over a team of men for a much more nefarious reason—to search out the land and to assess it for attacking. So Hanun had the beards of the men in the delegation half cut off, and their clothes cut up, and then he sent them back. Needless to say, these actions did not bode well for Hanun. The Ammonite army was destroyed, as was the Syrian army that they had brought in as a surprise. The strategy and tactics of this battle are quite fascinating and can be found in 2Samuel 10 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD).

Translation: ...(for Hiram always loved David [lit., Hiram was a love to David all the days]). This does not mean that David and Hiram were gay; it simply means that Kings Hiram and David had a good relationship. They were allies early on. Apart from the land given to David as a result of the Palestinian Covenant, he had no interest in conquering other lands. Hiram appears to have understood that.

J. Vernon McGee: Whatever King Hiram of Tyre is going to do will not be because of Solomon but because of his love, esteem, and respect for King David. Let me modify this by saying, this is Hiram’s primary motivation, but certainly not his only one. Let me add that, an arrangement like this requires a great deal of trust; and Hiram trusted Solomon because of what he says in response and because he is the son of David.

Peter Pett: On hearing that Solomon had been anointed king of all Israel, and of the empire beyond, Hiram, king of Tyre, hastened to send his servants to Solomon in order to offer him his congratulations, a normal courtesy extended by friendly kings on the accession of another. And the writer tells us that it was because of his love and respect for David.

No information is given about how Hiram and David first got to know one another—were messages exchanged? That would seem the most likely approach of one king to another. Somehow, Hiram recognized that David could be trusted; that he was not going to attempt to conquer Tyre; and Hiram, likewise, had no interest in taking David’s land. This is a great, albeit short, alliance between these two countries. Throughout Samuel, Kings and Chronicles, it appears that all of the references to Tyre are positive. However, when we come to the prophets (whose books were written after David and Solomon), that which is said about Tyre is a mixed bag. Much of what we read in the prophets are warnings and negative prophecies to Tyre (Isa. 23:1–5 Ezek. 26:3–4 Amos 1:9).

Despite all the warfare that we find in the book of Samuel, King David did not become a warrior simply because he loved war. Over and over, he ran into circumstances of nearby countries who hated the Jewish people and attacked them (as we have seen in our own time). The hatred, if you are not an anti-Semitic, seems irrational. However, if you understand that the people of Abraham are the people of God; then you better understand the hatred that they faced. This was the same hatred directed toward our Lord as He walked toward the place of crucifixion. It is simply the natural hatred of God and anything connected to God.

Because of all the warfare that King David engaged in, his enemies were beat down to a point where they did not oppose him any more, giving Solomon a relatively long period of peacetime.

However, King David did not go out looking for a fight. Obviously, he would rather have an ally than an enemy, and he had an ally in King Hiram.

Application: Today, it is much smarter for a nation to have a good relationship with nation Israel (even though this is not equivalent to God’s nation Israel); than to oppose them. Similarly, it is smart for an unbeliever to have good relationships with believers.

Case in point: David’s enemies were dead; Hiram is alive, well and prospering.

Although it is possible that Hiram is simply a name for the ruler of Tyre, and that this is the son of the Hiram that David knew—this final phrase suggests that we are speaking of the same man. Hiram could have easily been a young man when David was older; and now, he is the older man. The messages back and forth between the two leaders (see 2Chron. 2) suggest a greater continuity. And, as Clarke points out, there is no solid reason to think that this is a different Hiram.

College Press Bible Study: The cordial relations which existed between David and Hiram king of Tyre continued under the reign of Solomon. Hiram sent a delegation to Solomon to recognize and congratulate the youthful king, and at the same time to make overtures of friendship. A continuing peaceful relationship with Israel was essential to Hiram in view of the fact that Solomon controlled the vital trade routes which led to Tyre. Furthermore, the Phoenicians in this period seem to have been dependent upon the grains produced in the fertile valleys of Israel. Thus when Hiram heard that Solomon had been anointed king of Israel in place of his father David, he sent his ambassadors to Jerusalem (1Kings 5:1).

Peter Pett puts somewhat of a negative spin on Hiram’s message: On hearing that Solomon had been anointed king of all Israel, and of the empire beyond, Hiram, king of Tyre, hastened to send his servants to Solomon in order to offer him his congratulations, a normal courtesy extended by friendly kings on the accession of another. And the writer tells us that it was because of his love and respect for David. But it was unquestionably also very expedient. Solomon was now the king of the strongest country around, with the possible, but marginal, exception of Egypt, and had control of the main trade routes which fed Tyre’s maritime trade. Israel was also an important source of grain and olive oil. There was therefore within his gesture a determined attempt to maintain the treaty between the two countries to the advantage of both. Before making this comment, this thought should enter into the mind of the commentator: let’s say that Solomon is of no personal benefit to Hiram, would he have sent the message or not? Based upon all that I have read, I would say that Hiram would have sent messengers, both to express sympathy at the loss of his father, and congratulations for the ascension to the throne. Pett seems to have a negative attitude towards the Temple and a suspicion of the motivations of Hiram. Both of these will be dealt with in great detail in this chapter.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so sends [a word] Solomon unto Hiram, to say, “You [even] you knew David my father that he was unable to build a house for a name of Y^ehowah his Elohim from faces of the warfare which they surrounded him as far as a giving Y^ehowah them under soles of his feet. And now has caused to rest Y^ehowah my Elohim to me from round about; [there is] not an adversary and [there is] not an incident evil. And behold me saying to build a house to a name of Y^ehowah my Elohim as which said Y^ehowah unto David my father, to say, ‘Your son whom I have given instead of you upon your throne—he will build the house for My name.’

Revised Douay-Rheims         And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying: You know the will of David my father, and that he could not build a house to the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars that were round about him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest round about: and there is no adversary nor evil occurrence. Wherefore I purpose to build a temple to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying: My son, whom I will set upon the throne in your piece, he shall build a house to My name.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And Hiram sent to Solomon and blessed him. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, You know how David my father could not build a house to the name of the LORD his God because of the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put his enemies under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. And, behold, I purpose to build a house to the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, Your son, whom I will set upon your throne in your place, shall build a house to my name.

Septuagint (Greek)                And Solomon sent to Chiram, saying, Thou knewest my father David, that he could not build a house to the name of the Lord my God because of the wars that compassed him about, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. And now the Lord my God has given me rest round about; there is no one plotting against me, and there is no evil trespass against me. And, behold, I intend to build a house to the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord God spoke to my father David, saying, Thy son whom I will set on thy throne in thy place, he shall build a house to My name.

Significant differences:           The Syriac has some additional text at the beginning. The Greek has my God rather than his God. The English translation from the Latin and Syriac have I purpose rather than behold me; my guess is, the Latin and Syriac are probably closer to the Hebrew than that. The Greek has I intend (but the Greek still has behold).

At the end, the Latin has my son rather than your son.

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And Solomon sent back word to Hiram, saying, You have knowledge that David my father was not able to make a house for the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars which were round him on every side, till the Lord put all those who were against him under his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; no one is making trouble, and no evil is taking place. And so it is my purpose to make a house for the name of the Lord my God, as he said to David my father, Your son, whom I will make king in your place, will be the builder of a house for my name.

Easy English                          And Solomon sent (this message) to Hiram. It said, ‘You know about my father David. He was unable to build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God. This was because people on all sides fought wars against my father David. (They did this) until God caused him to beat his enemies. But now the LORD my God has made it quiet all round (me). There are no enemies and nothing to destroy anything. So, I have decided to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God. This is what the LORD said to my father David. (The LORD) said, “I will put your son on your throne after you. He will build the temple for my Name.”

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  This is what Solomon said to King Hiram:

“You remember that my father, King David, had to fight many wars all around him. So he was never able to build a temple to honor the Lord his God. King David was waiting until the Lord allowed him to defeat all his enemies. But now the Lord my God has given me peace along all the borders of my country. I have no enemies, and my people are in no danger.

“The Lord made a promise to my father David. He said, ‘I will make your son king after you, and he will build a temple to honor me.’ Now, I plan to build that temple to honor the Lord my God.

International Children’s B.     Then Solomon sent this message back to King Hiram: “You remember that my father David had to fight many wars with the countries around him. So he was never able to build a temple for worship to the Lord his God. David was waiting until the Lord allowed him to defeat all his enemies. But now the Lord my God has given me peace. There is peace on all sides of my country. I have no enemies now. My people are in no danger.

“The Lord made a promise to my father David. The Lord said, ‘I will make your son king after you. And he will build a temple for worship to me.’ Now, I plan to build that temple for worship to the Lord my God.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Solomon sent back this message to Hiram: “You know that because of the constant wars my father David had to fight against the enemy countries all around him, he could not build a temple for the worship of the Lord his God until the Lord had given him victory over all his enemies. But now the Lord my God has given me peace on all my borders. I have no enemies, and there is no danger of attack. The Lord promised my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will make king after you, will build a temple for me.’ And I have now decided to build that temple for the worship of the Lord my God.

The Message                         Solomon responded, saying, “You know that David my father was not able to build a temple in honor of God because of the wars he had to fight on all sides, until God finally put them down. But now God has provided peace all around—no one against us, nothing at odds with us.

“Now here is what I want to do: Build a temple in honor of God, my God, following the promise that God gave to David my father, namely, ‘Your son whom I will provide to succeed you as king, he will build a house in my honor.’

Names of God Bible               Solomon sent word to Hiram, by saying, “You know that my father David was surrounded by war. He couldn’t build a temple for the name of Yahweh our Elohim until Yahweh let him defeat his enemies. But Yahweh my Elohim has surrounded me with peace. I have no rival and no trouble. Now I’m thinking of building a temple for the name of Yahweh my Elohim as Yahweh spoke to my father David: ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne to succeed you, will build a temple for my name.’

NIRV                                      Then Solomon sent a message back to Hiram. Solomon said,

“As you know, my father David had to fight many battles. His enemies attacked him from every side. So he couldn’t build a temple where the Lord his God would put his Name. That wouldn’t be possible until the Lord had put his enemies under his control. But now the Lord my God has given me peace and rest on every side. We don’t have any enemies. And we don’t have any other major problems either. So I’m planning to build a temple. I want to build it for the Name of the Lord my God. That’s what he told my father David he wanted me to do. He said, ‘I will put your son on the throne in your place. He will build a temple. I will put my Name there.’

New Simplified Bible              Solomon sent this message to Hiram: »You know my father David could not build a Temple for the worship of Jehovah due to the constant wars he had to fight. There were enemies in countries all around him. First Jehovah had to give him victory over all his enemies. »Jehovah my God has given me peace on all my borders. I have no enemies, and there is no danger of attack. »Jehovah promised my father David: ‘Your son, whom I will make king after you, will build a Temple for me. I have decided to build that Temple for the worship of Jehovah my God.’

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Solomon sent the following message to Hiram: “You know that my father David wasn’t able to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God. This was because of the enemies that fought him on all sides until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. Now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side, without enemies or misfortune. So I’m planning to build a temple for the name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord indicated to my father David, ‘I will give you a son to follow you on your throne. He will build the temple for my name.’

Contemporary English V.       Solomon sent a message back to Hiram: Remember how my father David wanted to build a temple where the LORD his God could be worshiped? But enemies kept attacking my father's kingdom, and he never had the chance. Now, thanks to the LORD God, there is peace in my kingdom and no trouble or threat of war anywhere. The LORD God promised my father that when his son became king, he would build a temple for worshiping the LORD. So I've decided to do that.

The Living Bible                     Solomon replied with a proposal about the Temple of the Lord he wanted to build. His father David, Solomon pointed out to Hiram, had not been able to build it because of the numerous wars going on, and he had been waiting for the Lord to give him peace.

“But now,” Solomon said to Hiram, “the Lord my God has given Israel peace on every side; I have no foreign enemies or internal rebellions. So I am planning to build a Temple for the Lord my God, just as he instructed my father that I should do. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place upon your throne, shall build me a Temple.’

New Berkeley Version           Then Solomon sent this message to Hiram, “You know that David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which occupied him until the Lord put them [His enemies] under the soles of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest all around, there is neither adversary nor opposition. So I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, and the Lord revealed to David my father, saying: Your son, whom I am putting on the throne after you, he shall build the house for My name.

New Century Version             Solomon sent this message back to King Hiram: “You remember my father David had to fight many wars with the countries around him, so he was never able to build a temple for worshiping the Lord his God. David was waiting until the Lord allowed him to defeat all his enemies. But now the Lord my God has given me peace on all sides of my country. I have no enemies now, and no danger threatens my people.

“The Lord promised my father David, ‘I will make your son king after you, and he will build a temple for worshiping me.’ Now, I plan to build that temple for worshiping the Lord my God.

New Life Version                    Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, "You know that my father David was not able to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars all around him. The Lord had not yet put those who hated him under his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is no trouble or anything bad happening. So I plan to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. Because the Lord said to my father David, 'I will set your son on your throne in your place. He will build the house for My name.’

New Living Translation           Then Solomon sent this message back to Hiram:

“You know that my father, David, was not able to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord his God because of the many wars waged against him by surrounding nations. He could not build until the Lord gave him victory over all his enemies. But now the Lord my God has given me peace on every side; I have no enemies, and all is well. So I am planning to build a Temple to honor the name of the Lord my God, just as he had instructed my father, David. For the Lord told him, ‘Your son, whom I will place on your throne, will build the Temple to honor my name.’

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And Solomon sent [a message] to HiRam, saying, 'You know that my father David was unable to build a [Temple] to the Name of Jehovah my God, because he was fighting the wars that were going on around him, until Jehovah put his enemies under the soles of his feet. And now, Jehovah my God has provided rest for me all around [my land], for there are no more plotters or wicked people near me. So, now I'm talking about building a [Temple] to the Name of Jehovah, my God, for as He told my father David: Your son whom I will put on your throne after you will build the [Temple] to My Name.

Beck’s American Translation Solomon sent men to Hiram to tell him: “You know how my father couldn’t build a temple for the name of the LORD his God because he was surrounded by enem ies who fought against him till the LORD put them under his feet. But now the LORD my God has given me peace all around. There is nobody opposing me or making trouble. Now I’m thinking of building a temple to honor the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to my father David: ‘Your son, whom I will put on your throne to succeed you, will build a temple to honor My name.’

International Standard V        Solomon sent this message to Hiram:

“You know that my father David was unable to build a temple dedicated to [Lit. temple to the name of] the LORD his God because he was busy fighting wars all around him until the LORD defeated his enemies. But now the LORD has given me rest all around, since I have neither foreign adversaries nor domestic crises. So now I’m planning to build a temple dedicated to [Lit. temple to the name of] the LORD my God, just as the LORD told my father when he said, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne to replace you, will build the Temple dedicated to me [Lit. to my name].’

New Advent (Knox) Bible       And this message Solomon sent to Hiram in return; My father David, as thou knowest, was for building a house in honour of the Lord his God; but there were threats of war all about him, and he must needs defer his purpose till the Lord should have crushed his enemies under his feet. Now, the Lord my God has given me security on every side; neither foe nor ill chance assails me, and I have a mind to build a temple dedicated to the Lord my God. He himself promised my father David, The son I will give thee for thy successor shall build a house in honour of my name.

Translation for Translators     Solomon gave those messengers this message to take back to Hiram:

“You know that my father David led his soldiers to fight many wars against his enemies in the nearby countries. So he could not arrange to build a temple in which we [MTY] could worship Yahweh our God, until after Yahweh enabled the Israeli army to defeat [IDI] all his enemies. But now Yahweh our God has enabled us to have peace with all the surrounding countries. ◂There is no danger that/We do not need to worry that we will be attacked►. Yahweh promised my father David, ‘Your son, whom I will enable to be king after you are no longer king, will build a temple for me [MTY].’ Because of that, I have decided to build a temple in which we can worship [MTY] Yahweh our God.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Awful Scroll Bible                   Solomon was to send off to Hiram, to the intent: You is to have known that David, my father - is he to have been able to accept to build a house, in the name of Jehovah, he of mighty ones? - For being turned before wars that are to have been on around him, even that Jehovah is to grant them under the soles of his feet. Jehovah, he of mighty ones, is to have given rest round about - is there adversary or that evil to be encountered? - I am intending to build a house in the name of Jehovah, he of mighty ones, as Jehovah is to have declared it to David, my father, of the intent: Your son, that was to be fixed over your throne, was to build a house in my nam.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Solomon accordingly sent to Khiram to say:—" You know David was not able to build a House to the name of the EVER-LIVING GOD, because the EVER-LIVING said to David my father, 'Your son, whom I will place as your viceroy on your throne, shall build a house to My name.’

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And Salomon sent again to Hiram saying: you know of David my father, how he could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God for war which he had on every side, until the Lord had put them under his foot. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor any evil plague. And therefore I am disposed to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God, as he promised David my father saying: your son which I will put upon your seat for you, he shall build an house unto my name.

HCSB                                     Solomon sent this message to Hiram: “You know my father David was not able to build a temple for the name of Yahweh his God. This was because of the warfare all around him until the Lord put his enemies under his feet. The Lord my God has now given me rest all around; there is no enemy or crisis. So I plan to build a temple for the name of Yahweh my God, according to what the Lord promised my father David: ‘I will put your son on your throne in your place, and he will build the temple for My name.’

Jubilee Bible 2000                  Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how David, my father, could not build a house unto the name of the LORD his God, for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put his enemies under the soles of his feet. Now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side so that there is neither adversary nor evil encounter. And, therefore, I have determined to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God as the LORD spoke unto David, my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy place, he shall build a house unto my name.