1 Kings 5:1
in 1 Kings 5Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
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This verse in 1 Kings 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Hiram, king of Tyre - Menander of Ephesus, who wrote a history of Tyre in Greek, founded upon native Tyrian documents, about 300 B.C., mentioned this Hiram as the son of Abibaal king of Tyre, and said that he ascended the throne when he was nineteen; that he reigned thirty-four years, and, dying at the age of fifty-three, was succeeded by his son Baleazar. Menander spoke at some length of the dealings of Hiram with Solomon. Sent his servants - This appears to have been an embassy of congratulation.
This site's exposition
ever a lover of David
on 1 Kings 5:1-2
Hiram opens relations the way ancient kings normally did at a succession, sending an embassy of congratulation rather than testing the new king's strength. The clause naming him ever a lover of David explains what follows: the alliance passes to Solomon as a personal loyalty, not merely a treaty renewed by custom. Josephus and the Greek historian Menander both record a Hiram of Tyre corresponding with Solomon and cite documents once held in the Tyrian archives, outside testimony to a friendship the text states in one line.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Hiram king of Tyre sent servants unto Solomon,....
He sent, as is usual among princes, to condole with him on the death of David, and to renew his alliances with him upon his succession to the government. It is good keeping up friendship and communion with the families in which religion is uppermost.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Israel, being agricultural, furnished corn and oil, while the Tyrians, who were a commercial people, gave in exchange their Phœnician manufactures, as well as the produce of foreign lands. A special treaty was now entered into in furtherance of that undertaking which was the great work of Solomon's splendid and peaceful reign.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-curly-quotes
Hiram king of Tyre - It must have been at the beginning of Solomon’s reign that these ambassadors were sent; and some suppose that the Hiram mentioned here is different from him who was the friend of David; but there seems no very solid reason for this supposition. As Hiram had intimate alliance with David, and built his palace, 2Sa 5:11, he wished to maintain the same good understanding with his son, of whose wisdom he had no doubt heard the most advantageous accounts; and he loved the son because he always loved the father, for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
The words behind it
23 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַ֠יִּשְׁלַח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| חִירָ֨ם | chiram | Hiram | H2438 → | 22 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צ֤וֹר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֲבָדָיו֙ | ʾavadav | servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שָׁמַ֔ע | shama' | he had heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֹת֛וֹ | ʾoto | <obj.> him | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מָשְׁח֥וּ | mashechu | people had anointed | H4886 → | 70 times |
| לְמֶ֖לֶךְ | lemelekh | to king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| תַּ֣חַת | tachat | in place of | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אָבִ֑יהוּ | ʾavihu | father his | H1 → | 1212 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֹהֵ֗ב | ʾohev | a friend | H157 → | 211 times |
| הָיָ֥ה | hayah | he had been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| חִירָ֛ם | chiram | Hiram | H2438 → | 22 times |
| לְדָוִ֖ד | ledavid | of David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַיָּמִֽים׃ ס | haiyamim | the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וַ֠יִּשְׁלַחand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
חִירָ֨םHiram
chiramH2438 →22 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
צ֤וֹרTyre
tzorH6865 →42 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֲבָדָיו֙servants his
ʾavadavH5650 →799 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
שָׁמַ֔עhe had heard
shama'H8085 →1159 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֹת֛וֹ<obj.> him
ʾotoH853 →10935 times
מָשְׁח֥וּpeople had anointed
mashechuH4886 →70 times
לְמֶ֖לֶךְto king
lemelekhH4428 →2525 times
תַּ֣חַתin place of
tachatH8478 →505 times
אָבִ֑יהוּfather his
ʾavihuH1 →1212 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֹהֵ֗בa friend
ʾohevH157 →211 times
הָיָ֥הhe had been
hayahH1961 →3559 times
חִירָ֛םHiram
chiramH2438 →22 times
לְדָוִ֖דof David
ledavidH1732 →999 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַיָּמִֽים׃ סthe days
haiyamimH3117 →2304 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Samuel 5:11Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 14:1
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters, to build a palace for him.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 5:1–2
Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
- 1 Chronicles 14:1
Through
Psalms 45:12The Daughter of Tyre will come with a gift; men of wealth will seek your favor.
it leads to
- Psalms 22:29
All the rich of the earth will feast and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before Him— even those unable to preserve their lives.
- Isaiah 60:3
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
- Psalms 72:10
May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
- Isaiah 49:23
Kings will be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. They will bow to you facedown and lick the dust at your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD;…
- Isaiah 23:17–18
And at the end of seventy years, the LORD will restore Tyre. Then she will return to hire as a prostitute and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.
- Psalms 22:29
Through
1 Chronicles 14:1Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters, to build a palace for him.
it leads to
- Ezra 3:7
They gave money to the masons and carpenters, and food and drink and oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre to bring cedar logs from Lebanon to Joppa by sea, as authorized by…
- Ezra 3:7
About 1 Kings
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonSolomonDavid's son and the third king of Israel; the temple-builder and wisdom-king, to whom Psalms 72 and 127 are ascribed.
- PlacePhoenician coastTyrePhoenician island-fortress and merchant power, judged in Amos 1:9-10 and at length in Ezekiel 26-28.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.