1 Kings 5:10
in 1 Kings 5So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire.
KJV
So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.
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This verse in 1 Kings 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseIt is here said of Hiram their king that he was ever a lover of David; and we have reason to think he was a worshipper of the true God, and had himself renounced, though he could not reform, the idolatry of his city.
This site's exposition
cedar trees and fir trees
on 1 Kings 5:10-12
The exchange is precisely reciprocal, Hiram's cedar and fir for Solomon's wheat and beaten oil year by year, and the narrator credits the whole favorable arrangement to the wisdom the Lord gave Solomon, as he promised him, the promise of 3:12 already bearing fruit in statecraft and not only in judgment. Gill notes that a league with Tyre broke no command, since the Phoenicians stood outside the seven nations Israel was forbidden to covenant with. Peace between the two kings frames the whole building project: the temple rises inside an alliance with a neighboring people, not apart from them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Here we do not need to work around any concealed meaning; indeed, in this event there is a clear analogy with Christ and the actions he undertook for the building of the church. As Solomon ordered timbers to be cut from the mountains of Lebanon …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
So Hiram, gave Solomon cedar trees, and fir trees,.... Ordered his servants to cut them down from Lebanon, and sent them to him in floats, which he received: according to all his desire; he had as many as he requested, and what he wanted.
The trees were Solomon's, but perhaps-- Materiam superabat opus--The workmanship was of more value than the article. Hiram is therefore said to deliver the trees. Solomon conveyed to Hiram the corn which he had promised him,
Ministers were raised up among the Gentiles for the edifying of the body of Christ. (2.) That the glory of Lebanon shall be brought to it to beautify it,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Than the wisdom of all the Eastern people. What was the wisdom of the children of the East? They were learned in the field of astronomy, etc. as it is [stated] in the Pesikta of Parah Adumah, and this entire chapter is expounded there according to its plain meaning.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
He was wiser than any man. [To be understood] according to its plain meaning. 4 Alternatively, “he gained wisdom from every man,” as the Mishmah in Avos:1 states, “Who is wise? He who learns from every man.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֨י | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| חִיר֜וֹם | chirom | Hiram | H2438 → | 22 times |
| נֹתֵ֣ן | noten | giving | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לִשְׁלֹמֹ֗ה | lishlomoh | to Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| עֲצֵ֧י | ʾatzei | wood<s> of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| אֲרָזִ֛ים | ʾarazim | cedar<s> | H730 → | 73 times |
| וַעֲצֵ֥י | vaatzei | and wood<s> of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| בְרוֹשִׁ֖ים | veroshim | cypress<es> | H1265 → | 20 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֶפְצֽוֹ׃ | cheftzo | desire his | H2656 → | 39 times |
וַיְהִ֨יand he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
חִיר֜וֹםHiram
chiromH2438 →22 times
נֹתֵ֣ןgiving
notenH5414 →2011 times
לִשְׁלֹמֹ֗הto Solomon
lishlomohH8010 →291 times
עֲצֵ֧יwood<s> of
ʾatzeiH6086 →328 times
אֲרָזִ֛יםcedar<s>
ʾarazimH730 →73 times
וַעֲצֵ֥יand wood<s> of
vaatzeiH6086 →328 times
בְרוֹשִׁ֖יםcypress<es>
veroshimH1265 →20 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חֶפְצֽוֹ׃desire his
cheftzoH2656 →39 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
About 1 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, ON THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS 5:10; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.