1 Kings 5:12
in 1 Kings 5And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
KJV
And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
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This verse in 1 Kings 5
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him,.... Which, among other things, appeared in his preparations for building the temple, and in his agreements with Hiram for timber and workmen for that purpose and by continuing and confirming friendship between himself and Hiram, who was so serviceable to him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and they two made a league together; in order to continue and establish peace and friendship between them, which Solomon might lawfully do, the Tyrians being no part of the seven nations with whom alliances were forbidden.
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.
This site's exposition
the two of them made a treaty
God's gift of wisdom won Hiram's love, in Matthew Henry's reading. The two kings then ripened that friendship into a treaty so that it would last. Peace came first.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It 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.
), which was more and better than any thing Hiram did or could give him; but this made Hiram love him, and enabled Solomon to improve his kindness, so that they were both willing to ripen their mutual love into a mutual league, that it might be lasting.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The Lord gave Solomon wisdom - It seems to be implied that Solomon’s divine gift of wisdom enabled him to make such favorable arrangements with Hiram.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Three thousand parables. Three parabolical studies [=אלפים]. It is written three times, “the proverbs of Shlomo,” in the book of Mishlei.
2 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.”
He spoke of trees. Which medical remedy is derived from each [tree], and that a particular tree is best suited for that type of building or to be planted in a particular field.
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
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיהוָ֗ה | vayahweh | and Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| נָתַ֤ן | natan | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| חָכְמָה֙ | chokhmah | wisdom | H2451 → | 153 times |
| לִשְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | lishlomoh | to Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּר־ | diber- | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| ל֑וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| שָׁלֹ֗ם | shalom | peace | H7965 → | 236 times |
| בֵּ֤ין | bein | between | H996 → | 407 times |
| חִירָם֙ | chiram | Hiram | H2438 → | 22 times |
| וּבֵ֣ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| וַיִּכְרְת֥וּ | vaiyikhretu | and they made | H3772 → | 288 times |
| בְרִ֖ית | verit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃ | sheneihem | [the] two of them | H8147 → | 768 times |
וַיהוָ֗הand Yahweh
vayahwehH3068 →6520 times
נָתַ֤ןhe gave
natanH5414 →2011 times
חָכְמָה֙wisdom
chokhmahH2451 →153 times
לִשְׁלֹמֹ֔הto Solomon
lishlomohH8010 →291 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּר־he had spoken
diber-H1696 →1141 times
ל֑וֹto <the> him
lo
וַיְהִ֣יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
שָׁלֹ֗םpeace
shalomH7965 →236 times
בֵּ֤יןbetween
beinH996 →407 times
חִירָם֙Hiram
chiramH2438 →22 times
וּבֵ֣יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
וַיִּכְרְת֥וּand they made
vaiyikhretuH3772 →288 times
בְרִ֖יתa covenant
veritH1285 →284 times
שְׁנֵיהֶֽם׃[the] two of them
sheneihemH8147 →768 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
James 1:5Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
it leads to
- Proverbs 2:3–6
if you truly call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding,
- 1 John 5:14–15
And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- John 15:7
If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
- Jeremiah 29:12–13
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Proverbs 3:5–7
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;
- Proverbs 2:3–6
Through
1 Kings 3:12behold, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has never been nor will ever be another like you.
it leads to
- Ecclesiastes 1:16
I said to myself, “Behold, I have grown and increased in wisdom beyond all those before me who were over Jerusalem, and my mind has observed a wealth of wisdom and knowledge.”
- Matthew 12:42
The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One…
- 1 Kings 3:28
When all Israel heard of the judgment the king had given, they stood in awe of him, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to administer justice.
- Ecclesiastes 1:16
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.