1 Kings 5:8
in 1 Kings 5Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying: “I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the message which thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.
KJV
And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.
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This verse in 1 Kings 5
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Hiram sent to Solomon,.... A letter to him, to the following purpose: saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for; whether he could, and whether it was fitting he should grant his request; which was acting like a wise and prudent prince: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir; or of cypress, as in Josephus's copy of this letter, and which grew on Lebanon (c); these were odorous, sound, and durable timber, especially the cedar, and therefore chosen by Solomon for building. (c) Diodor. Sic. l.
This site's exposition
I have considered the things
on 1 Kings 5:8-9
Hiram's answer is a formal acceptance, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for, which the commentators read as a written compact rather than a verbal nod, with 2 Chronicles 2:11 preserving the letter's fuller text. The timber travels down the coast lashed into floats to the nearest port, almost certainly Joppa, for the roughly forty mile land haul up to Jerusalem, the same route Ezra 3:7 uses for the second temple's cedar a generation after the exile. A king's desire for food and a nation's need for timber trade cleanly against one another; the arrangement runs on ordinary commerce, not tribute.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): I have considered the things. It is common for those that make bargains rashly afterwards to wish them unmade again. The virtuous woman considers a field and then buys it, Prov. xxxi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
); but nothing had been said concerning carriage, and this matter therefore must be settled. Land-carriage would be very troublesome and chargeable; he therefore undertakes to bring all the timber down from Lebanon by sea, a coasting voyage. Conveyance by water is a great convenience to trade, for which God is to have praise, who taught man that discretion.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things . . . and I will do--The contract was drawn out formally in a written document (2Ch 2:11), which, according to JOSEPHUS, was preserved both in the Jewish and Tyrian records.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| חִירָם֙ | chiram | Hiram | H2438 → | 22 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֣ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| שָׁמַ֕עְתִּי | shama'ti | I have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֵ֥ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | [that] which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| שָׁלַ֖חְתָּ | shalachta | you sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵלָ֑י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| אֶֽעֱשֶׂה֙ | ʾeeseh | I will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֶפְצְךָ֔ | cheftzekha | desire your | H2656 → | 39 times |
| בַּעֲצֵ֥י | baatzei | in wood<s> of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| אֲרָזִ֖ים | ʾarazim | cedar<s> | H730 → | 73 times |
| וּבַעֲצֵ֥י | uvaatzei | and in wood<s> of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| בְרוֹשִֽׁים׃ | veroshim | cypress<es> | H1265 → | 20 times |
וַיִּשְׁלַ֤חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
חִירָם֙Hiram
chiramH2438 →22 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֣הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
שָׁמַ֕עְתִּיI have heard
shama'tiH8085 →1159 times
אֵ֥ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
אֲשֶׁר־[that] which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
שָׁלַ֖חְתָּyou sent
shalachtaH7971 →845 times
אֵלָ֑יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
אֶֽעֱשֶׂה֙I will do
ʾeesehH6213 →2628 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
חֶפְצְךָ֔desire your
cheftzekhaH2656 →39 times
בַּעֲצֵ֥יin wood<s> of
baatzeiH6086 →328 times
אֲרָזִ֖יםcedar<s>
ʾarazimH730 →73 times
וּבַעֲצֵ֥יand in wood<s> of
uvaatzeiH6086 →328 times
בְרוֹשִֽׁים׃cypress<es>
veroshimH1265 →20 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 6:5David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of wood instruments, harps, stringed instruments, tambourines, sistrums, and cymbals.
it leads to
- Psalms 150:3–5
Praise Him with the sound of the horn; praise Him with the harp and lyre.
- 1 Chronicles 13:8
David and all the Israelites were celebrating before God with all their might, with songs and on harps and lyres, with tambourines, cymbals, and trumpets.
- Amos 5:23
Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
- 1 Samuel 10:5
After that you will come to Gibeah of God, where the Philistines have an outpost. As you approach the city, you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place, preceded…
- Daniel 3:15
Now, if you are ready, as soon as you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the statue I…
- Psalms 150:3–5
Through
1 Kings 6:34The two doors were made of cypress wood, and each had two folding panels.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 41:23–25
Both the outer sanctuary and the inner sanctuary had double doors,
- Ezekiel 41:23–25
Through
1 Kings 6:15He lined the interior walls with cedar paneling from the floor of the temple to the ceiling, and he covered the floor with cypress boards.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 7:7
In addition, he built a hall for the throne, the Hall of Justice, where he was to judge. It was paneled with cedar from floor to ceiling.
- 1 Kings 7:7
Through
2 Chronicles 3:5He paneled the main room with cypress, which he overlaid with fine gold and decorated with palm trees and chains.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 6:21–22
So Solomon overlaid the inside of the temple with pure gold, and he extended gold chains across the front of the inner sanctuary, which was overlaid with gold.
- 1 Kings 6:21–22
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.