1 Kings 9:11
in 1 Kings 9King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
(now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
KJV
(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
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This verse in 1 Kings 9
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees,.... For the building of both his houses; see 1Ki 5:8, and with gold, according to all his desire): which is not before mentioned, and accounts for it from whence Solomon had his gold; if he made no use, as some think he did not, of what his father left him; see 1Ki 7:51 with which he covered several parts of the temple, and made several vessels in it.
This site's exposition
at the end of twenty years
on 1 Kings 9:10-11
At the twenty-year mark, seven for the temple and thirteen for the palace summed together, Solomon settles his debt to Hiram with twenty cities in Galilee, land rather than the silver and gold the law of the king warns a ruler against amassing (Deut 17:17). The commentators note that strict Mosaic practice gave Solomon no clear right to alienate tribal land this way, even though a king's wider policy carried the day. The parenthesis names what Solomon owed Hiram in timber and gold, and only then does the sentence name what he paid.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It should seem, these were not allotted to any of the tribes of Israel (for the border of Asher came up to them, Josh. xix. 27 , which intimates that it did not include them), but continued in the hands of the natives till Solomon made himself master of them, and then made a present of them to Hiram. It becomes those that are great and good to be generous.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
By the spirit, if not by the letter, of the Law, Solomon had no right to give away these cities, or any part of the inheritance of Israel Lev. 25:13-34. But the exigences of a worldly policy caused the requirements of the Law to be set aside.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Provided Shlomo. An expression of bearing, [i.e.,] he bore his burden in this matter.
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. 5 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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חִירָ֣ם | chiram | Hiram | H2438 → | 22 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צֹ֠ר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | 42 times |
| נִשָּׂ֨א | nisa' | he had supported | H5375 → | 656 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֜ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בַּעֲצֵי֩ | baatzei | with wood<s> of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| אֲרָזִ֨ים | ʾarazim | cedar<s> | H730 → | 73 times |
| וּבַעֲצֵ֧י | uvaatzei | and with wood<s> of | H6086 → | 328 times |
| בְרוֹשִׁ֛ים | veroshim | cypresses | H1265 → | 20 times |
| וּבַזָּהָ֖ב | uvazahav | and with <the> gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| חֶפְצ֑וֹ | cheftzo | desire his | H2656 → | 39 times |
| אָ֡ז | ʾaz | then | H227 → | 141 times |
| יִתֵּן֩ | yiten | he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֤ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| לְחִירָם֙ | lechiram | to Hiram | H2438 → | 22 times |
| עֶשְׂרִ֣ים | ʾesrim | twenty | H6242 → | 315 times |
| עִ֔יר | ʾir | citi[es] | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| בְּאֶ֖רֶץ | beeretz | in [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַגָּלִֽיל׃ | hagalil | <the> Galilee | H1551 → |
חִירָ֣םHiram
chiramH2438 →22 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
צֹ֠רTyre
tzorH6865 →42 times
נִשָּׂ֨אhe had supported
nisa'H5375 →656 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֜הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
בַּעֲצֵי֩with wood<s> of
baatzeiH6086 →328 times
אֲרָזִ֨יםcedar<s>
ʾarazimH730 →73 times
וּבַעֲצֵ֧יand with wood<s> of
uvaatzeiH6086 →328 times
בְרוֹשִׁ֛יםcypresses
veroshimH1265 →20 times
וּבַזָּהָ֖בand with <the> gold
uvazahavH2091 →389 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
חֶפְצ֑וֹdesire his
cheftzoH2656 →39 times
אָ֡זthen
ʾazH227 →141 times
יִתֵּן֩he gave
yitenH5414 →2011 times
הַמֶּ֨לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֤הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
לְחִירָם֙to Hiram
lechiramH2438 →22 times
עֶשְׂרִ֣יםtwenty
ʾesrimH6242 →315 times
עִ֔ירciti[es]
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
בְּאֶ֖רֶץin [the] land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
הַגָּלִֽיל׃<the> Galilee
hagalilH1551 →
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
Joshua 20:7So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.
it leads to
- Joshua 21:11
They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.)
- 1 Chronicles 6:76
And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee, Hammon, and Kiriathaim, together with their pasturelands.
- Luke 1:39
In those days Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah,
- Joshua 21:32
And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands.
- Joshua 21:21
From the tribe of Ephraim they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer,
- Joshua 21:11
Through
2 Chronicles 2:16We will cut logs from Lebanon, as many as you need, and we will float them to you as rafts by sea down to Joppa. Then you can take them up to Jerusalem.”
it leads to
- Joshua 19:46
Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa.
- 1 Kings 5:8–9
Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying: “I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber.
- Acts 10:32
Therefore send to Joppa for Simon, who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’
- Joshua 19:46
About 1 Kings
Who and where
2 names 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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.