2 Chronicles 2:11
in 2 Chronicles 2Then Hiram king of Tyre wrote a letter in reply to Solomon: “Because the LORD loves His people, He has set you over them as king.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because Jehovah loveth his people, he hath made thee king over them.
KJV
Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the Lord hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.
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This verse in 2 Chronicles 2
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThen Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon,.... In which letter he told him he had considered the contents of his, and would grant him all that he desired, see 1Ki 5:8. because the Lord hath loved his people; he hath made thee king over them; which are much the same words the queen of Sheba said to Solomon; see Gill on 1Ki 10:9.
This site's exposition
Because the Lord hath loved his people
on 2 Chronicles 2:11-12
Huram's reply opens with a confession before it names any timber, because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them, and v12 carries it further, blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth. Kings gives Hiram's blessing in one shorter clause; Chronicles lets the Tyrian king name Israel's God at greater length as maker of heaven and earth. Whether Huram speaks as a convert to Israel's faith or as a king honoring a neighbor's god by that god's own name is read differently among the commentators, and the letter itself does not settle which.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Josephus and others professed to give Greek versions of the correspondence, which (they said) had taken place between Hiram and Solomon. No value attaches to those letters, which are evidently forgeries. Because the Lord hath loved his people - Compare the marginal references. The neighboring sovereigns, in their communications with the Jewish monarchs, seem to have adopted the Jewish name for the Supreme Being (Yahweh), either identifying Him (as did Hiram) with their own chief god or (sometimes) meaning merely to acknowledge Him as the special God of the Jewish nation and country.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
endowed with understanding, of my father Huram He was my father’s ingenious craftsman, and he is also mine.
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. 6 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| חוּרָ֤ם | churam | Huram | H2361 → | 13 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ־ | melekh- | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| צֹר֙ | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | |
| בִּכְתָ֔ב | bikhtav | in a document | H3791 → | |
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֖ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֑ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| בְּאַהֲבַ֤ת | beahavat | because loves | H160 → | |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמּ֔וֹ | amo | people his | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| נְתָנְךָ֥ | netanekha | he has made you | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | over them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מֶֽלֶךְ׃ | melekh | king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
חוּרָ֤םHuram
churamH2361 →13 times
מֶֽלֶךְ־[the] king of
melekh-H4428 →2525 times
צֹר֙Tyre
tzorH6865 →
בִּכְתָ֔בin a document
bikhtavH3791 →
וַיִּשְׁלַ֖חand he sent
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
שְׁלֹמֹ֑הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
בְּאַהֲבַ֤תbecause loves
beahavatH160 →
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמּ֔וֹpeople his
amoH5971 →1873 times
נְתָנְךָ֥he has made you
netanekhaH5414 →2011 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֖םover them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
מֶֽלֶךְ׃king
melekhH4428 →2525 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
Psalms 72:17May his name endure forever; may his name continue as long as the sun shines. In him may all nations be blessed; may they call him blessed.
it leads to
- Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
- Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
- Psalms 89:36
his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun,
- Genesis 12:3
I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you; and all the families of the earth will be blessed through you.”
- Luke 1:48
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.
- Isaiah 7:14
Through
1 Kings 10:9Blessed be the LORD your God, who has delighted in you to set you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, He has made you king to carry…
it leads to
- Psalms 72:2
May he judge Your people with righteousness and Your afflicted with justice.
- 1 Kings 5:7
When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!”
- 2 Samuel 8:15
Thus David reigned over all Israel and administered justice and righteousness for all his people:
- Psalms 72:2
About 2 Chronicles
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.