The big picture
Peace now allows Solomon, king of Israel, the nation he rules, to plan a house for God's worship. David, his late father, had been occupied by war. Hiram, king of Tyre, a coastal trading city, sends greetings to the new ruler. Their exchange opens the way to obtain timber and skilled workers. The project will also require food payments, stone, and a great many labourers drawn from the people.
In this chapter
- Solomon Asks Hiram for Skilled Timber Work 1 Kings 5:1-6
Hiram had been a friend of David and sends servants after hearing that Solomon is king.
- Timber and Food Form a Peaceful Exchange 1 Kings 5:7-12
Hiram welcomes the request and praises God for giving David a wise son.
- A Great Labour Force Prepares the Materials 1 Kings 5:13-18
Solomon calls up thirty thousand men from Israel for work in Lebanon.
Central truth
Peace allows Solomon to begin the temple project through an agreement with Hiram and a large levy of workers and supplies.
Scripture beside the summary
1 Kings · King James Version · 181 Kings 5:1-6
Solomon Asks Hiram for Skilled Timber Work
Hiram had been a friend of David and sends servants after hearing that Solomon is king. Solomon explains that wars prevented his father from building God's house. Now God has given him rest from enemies. He intends to build in keeping with the promise made to David about his son. He asks Hiram for cedar trees from Lebanon, the mountain region famed here for timber. Israel's men will help and pay the workers. Solomon openly recognises that Hiram's people have skills his own workers lack.
In everyday life
A chapel trustee visits a sawmill with plans left unfinished by her father. She asks for skilled help cutting the beams and offers labour from her own team. The project depends on recognising what others do better. Solomon also acts on God's promise about David's son, not only an inherited building plan.
Notice
1 Kings 5:6 Solomon admits that his own people lack the same timber-cutting skill. Royal power does not remove the need to seek expertise from outside the kingdom.
1 Kings 5:1-6
King James Version1And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
2And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,
3Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.
4But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.
5And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.
6Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
1 Kings 5:7-12
Timber and Food Form a Peaceful Exchange
Hiram welcomes the request and praises God for giving David a wise son. He agrees to supply cedar and fir. His workers will bring the wood to the sea, float it to the chosen place, and release it for Solomon's men. In return, Solomon will supply food for Hiram's household. Wheat and pure oil are sent each year. The two kings make an agreement and remain at peace. Solomon's promised wisdom is noted within this practical exchange of materials, skilled work, transport, and food.
In everyday life
The raft master checks the marked logs at a river landing while a farmer unloads sacks of grain. Their written bargain gives each side what the other can supply. He releases the timber only after the unloading plan is clear. Hiram and Solomon make a treaty between kingdoms, not a private barter at a landing.
Notice
1 Kings 5:9 Hiram offers a transport plan as well as trees. The agreement covers how the timber reaches Solomon, making the promise usable beyond the forest where it is cut.
1 Kings 5:7-12
King James Version7And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.
8And 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.
9My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.
10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.
11And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.
12And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.
1 Kings 5:13-18
A Great Labour Force Prepares the Materials
Solomon calls up thirty thousand men from Israel for work in Lebanon. They go in groups of ten thousand, spending one month away and two at home. Adoniram oversees this required labour. Other vast groups carry loads and cut stone in the hills, with supervisors directing them. Large, costly stones are shaped for the temple foundations. Solomon's and Hiram's builders work together on stone and timber. The planned house now draws on organised human labour as well as the king's promise and the two rulers' agreement.
In everyday life
The rail works planner pins three crew lists to a depot board. Each team spends a month on the distant track before two months near home. She checks transport and lodging against the work calendar. The pattern shares time away across the crews. Solomon's levy is compulsory royal service, not a modern employment rota.
Notice
1 Kings 5:14 The men return home for two months between their turns abroad. The stated pattern gives a concrete picture of how the royal demand enters household life.
1 Kings 5:13-18
King James Version13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
14And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.
15And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;
16Beside the chief of Solomon’s officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.
17And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.
18And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
1 Kings 5:1 begins with “And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a…”
Where the chapter turns
1 Kings 5:7 forms a natural hinge: “And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a…”
The final note
1 Kings 5:18 leaves the reader with “And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Solomon, Hiram, LORD, house, servants, build help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- levy
- People called up by royal order for required labour, rather than a freely chosen job.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
