1 Kings 5 is the fifth chapter of the Books of Kings in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Old Testament of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomic compiler in the seventh century BCE, with a supplement added in the sixth century BCE. This chapter belongs to the section focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel ( 1 Kings 1 to 11). The focus of this chapter is the reign of Solomon, the king of Israel.

Text

This chapter was originally written in the

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and since the 16th century is divided into 18 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

are of the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

tradition, which includes the Codex Cairensis (895), Aleppo Codex (10th century), and

Codex Leningradensis The Leningrad Codex ( la, Codex Leningradensis [Leningrad Book]; he, כתב יד לנינגרד) is the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew, using the Masoretic Text and Tiberian vocalization. According to its colopho ...

(1008). There is also a translation into

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

known as the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond ...

, made in the last few centuries BCE. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(B;

\mathfrak

^B; 4th century) and

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(A;

\mathfrak

^A; 5th century).

Old Testament references

*: 1 Kings 5
Berean Study Bible *:

Analysis

The first 12 verses of this chapter continue the section of 1 Kings 4:29–34 to form a chiasm: :A Solomon's wisdom (4:29–34) :: B Hiram sends servants to Solomon (5:1) :::C Solomon's message to Hiram (5:2–6) ::B' Hiram's response to Solomon (5:7–11) :A' Solomon's wisdom (5:12)

Solomon's contract with Hiram of Tyre (5:1–12)

Israel at the time of David was a lowly developed agrarian country, so Solomon needed foreign help for his building projects, as the rest that eluded his father was finally achieved (2 Samuel 7:1, 10–13). The Phoenicians were suitable partners because of their world-wide trading connections, high cultural standards, and the source of large timber in the mountains of Lebanon. Solomon ordered timber shipments and offered compensation not only for the materials but also for labor. Hiram's price is the delivery of a large quantity of wheat and oil from Israel. The discussion between the two kings included the notes of the Davidic covenant and the clarification of why Solomon, not David before him, the one who built the temple.

Verse 1

:''Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David.'' *" Hiram" (Phoenician: 'ahiram): king of the important city of Tyre, was an ally of

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(2 Samuel 5:11) and the first to take up relations with Solomon.

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, citing both Tyrian court records and the writings of Menander, wrote that Hiram lived for 53 years and reigned 34. His regnal years have been calculated from 980 to 947 BCE, in succession to his father,

Abibaal Abibaal ( phn, 𐤀𐤁𐤉𐤁𐤏𐤋, ʾabībaʿl, ''"My father is Baal"'') was a king of Tyre in the 10th century BC, father of the famous Hiram I. The only information known about him is derived from two passages in Josephus's ''Against Apion ...

, and Hiram was later succeeded as king of Tyre by his son

Baal-Eser I Baal-Eser I (Beleazarus I, Ba‘l-mazzer I) was a king of Tyre. His father, Hiram I, was a contemporary of David and Solomon, kings of Israel. The only information available about Baal-Eser I comes from the following citation of the Phoenician a ...

Forced labor in Israel (5:13–18)

The massive availability of forced labor from 'all Israel' (cf.

1 Kings 9 1 Kings 9 is the ninth chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by a D ...

:20–23) would later be the cause of the kingdom's partition (

1 Kings 12 1 Kings 12 is the twelfth chapter of the Books of Kings in the Hebrew Bible or the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is a compilation of various annals recording the acts of the kings of Israel and Judah by ...

). The Israelite task force sent to Lebanon consisted of 'conscripted workers' from the Canaanite population and 150,000 people of Israel (cf. 1 Kings 4:6).

Verse 18

: ''So Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the temple.'' *"Gebalites" ("the stonesquarers" in

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

): people from

Byblos Byblos ( ; gr, Βύβλος), also known as Jbeil or Jubayl ( ar, جُبَيْل, Jubayl, locally ; phn, 𐤂𐤁𐤋, , probably ), is a city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. It is believed to have been first occupied between 8 ...

(on the coast to the north of Tyre in today's northern Lebanon). * "Temple": literally "house"Note on 1 Kings 5:18 in NKJV

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

translations: *
Melachim I - I Kings - Chapter 5 (Judaica Press)
Hebrew text and English translation ith_Rashi's_commentary.html"_;"title="Rashi.html"_;"title="ith_Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentary">Rashi.html"_;"title="ith_Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentaryat_Chabad.org *__Christian_translations: *
''Online_Bible''_at_GospelHall.org
(ESV,_KJV,_Darby,_American_Standard_Version,_Bible_in_Basic_English) *
1_Kings_chapter_5._Bible_Gateway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings_1_05 First_Book_of_Kings_chapters.html" ;"title="1_Kings_5.html" ;"title="Rashi">ith_Rashi's_commentary.html" ;"title="Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentary">Rashi.html" ;"title="ith Rashi">ith Rashi's commentaryat Chabad.org * Christian translations: *
''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) *
1 Kings chapter 5. Bible Gateway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings 1 05 First Book of Kings chapters">05 Phoenicians in the Hebrew Bible