Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Chronicles 2:11
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.
11 16 [10 15, Heb.] (= 1Ki 5:7-9). Huram’s Answer to Solomon
11. hath loved ] R.V. loveth. Cp. 2Ch 9:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 11. Answered in writing] Though correspondence among persons of distinction was, in these early times, carried on by confidential messengers, yet we find that epistolary correspondence did exist, and that kings could write and read in what were called by the proud and insolent Greeks and Romans barbarous nations. Nearly two thousand years after this we find a king on the British throne who could not sign his own name. About the year of our Lord 700, Withred, king of Kent, thus concludes a charter to secure the liberties of the Church: Ego Wythredus rex Cantiae haec omnia suprascripta et confirmavi, atque, a me dictata propria manu signum sanctae crucis pro ignorantia literarum espressi; “All the above dictated by myself, I have confirmed; and because I cannot write, I have with my own hand expressed this by putting the sign of the holy cross +.” – See Wilkins’ Concilta.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
11. Because the Lord hath loved hispeople, &c.This pious language creates a presumption thatHuram might have attained some knowledge of the true religion fromhis long familiar intercourse with David. But the presumption,however pleasing, may be delusive (see on 1Ki5:7).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Then 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 comments on 1Ki 10:9].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The answer of King Hiram; cf. 1Ki 5:7-11. – Hiram answered , in a writing, a letter, which he sent to Solomon. In 1Ki 5:7 Hiram first expresses his joy at Solomon’s request, because it was of importance to him to be on a friendly footing with the king of Israel. In the Chronicle his writing begins with the congratulation: because Jahve loveth His people, hath He made thee king over them. Cf. for the expression, 2Ch 9:8 and 1Ki 10:9. He then, according to both narratives, praises God that He has given David so wise a son. , 2Ch 2:12, means: then he said further. The praise of God is heightened in the Chronicle by Hiram’s entering into Solomon’s religious ideas, calling Jahve the Creator of heaven and earth. Then, further, is strengthened by , having understanding and discernment; and this predicate is specially referred to Solomon’s resolve to build a temple to the Lord. Then in 2Ch 2:13. he promises to send Solomon the artificer Huram-Abi. On the title , my father, i.e., minister, counsellor, and the descent of this man, cf. the commentary on 1Ki 7:13-14. In 2Ch 2:14 of the Chronicle his artistic skill is described in terms coinciding with Solomon’s wish in 2Ch 2:6, only heightened by small additions. To the metals as materials in which he could work, there are added stone and wood work, and to the woven fabrics (byssus), the later word for ; and finally, to exhaust the whole, he is said to be able , to devise all manner of devices which shall be put to him, as in Exo 31:4, he being thus raised to the level of Bezaleel, the chief artificer of the tabernacle. is dependent upon , as in 2Ch 2:6. The promise to send cedars and cypresses is for the sake of brevity here omitted, and only indirectly indicated in 2Ch 2:16. In 2Ch 2:15, however, it is mentioned that Hiram accepted the promised supply of grain, wine, and oil for the labourers; and 2Ch 2:16 closes with the promise to fell the wood required in Lebanon, and to cause it to be sent in floats to Joppa (Jaffa), whence Solomon could take it up to Jerusalem. The word , “need,” is a . in the Old Testament, but is very common in Aramaic writings. , “floats,” too, occurs only here instead of , 1Ki 5:9, and its etymology is unknown. If we compare 1Ki 5:13-16 with the parallel account in 1Ki 5:8-11, we find that, besides Hiram’s somewhat verbose promise to fell the desired quantity of cedars and cypresses on Lebanon, and to send them in floats by sea to the place appointed by Solomon, the latter contains a request from Hiram that Solomon would give him , maintenance for his house, and a concluding remark that Hiram sent Solomon cedar wood, while Solomon gave Hiram, year by year, 20,000 kor of wheat as food for his house, i.e., the royal household, and twenty kor beaten oil, that is, of the finest oil. In the book of Kings, therefore, the promised wages of grain, wine, and oil, which were sent to the Tyrian woodcutters, is passed over, and only the quantity of wheat and finest oil which Solomon gave to the Tyrian king for his household, year by year, in return for the timber sent, is mentioned. In the Chronicle, on the contrary, only the wages or payment to the woodcutters is mentioned, and the return made for the building timber is not spoken of; but there is no reason for bringing these two passages, which treat of different things, into harmony by alterations of the text. For further discussion of this and of the measures, see on 1Ki 5:11.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Solomon’s Treaty with Hiram. | B. C. 1015. |
11 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. 12 Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build a house for the LORD, and a house for his kingdom. 13 And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s, 14 The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father. 15 Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: 16 And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem. 17 And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found a hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. 18 And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.
Here we have, I. The return which Huram made to Solomon’s embassy, in which he shows a great respect for Solomon and a readiness to serve him. Meaner people may learn of these great ones to be neighbourly and complaisant. 1. He congratulates Israel on having such a king as Solomon was (v. 11): Because the Lord loved his people, he has made thee king. Note, A wise and good government is a great blessing to a people, and may well be accounted a singular token of God’s favour. He does not say, Because he loved thee (though that was true, 2 Sam. xii. 24) he made thee king, but because he loved his people. Princes must look upon themselves as preferred for the public good, not for their own personal satisfaction, and should rule so as to prove that they were given in love and not in anger. 2. He blesses God for raising up such a successor to David, v. 12. It should seem that Huram was not only very well affected to the Jewish nation, and well pleased with their prosperity, but that he was proselyted to the Jewish religion, and worshipped Jehovah, the God of Israel (who was now known by that name to the neighbouring nations), as the God that made heaven and earth, and as the fountain of power as well as being; for he sets up kings. Now that the people of Israel kept close to the law and worship of God, and so preserved their honour, the neighbouring nations were as willing to be instructed by them in the true religion as Israel had been, in the days of their apostasy, to be infected with the idolatries and superstitions of their neighbours. This made them high, that they lent to many nations and did not borrow, lent truth to them, and did not borrow error from them; as when they did the contrary it was their shame. 3. He sent him a very ingenious curious workman, that would not fail to answer his expectations in every thing, one that had both Jewish and Gentile blood meeting in him; for his mother was an Israelite (Huram though she was of the tribe of Dan, and therefore says so here, v. 14, but it seems she was of the tribe of Naphtali, 1 Kings vii. 14), but his father was a Tyrian–a good omen of uniting Jew and Gentile in the gospel temple, as it was afterwards when the building of the second temple was greatly furthered by Darius (Ezra vi.), who is supposed to have been the son of Esther–an Israelite by the mother’s side. 4. He engaged for the timber, as much as he would have occasion for, and undertook to deliver it at Joppa, and withal signified his dependence upon Solomon for the maintenance of the workmen as he had promised, 2Ch 2:15; 2Ch 2:16. This agreement we had, 1Ki 5:8; 1Ki 5:9.
II. The orders which Solomon gave about the workmen. He would not employ the free-born Israelites in the drudgery work of the temple itself, not so much as to be overseers of it. In this he employed the strangers who were proselyted to the Jewish religion, who had not lands of inheritance in Canaan as the Israelites had, and therefore applied to trades, and got their living by their ingenuity and industry. There were, at this time, vast numbers of them in the land (v. 17), who, if they were of any of the devoted nations, perhaps fell within the case, and therefore fell under the law, of the Gibeonites, to be hewers of wood for the congregation: if not, yet being in many respects well provided for by the law of Moses, and put upon an equal footing with the native Israelites, they were bound in gratitude to do what they could for the service of the temple. Yet, no doubt, they were well paid in money or money’s worth: the law was, Thou shalt not oppress a stranger. The distribution of them we have here (v. 2, and again v. 18), in all 150,000. Canaan was a fruitful land, that found meat for so many mouths more than the numerous natives; and the temple was a vast building, that found work for so many bands. Mr. Fuller suggests that the expedient peculiar to this structure, of framing all beforehand, must needs increase the work. I think it rather left so much the more room for this vast multitude of hands to be employed in it; for in the forest of Lebanon they might all be at work together, without crowding one another, which they could not have been upon Mount Sion. And, if there had not been such vast numbers employed, so large and curious a fabric, which was begun and ended in seven years, might, for aught I know, have been as long in building as St. Paul’s.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
(11) Answered in writing.Said in a letter. This seems to imply that Solomons message had been orally delivered.
Because the Lord hath loved his people.So 2Ch. 9:8; 1Ki. 10:9. In the parallel passage Hurain blesses Jehovah, on hearing Solomons message, apparently before writing his reply.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(11-15) Hurams reply. (Comp. 1Ki. 5:7-9.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Huram’s Kind Answer
v. 11. Then Huram, the king of Tyre, v. 12. Huram said moreover. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, v. 13. And now I have sent a cunning man, v. 14. the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device, v. 15. Now, therefore, the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants;
v. 16. and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will bring it to thee in floats, v. 17. And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, v. 18. And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Some have thought that Hiram was one of that class of people, who were Proselytes to the Jewish religion. There were same who were permitted to worship in the gates, or outer courts of Israel. But I do not think from his letter, in ascribing blessedness to Solomon’s God for having set him on the throne of his father, that this is sufficient to draw the conclusion. This might be complimentary. However, whether he was, or was not, thus far a believer in the God of Israel, yet he was well affected to Solomon, in granting him his request. How many are there whom the Lord will make use of as instruments in building churches and chapels to his glory; but who feel no predilection to the person of Jesus himself. It is an awful thought! And to carry it further: how many have been led to put forth an helping hand for the promotion of others salvation, whose lives have given no proofs that they have been anxious for their own! A class of them our Lord himself describes, who are represented by him at the last day as saying; Have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? but of whom Jesus will disclaim all knowledge, as to any vital communion between himself and them! Reader! of all melancholy thoughts this is the greatest. That a man should preach Jesus: should be commissioned by that preaching, (or prophesying, as it is called) to be an instrument to a sinner’s conversion, in leading him from the power of the enemy! What work can be more wonderful! and yet he himself made no partaker of the grace; but simply, like a water pipe, to convey to others, and never refreshed, nor desiring refreshment himself! Mat 7:22 . The envious workman which Hiram sent to Solomon, of whose genealogy the Holy Ghost hath been pleased to give some account, deserves a little notice. He was by the mother’s side of the tribe of Dan it seems, and his father a Tyrian. I do not say so; but yet I think there is somewhat in it worth remarking, that in the building of this temple, the master workman should have sprung both from Jew and Gentile. Was it thy pleasure, dearest Jesus, as this temple was thy type, that thou wouldest have it constructed by one that belonged to both thy families? Didst thou really, blessed Lord, mean thereby to give thy poor Gentile church a sweet thought, that as we know thine heart, and thy love towards us poor Gentiles was from everlasting, thou wouldest in this instance, however trifling it may seem to some, yet manifest to others that thou hast loved us with an everlasting love! Methinks I hear thee say, and from this mark showing it also, I know the thoughts that I think toward you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Precious Jesus! oh! that my thoughts were always on thee, as thy thoughts have been towards thy people! Jer 29:11 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ch 2:11 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.
Ver. 11. Because the Lord hath loved his people. ] It is a great mercy of God to any people, that they have good governors; and the contrary. Isa 3:2-4
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
2Ch 2:11-16
2Ch 2:11-16
THE RESPONSE OF THE KING OF TYRE
“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. Huram said moreover, Blessed be Jehovah, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build a house for Jehovah, and a house for his kingdom. And now I have sent a skillful man, endued with understanding, of Huram my father’s, the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan; and his father was a man of Tyre, skillful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, and blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson, also to grave any manner of graving, and to devise any device; that there may be a place appointed unto him with thy skillful men, and with the skillful men of my lord David thy father. Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need; and we will bring it to thee by floats to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.”
“Blessed be Jehovah … lord of heaven and earth” (2Ch 2:12). Critics find fault here, as they do at every possible excuse, because of Huram’s apparent belief in Jehovah; but anyone should be able to see that the king of Tyre said this in the same lack of sincerity with which he even called Solomon his `lord’ in 2Ch 2:15. “In a polytheistic society politeness to a neighbor’s god cost nothing.”
“Of Huram my father’s” (2Ch 2:13). The RSV should be followed here, “I have sent a skillful man … Huramabi.”
“The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan” (2Ch 2:14). Critics love to cite this as a discrepancy with 1Ki 7:14, which refers to her as “a widow of the tribe of Naphtali,” some even calling it a contradiction. Of course, the two passages teach that Huramabi’s mother was, by birth, of the tribe of Dan, and by residence of the tribe of Napthtali.
“Let him send unto his servants” (2Ch 2:15). Huram, in these words, surely suggests that the supplies for the upkeep of all the workmen Solomon requested was expected to be paid in advance.
“In floats by sea to Joppa, and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem” (2Ch 2:16). This was the nearest seaport to Jerusalem, located about 35 miles east of Joppa, with rugged territory in between. Solomon indeed needed many workmen to transport shiploads of lumber over that distance.
E.M. Zerr:
2Ch 2:11-12. Tyre was a leading city of Phoenicia, a country lying between Palestine and the Mediterranean Sea. Being so near the country of the Israelites, its people had many opportunities of learning something of the God of Israel. The frequent demonstrations of divine power made them somewhat familiar with the Lord, hence this king speaks of him in much the same language as was used by the Jews. The conclusion that Huram formed was that love for his people would be the reason for placing over them such an unusual king as the son of David. This message of congratulations was put into writing and sent to Solomon.
2Ch 2:13. In response to Solomon’s request (2Ch 2:7) for a skilled workman, Huram sent a man who had been in the employ of his father, whose name also was Huram, and he was to supervise the mechanical work of the temple and its furniture.
2Ch 2:14. This verse says the mother of Huram was of the tribe of Dan, but 1Ki 7:14 says she was of the tribe of Naphtali. The explanation is that she was by blood of the tribe of Dan, but lived in the territory of Naphtali This man was to cooperate with the skilled workmen of Solomon’s country
2Ch 2:15. Solomon had promised (2Ch 2:10) to furnish these provisions for Huram’s workmen, of which he is here reminded. His servants means the workmen of the country of Tyre who were to labor in a service to Solomon
2Ch 2:16. Lebanon was a district of Phoenicia containing the famous trees of that name. The timber was to be put into the water and formed into rafts or floats. It could then be moved downward to Joppa which was a seaport of Palestine. From there it would be transported by vehicles drawn by beasts of burden to Jerusalem, for use in building the temple.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Because: 2Ch 9:8, Deu 7:7, Deu 7:8, 1Ki 10:9, Psa 72:17
Reciprocal: 2Sa 5:12 – his people 1Ki 5:7 – Blessed 1Ch 14:1 – Hiram 1Ch 14:2 – because Psa 72:15 – daily Isa 23:18 – her merchandise Eze 16:14 – thy renown Dan 6:23 – was Luk 7:5 – he loveth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2Ch 2:11. Huram answered, Because the Lord loved his people, &c. Thus he congratulates the happiness of Israel in having such a king as Solomon was. And certainly a wise and good government is a great blessing to a people, and may well be accounted a singular token of Gods favour. He does not say, Because he loved thee he made thee king, (though that also was true,) but because he loved his people. Princes must look upon themselves as preferred for the public good, not for their own personal satisfaction, and should rule so as to evidence they were given to their people in love, not in anger.