Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 5:6
Now 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.
6. Now therefore command thou ] Solomon’s request is much expanded in 2Ch 2:3-10, where he asks for a cunning workman in gold and other metals, and in purple, crimson and blue, and skilled in carving or engraving. He desires also much other wood beside cedar. Of the Sidonian purple we have frequent notices in Classical authors, it is ‘the grain of Sarra worn by Kings and heroes old,’ as Milton sings of it. Par. Lost XI. 242. Cf. Verg. n. iv. 137 ‘Sidoniam picto chlamydem circumdata limbo.’ Homer tells us of the great skill of Sidonian workmen: the embroidered robes of Andromache and the bowl given by Achilles as a prize at the games in honour of Patroclus were of Sidonian workmanship. (Hom. Il. vi. 290; xxiii. 743, 744.)
cedar-trees out of Lebanon ] We see from Hiram’s answer in 1Ki 5:8 where ‘timber of fir’ is added to the ‘timber of cedar’ that we have here only an abstract of Solomon’s request, and the fuller form in Chronicles has probably been drawn from an original authority.
hire for thy servants ] The hire takes the form of a supply of corn and oil of which the kingdom of Solomon was very productive.
can skill ] This somewhat antiquated word is found also 2Ch 2:7-8; 2Ch 34:12. It means ‘to know the best way of doing anything.’ Cf. Holland Pliny XVIII. 10. ‘Without beans they cannot skill how to dress anything for their daily food.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Solomons message to Hiram and Hirams answer 1Ki 5:8-9 are given much more fully in 2Ch 2:3-16.
Cedar-trees – The Hebrew word here and elsewhere translated cedar, appears to be used, not only of the cedar proper, but of other timber-trees also, as the fir, and, perhaps, the juniper. Still there is no doubt that the real Lebanon cedar is most commonly intended by it. This tree, which still grows on parts of the mountain, but which threatens to die out, was probably much more widely spread anciently. The Tyrians made the masts of their ships from the wood Eze 27:5, and would naturally be as careful to cultivate it as we have ourselves been to grow oak. The Assyrian kings, when they made their expeditions into Palestine, appear frequently to have cut it in Lebanon and Hermon, and to have transported it to their own capitals.
Skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians – The mechanical genius and nautical skill of the Phoenicians generally, and of the Sidonians in particular, is noticed by Homer and Herodotus. In the reign of Hiram, Sidon, though perhaps she might have a king of her own, acknowledged the supremacy of Tyre.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 6. Any that can skill to hew timber] An obsolete and barbarous expression for any that know how to cut timber. They had neither sawyers, carpenters, joiners, nor builders among them, equal to the Sidonians. Sidon was a part of the territories of Hiram, and its inhabitants appear to have been the most expert workmen. It requires more skill to fell and prepare timber than is generally supposed. Vitruvius gives some rules relative to this, lib. ii., cap. 9, the sum of which is this:
1. Trees should be felled in autumn, or in the winter, and in the wane of the moon; for in this season the trees recover their vigour and solidity, which was dispersed among their leaves, and exhausted by their fruit, in spring and summer; they will then be free from a certain moisture, very apt to engender worms and rot them, which in autumn and winter is consumed and dried up.
2. Trees should not be cut down at once; they should be cut carefully round towards the pith, that the sap may drop down and distil away, and thus left till thoroughly dry, and then cut down entirely.
3. When fully dried, a tree should not be exposed to the south sun, high winds, and rain; and should be smeared over with cow-dung to prevent its splitting.
4. It should never be drawn through the dew, but be removed in the afternoon.
5. It is not fit for floors, doors, or windows, till it has been felled three years. Perhaps these directions attended to, would prevent the dry rot. And we see from them that there is considerable skill required to hew timber, and in this the Sidonians excelled. We do every thing in a hurry, and our building is good for nothing.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Command thou that they, i.e. thy servants, as appears both from the foregoing words, command, &c., and from the following opposition of my servants And this assistance which these Gentiles gave to the building of Solomons temple was a type of the calling of the Gentiles, and that they should be very instrumental in the building and constituting of Christs spiritual temple, to wit, his church.
Hew me cedar trees; which, for their soundness, and strength, and fragrancy, and durableness, were most excellent and proper for his design. Of these David had procured some, but not a sufficient number.
Lebanon was either wholly or in part in Solomons jurisdiction; and therefore he doth not desire that Hiram would give him the cedars, because they were his own already; but only that his servants might hew them for him; which required art and skill in the time and manner of doing of it; all which the ingenious Tyrians well understood.
My servants shall be with thy servants; either to be employed therein as they shall direct; or to receive the cedars, being cut down and hewed, from their hands, and to transmit them to me; although Hiram in his return eased him of that trouble.
Unto thee will I give hire for thy servants, i.e. pay them for their labour and art.
The Sidonians, or Tyrians; for these places and people being near, and subject to Hiram, are promiscuously used one for another.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
6. command thou that they hew mecedar trees out of LebanonNowhere else could Solomon haveprocured materials for the woodwork of his contemplated building. Theforests of Lebanon, adjoining the seas in Solomon’s time, belonged tothe Phoelignicians, and the timber being a lucrative branch of theirexports, immense numbers of workmen were constantly employed in thefelling of trees as well as the transportation and preparation of thewood. Hiram stipulated to furnish Solomon with as large a quantity ofcedars and cypresses as he might require and it was a greatadditional obligation that he engaged to render the important serviceof having it brought down, probably by the Dog river, to the seaside,and conveyed along the coast in floats; that is, the logs being boundtogether, to the harbor of Joppa (2Ch2:16), whence they could easily find the means of transport toJerusalem.
my servants shall be with thyservantsThe operations were to be on so extensive a scale thatthe Tyrians alone would be insufficient. A division of labor wasnecessary, and while the former would do the work that requiredskilful artisans, Solomon engaged to supply the laborers.
1Ki5:7-12. FURNISHESTIMBER TO BUILDTHE TEMPLE.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedars out of Lebanon,…. That is, order his servants to cut them down there for him. Some think that Lebanon belonged to the land of Israel, and therefore Solomon did not ask for the cedars upon it, but for his servants to hew them for him; but as it lay upon the borders of Israel, part of it might belong to them, and another part to Hiram, and on which the best cedars might grow, and so he furnished Solomon both with trees, and men to cut them, as it seems from 1Ki 5:10; see also 2Ch 2:3;
and my servants shall be with thy servants: to assist them, and to carry the timber from place to place, and to learn how to hew timber:
and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants, according to all that thou shalt appoint; pay them for their work and service, as Hiram himself should judge fit and reasonable for them; no mention being made of paying for the timber, seems to countenance the notion that the trees were Solomon’s; but when the quantity of provisions sent yearly to Hiram for his household, besides what the servants had, is observed, it seems to have been sent as an equivalent to the timber received by Solomon, see 1Ki 5:10;
for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians; it is not said Tyrians, the Sidonians, perhaps, being more skilful in this than they were; and the Sidonians are said by Homer y to be , very ingenious: and they were both under the jurisdiction and at the command of Hiram; so Eupolemus z makes the inscription of Solomon’s letter to him to run thus, to Suron (that is, Hiram) king of Tyre, Sidon, and Phoenicia. The Jews being chiefly employed in husbandry, and in feeding cattle, were very unskilful in mechanic arts, and in this of cutting down trees, and hewing timber; for there is skill to be exercised therein; the proper time of cutting down trees should be observed, the part in which they are to be cut, and the position in which they are to be put when cut down, as Vitruvius a directs, with other things, and Pliny b observes the same.
y Iliad. 23. ver. 743. z Ut supra. (Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 32, 34.) a De Architectura, l. 2. c. 9. b Nat. Hist. l. 16. c. 39.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(6) Cedar trees out of Lebanon.The central range of Lebanon is bare; but in the lower ranges there is stillprobably in old times there was to a far greater extenta rich abundance of timber, specially precious to the comparatively treeless country of Palestine. The forest of Lebanon was proverbial for its beauty and fragrance (Son. 4:11; Hos. 14:6-7), watered by the streams from the snowy heights (Jer. 18:14), when all Palestine was parched up. The cedars which now remaina mere group, at a height of about six thousand feetare but a remnant of the once magnificent forest which the Lord had planted (Psa. 104:16). Solomons requestcouched almost in the language of commandis simply for cedar wood, or rather, for skilled labour in felling and working it, for which the Tyrians were proverbially famed in all ancient records. For this labour he offers to pay; while he seems to take for granted a right for his own servants to come and bring away the timber itself. Hirams answer (1Ki. 5:8) mentions timber of fir also, which agrees exactly with the fuller account of Solomons request given in 2Ch. 2:8. The pine still grows abundantly in the sandstone regions of Lebanon; but it is almost certain that the fir here named is the cypress.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
6. Cedar trees out of Lebanon The cedars of Lebanon are the most celebrated of all the trees of Scripture, the monarchs of the vegetable kingdom. The prophets refer to them as emblems of greatness, majesty, and splendour. Ezekiel, in his prophecy, (chap 31,) presents us with a most graphic description of their grandeur and beauty when he makes them representatives of the Assyrian power and glory. The wood was used for beams, pillars, boards, masts of ships, and carved images. Not only did David and Solomon import it for their building purposes, but the kings of Assyria and Persia, and perhaps of other nations, did the same. This extensive use of the cedar of Lebanon makes it clear that in ancient times this mountain must have been largely covered with forests of this timber.
At present only one considerable group, embosomed in a magnificent recess among the loftiest heights of the mountain, and which is generally known, has been often visited and described by travellers. Other groves, however, have been found in other less frequented parts of the mountain. The modern cedar of Lebanon is usually from fifty to eighty feet high, and often covers with its branches, when standing alone, a space the diameter of which is greater than the height of the tree. It is an evergreen, and its leaves are produced in tufts. Its branches, disposed in layers, spread out horizontally, and form, as they approach the top, a thick pyramidal head. All this corresponds closely with Ezekiel’s description, Eze 31:3.
The profane writers represent the cedar wood as specially noted for its durability, and the cedar roof of the great temple of Diana at Ephesus is said to have lasted four hundred years.
Hew timber like unto the Sidonians “The Sidonians,” writes Strabo, who lived about the time of Christ, “are said by historians to excel in various kinds of art, as the words of Homer also imply. Besides, they cultivate science and study astronomy and arithmetic. It is thought that geometry was introduced into Greece from Egypt, and astronomy and arithmetic from Phenicia. At present the best opportunities are afforded in these cities for acquiring a knowledge of these and of all other branches of philosophy.” On Zidon, or Sidon, see at Gen 10:19, Jos 11:8. , here rendered to hew, means rather to cut down, or to fell. Merely for the felling and treatment of the timber great skill was required. According to Vitruvius, a contemporary of Julius Caesar, and author of a celebrated treatise on architecture, timber must be cut in the autumn or in the winter, when it is free from a moisture which is apt to make it rot, and it should be cut in such a manner as to allow the sap to distil away. It should never be exposed to a hot sun, high winds, or rain, nor drawn through the dew; and it should be in like manner guarded for three years before being used in building. Probably these and other similar precautions gave the Sidonians their fame for skill in felling timber.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ Now therefore do you command that they cut me cedar-trees out of Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants, and I will give you hire for your servants in accordance with all that you shall say, for you know that there is not among us any who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
Then Solomon explained what he really wanted of Hiram. He wanted him to provide the finest of timber from his forests in Lebanon, and to provide experts who would cut it and dress it, because no one knew how to do that like the Sidonians. Sidon, as opposed to Tyre, clearly had a reputation for forest carpentry. The forests would be in their area. He would meanwhile provide men from among ‘his servants’ who would work alongside them, possibly with a view to them learning some of the skills, and he would pay the hire of the Sidonians employed on the work.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Ki 5:6 Now 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.
Ver. 6. That they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon. ] Satan, though he could not hinder the building of the temple, 1Ki 5:4 yet he would needs imitate it, and, if possible, outdo it; for his temple of Diana, at Ephesus, was likewise built of cedar, as Vitruvius relateth, and was much longer and larger than this at Jerusalem, as others assure us.
And my servants shall be with thy servants.
That can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
any = a man. Hebrew. ‘ish. App-14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
cedar trees: 1Ki 6:9, 1Ki 6:10, 1Ki 6:16, 1Ki 6:20, 2Ch 2:8, 2Ch 2:10, Psa 29:5
will I give hire: Rom 12:17, Phi 4:8
appoint: Heb. say
that there is not: 1Co 12:14-21, Eph 4:7
Sidonians: Gen 10:15, Ezr 3:7
Reciprocal: 1Ki 9:11 – Now Hiram 1Ki 9:27 – his servants 1Ch 14:1 – and timber 1Ch 22:4 – cedar trees Psa 74:5 – General Eze 27:5 – cedars Eze 27:8 – wise
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 5:6. Now therefore command thou, that they That is, thy servants, who are skilful in such work; hew me cedar-trees Which, for their soundness, and strength, and fragrancy, and durable-ness, were most proper for his design. Of these David had procured some, but not a sufficient number. Out of Lebanon Which was in Solomons jurisdiction; and therefore he doth not desire that Hiram would give him the cedars, because they were his own already, but only that his servants might hew them for him, which the ingenious Tyrians well understood: My servants shall be with thy servants Either to be employed as they shall direct, or to receive the cedars from their hands, and transmit them to me. And unto thee will I give hire for thy servants Pay them for their labour and art. Sidonians Or Tyrians; for these places and people, being near each other, are promiscuously used one for another. This assistance, which these Gentiles gave to the building of Solomons temple, was a type of the calling of the Gentiles, and that they should be instrumental in building and constituting Christs spiritual temple.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5:6 Now 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 {b} 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.
(b) This was his equity, that he would not receive a benefit without some recompence.