Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 5:7
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 wise son over this great people.
7. he rejoiced greatly ] For the alliance thus offered to him was that of the mightiest prince of all those round about.
Blessed be the Lord ] Hiram here uses the name of Jehovah in such wise as to shew that he acknowledged him as a true god, but probably only in the sense of being the national god of Israel, as Melcarth was of the Zidonians. Cf. the queen of Sheba’s words of the same kind in 1Ki 10:9. In the words of Hiram as given in 2Ch 1:12, Jehovah is said to be the Maker of heaven and earth. If this were really Hiram’s language he must have identified Jehovah with his own supreme divinity. Of course it was no difficulty for a heathen to add the name of another divinity to his list of gods. Melchizedek (Gen 14:19) speaks of ‘God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth’; and though not a heathen, he was outside the chosen race.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
1Ki 5:7-11
When Hiram heard the words of Solomon.
Hiram and Solomon
I. Gratification. Hiram rejoiced greatly when he heard the words of King Solomon. This arose partly from the love he bore to his father David. The gratification of Hiram sprang also from a recognition of Solomons wisdom: gratification in anothers good.
II. Consideration (1Ki 5:8). The demand of Solomon was no small one, and deserved consideration. It involved, in all probability, a great sacrifice on the part of the Tyrians.
III. Satisfaction. All his desire (1Ki 5:10). There was not one thing which Solomon asked, which Hiram did not grant; it is not right to ask or expect unreasonable things. It is right to grant reasonable requests, even if they should occasion sacrifice. Unreasonable requests should not be granted, even if it should be more easy to do so than to refuse.
IV. Recognition. Endued with understanding (2Ch 2:13). Knowledge, genius, skill are of heavenly birth, and to despise them is to be guilty of a sin.
V. Combination. Solomon and Hiram were not independent of each other. No one can serve God properly in isolation: two are better far than one, etc. Query–Have Christians a right to remain detached from the Church of Christ?
VI. Distribution (2Ch 2:16). Each did the part allotted to him; the result was success. (F. Wagstaff.)
Joy
Joy of sharing in a good work:–It was a saying of the late Professor Samuel Miller, of Princeton, that he loved to have a nail in every building intended for the glory of God or the good of man. Here and there he scattered the gifts he had, a portion to seven and also to eight–benedictions wherever he went. Few are so poor but that they can adopt this plan of continuous beneficence.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. Blessed be the Lord this day] From this, and indeed from every part of Hiram’s conduct, it is evident that he was a worshipper of the true God; unless, as was the case with many of the heathens, he supposed that every country had its own god, and every god his own country, and he thanked the God of Israel that he had given so wise a prince to govern those whom he considered his friends and allies: but the first opinion seems to be the most correct.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
He rejoiced greatly; being an ingenuous prince, a lover of excellency, and a faithful friend to David and to his house.
Blessed be the Lord; for though it be not probable that he was a sincere proselyte, because he did not endeavour the instruction of his people, and the extirpation of their gross idolatry, which by Gods blessing and Solomens help he might easily have effected; yet he had sufficient information concerning the nature and excellency of the God of Israel, and had honourable thoughts of him, as also divers other heathens had, 1Sa 4:8; Dan 6:16; 2Ma 3:3.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7. Blessed be the LordThislanguage is no decisive evidence that Hiram was a worshipper of thetrue God, as he might use it only on the polytheistic principle ofacknowledging Jehovah as the God of the Hebrews (see on 2Ch2:11).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon,…. The letter read he sent him:
that he rejoiced greatly; that the friendship which had subsisted between him and David was like to be continued between him and his successor, but chiefly for what follows:
saying, blessed [be] the Lord this day; or Jehovah, by which he seems to have some knowledge of the true God, the God of Israel, and might worship him, though along with him other deities, as some Heathen princes did:
which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people; which he perceived by the letter he sent him, and by his solicitous concern to build an house for the worship and honour of God, and by various other things which his ambassadors reported to him they had seen and heard in Solomon’s court.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(7) Blessed be the Lord.Hirams answer is one of deference, still more clearly marked in 2Ch. 2:12-16. His acknowledgment of Jehovah the God of Israel is a token rather of such deference to Israel, than of any acceptance of Him as the one true God.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Hiram heard and said, Blessed be the Lord How far this implies that the king of Tyre was a worshipper of the true God is quite uncertain. His expressions of reverence for Jehovah, as Creator of heaven and earth, are still stronger in the parallel passage 2Ch 2:11. He evidently acknowledged Jehovah and worshipped him as God, but, like the Samaritans of a later age, (2Ki 17:33,) he may have feared the Lord and at the same time have worshipped the various gods of the heathen. In so far, however, as Hiram, a heathen king, was brought to a knowledge of the God of Israel, and worshipped him, and helped to build his holy temple, so far these things may be typical of events in Messiah’s day. The Greater than Solomon, in the building of his spiritual temple builds not with Jews alone. It is significant that the only time Jesus travelled on his works of mercy beyond the limits of the land of Israel was to the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. Mar 7:24. His human ministry was not to be among the Gentiles; but by this one miracle in the regions beyond Israel he would indicate his purpose to gather elect and precious stones from all nations, and build them up together for a habitation of God through the Spirit.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ And it came about that, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed be YHWH this day, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.”
When Hiram heard this he was delighted. It would not only put him in well with one of the most powerful kings of the day, who also had control of the major trade routes (a major consideration for a trading power), but it would also prove very profitable. So he replied to Solomon’s request with pleasing words. He would not have been a worshipper of YHWH himself, but he was quite prepared to acknowledge that Israel’s God YHWH had given to David a wise son over God’s great and numerous people.
Note again the emphasis on Solomon’s wisdom which comes out throughout this section. His wisdom was not only seen as great, but also as many-varied. He was seen as wise in all that he did. (His subsequent fall must therefore come as a warning to us all. Let him who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall).
1Ki 5:8
‘ And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent to me. I will do all your desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of pine.”
Then he got down to the practicalities of the matter. The contract, like all oriental contracts, was made in the most euphemistic of terms, terms which hid, with a layer of generosity and bonhomie, the hard bargaining that ensued (compare Genesis 23). ‘I have heard the message that you have sent me and I will fulfil all your timber requirements of both cedar and pine (as long, of course, as the price is right, although we gentlemen do not discuss such things as price)’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
(7) 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 wise son over this great people. (8) And 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. (9) My 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.
The Lord disposed the heart, no doubt, of this prince to put an helping hand to so good a work. And as the workman is worthy of his hire, he bargains with Solomon for the food of his household. Jesus our Solomon keeps a good house; and they that wait at the altar are made partakers with the altar. 1Co 9:13 . The place of delivery which Hiram agreed to deposit the timber at, the mouth of Tyre, was the very spot which in after ages became so memorable by our Lord’s personal visit, and the exercise of his ministry there. See Mat 15:21 , etc.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
1Ki 5:7 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 wise son over this great people.
Ver. 7. Blessed be the Lord this day. ] His carefulness he improveth unto thankfulness, whence some conclude him a proselyted prince. And surely thankfulness to the true God is a good sign of true grace. The Greeks have but one word ( ) to signify both.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Preparations for the Great Task
1Ki 5:7-18
It was good for Hiram and his Tyrians to be associated with the servants of Solomon. Together they hewed immense blocks of stone, some of which were thirty feet in length and six feet in breadth, and which still form foundations on the ancient Temple site. Together they hewed down and fashioned the cedar and fir trees on the slopes of Lebanon. May we not learn from this partnership that Gentiles are to be associated with Jews in that one holy Temple, which through the ages is growing into a habitation of God by His Spirit? Eph 2:21-22. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, circumcision nor uncircumcision.
The treaty between the two kingdoms was eminently wise, because they differed so widely-the one being pastoral, the other commercial. It was wise for Peter and John to enter into close friendship, and together ascend the steps to the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, Act 3:1-3. Be content to be a hewer on the mountains, shaping rough blocks of granite, but, do something toward building the Temple of God, which arises slowly amid the wreck of all human structures.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Blessed: 1Ki 10:9, 2Ch 2:11, 2Ch 2:12, 2Ch 9:7, 2Ch 9:8, Psa 122:6, Psa 122:7, Psa 137:6
which hath: 1Ki 1:48, Gen 33:5, Isa 8:18, Isa 9:6
a wise son: 1Ki 3:9, 2Ch 2:11, Pro 10:1, Pro 13:1, Pro 15:20, Pro 23:24
Reciprocal: 1Ki 4:31 – his fame Pro 8:15 – decree Dan 6:23 – was Tit 1:8 – a lover of good
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 5:7-8. He rejoiced greatly Being a faithful friend to David and his house; and though it is not probable he was a sincere proselyte, yet he had received much information concerning the nature and excellence of the God of Israel, and had honourable thoughts of him. And Hiram sent to Solomon A letter, 2Ch 2:11. Timber of fir The word which we translate fir, others think signifies pine, or cypress; but their conjecture is the most reasonable, who think it was a kind of cedar, and therefore comprehended under that name, 1Ki 5:6, where Solomon desires of him only that his servants might hew him cedar-trees.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
5:7 And it came to pass, when {c} 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.
(c) In Hiram is prefigured the calling of the Gentiles who would help build the spiritual temple.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Solomon’s treaty with Hiram 5:7-12
The fact that Hiram cooperated with and even blessed Yahweh (1Ki 5:7) shows how God brought blessing to Gentiles as well as to the Israelites through David and Solomon’s godly dedication to the Lord. The covenant between Israel and Phoenicia (1Ki 5:12) resulted in peace for many years.
"Sometimes Solomon has been criticized for entering into such an agreement with an unbelieving pagan like Hiram. Scripture says, ’Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers’ (2Co 6:14). The principle does not apply in this case, however. Solomon did not join in a partnership with Hiram to build the temple. Solomon built it and merely purchased material and hired workers from Hiram." [Note: Wood, p. 312.]