Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 7:14

He [was] a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father [was] a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work.

14. He was a widow’s son ] The Hebrew says the son of a widow woman and there is no reason why the literal expression should be relegated to the margin, as in A. V.

of the tribe of Naphtali ] In 2Ch 2:14 he is called ‘the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan.’ The two may be reconciled if we suppose the woman to have belonged to Dan, and her first husband to have been of the tribe of Naphtali.

a worker in brass ] This had been the trade of the father, which his son followed and in which he gained such distinction. There seems to have been a fitness in the circumstance that Hiram, by birth half an Israelite, should be employed on the work of Solomon’s temple.

and he was filled with wisdom ] Compare the similar language used (Exo 31:3; Exo 36:1) about Bezaleel and Aholiab. Only in that place there is added to the qualifications ‘the spirit of God.’

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Hirams mother, while by birth of the tribe of Dan, had had for her first husband a man of the tribe of Naphtali. (Compare this verse and margin reference.)

All his work – The work that he personally did for Solomon seems to have been limited to metal-work, and indeed to works in brass. (See below, 1Ki 7:45, and compare 2Ch 4:16.)

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

A widows son of the tribe of Naphtali.

Object. She was one of the daughters of Dan, 2Ch 2:14.

Answ. So indeed Hiram king of Tyre there affirms; but he might easily mistake or be misinformed, especially being no Israelite, nor a careful observer of the distinction of tribes. Or she might be of Dan by her father, and of Naphtali by her mother, or by her husband, who was of that tribe, and therefore she was truly

a widow of Naphtali. His father was a man of Tyre; either by his descent, being a Tyrian by birth; or by education and habitation, he or his father being given to the study of these arts, and having planted themselves at Tyre for their improvement therein. However that was, it was a singular providence of God, that there was at that time so excellent a workman fit for so great and glorious works.

All works in brass, and of gold, and stone, and purple, and blue, &c., as is affirmed, 2Ch 2:14. But only his skill in brass is here mentioned, because he speaks only of the brazen things which he made.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

14. He was a widow’s son of thetribe of NaphtaliIn 2Ch 2:14his mother is said to have been of the daughters of Dan. The apparentdiscrepancy may be reconciled thus: Hiram’s mother, though belongingto the tribe of Dan, had been married to a Naphtalite, so that whenmarried afterwards to a Tyrian, she might be described as a widow ofthe tribe of Naphtali. Or, if she was a native of the city Dan(Laish), she might be said to be of the daughters of Dan, as born inthat place; and of the tribe of Naphtali, as really belonging to it.

a worker in brassThisrefers particularly to the works described in this chapter. But in2Ch 2:13 his artistic skill isrepresented as extending to a great variety of departments. In fact,he was appointed, from his great natural talents and acquired skill,to superintend the execution of all the works of art in the temple.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

He was a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali,…. In 2Ch 2:14, his mother is said to be of the daughters of Dan, as she might be, and yet her son of the tribe of Naphtali; for either she was of the city of Dan, which is placed in the tribe of Naphtali m, or her mother was of the tribe of Dan; and therefore she is said to be of the daughters of Dan, when her father was of the tribe of Naphtali, as it is expressed by the Targum on 2Ch 2:14, and in which way most of the Jewish commentators reconcile this; or she was of Dan, and her husband of Naphtali besides, if there was any mistake, it must be ascribed, not to the sacred historians, but to the king of Tyre, whose words they are in the above place, and who might not be so well acquainted with the tribe this man and his parents were of:

and his father was a man of Tyre; not a Tyrian by birth, but one who had dwelt there a while, and therefore so called, as Obededom, for a like reason, is called the Gittite:

a worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom, and understanding, and cunning to work all works in brass; which might be true both of the father and of the son, and especially of the son, who had improved upon his father’s knowledge and instructions; and who was skilful to work in other things besides brass, as gold, silver, iron, stone, timber, purple, blue and fine linen, crimson, and all sorts of engraving, and every device that could be put to him by the most ingenious workmen that either David or Solomon had, 2Ch 2:14, but this is only mentioned, because it was in such work he was only employed by Solomon; and it seems, by the mode of expression, that, besides his natural genius, and his diligence and industry, he was filled with wisdom from God more immediately for this service, as Bezaleel and Aholiab were for the service of the tabernacle:

and he came to King Solomon, and wrought all his work; in brass, as follows.

m Vid. Adrichom. Theat. T. S. p. 105. Fuller’s Pisgah-Sight, 107.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

14. A widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali According to 2Ch 2:14, she was of the daughters of Dan. But this need not be regarded as an error or mistake in either text, for she may have been by birth of the tribe of Dan, and by marriage connected with the tribe of Naphtali. So she would be a widow of Naphtali when Hiram’s father married her. Other explanations are also possible.

A man of Tyre Probably a native Tyrian, and not, as some have supposed, an Israelite who had become a resident of Tyre.

A worker in brass This is in apposition with man of Tyre, that is, Hiram’s father. Hiram followed his father’s trade.

He was filled with wisdom His skill and proficiency in working brass are described in nearly the same words as were used of Bezaleel, the divinely gifted artificer of the tabernacle. Exo 31:3; Exo 36:1.

Cunning to work all works in brass In 2 Chronicles (2Ch 2:14) it is said that he was “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.”

Wrought all his work “Of course Hiram was only a foreman or leader of these different branches of art; and he certainly did not come alone, but brought several assistants with him, who carried out the different works under his superintendence.” Keil.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments