1 Kings 5:15

_AND HE SENT THEM TO LEBANON, TEN THOUSAND A MONTH BY COURSES: A MONTH THEY WERE IN LEBANON, AND TWO MONTHS AT HOME: AND ADONIRAM WAS OVER THE LEVY._ No JFB commentary on these verses....

10-18 The temple was chiefly built by the riches and labour of Gentiles, which typified their being called into the church. Solomon commanded, and they brought costly stones for the foundation. Christ, who is laid for a Foundation, is a chosen and precious Stone. We should lay our foundation firm, and bestow most pains on that part of our religion which lies out of the sight of men. And happy those who, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, for a habitation of God through the Spirit. Who among us will build in the house of the Lord?...

Verse 1 Kings 5:15. _THREESCORE AND TEN THOUSAND THAT BARE BURDENS_] These were all _strangers_, or _proselytes_, dwelling among the Israelites; as we learn from the parallel place, 1 Kings 2:17-11....

THAT BARE BURDENS ... - Compare the marginal references. These laborers, whose services were continuous, consisted of “strangers” - “the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites” - whom Solomon, following the example of his father 1 Chronicles 22:2, condemned to slavery, and employed in this way....

EXPOSITION SOLOMON AND HIRAM—The somewhat detailed description which we have had in 1 Kings 4:1. of Solomon's pomp and power and wisdom, is followed in 1 Kings 5:1. sqq. by an account of what, in Jewish eyes, was the great undertaking of his reign, and, indeed, the great glory of Hebrew history—the erection and adornment of the Temple. And as this was largely due to the assistance he received both in the shape of materials and labourers—from the Tyrian king, we have in the first place an account of his alliance with Hiram. 1 KINGS 5:1 AND HIRAM (In...

AND SOLOMON HAD THREESCORE AND TEN THOUSAND THAT BARE BURDENS,.... Seventy thousand to carry the stones from the mountains out of which they were dug, and which were near Jerusalem, to the city; these were strangers in Israel, as were those that follow: AND FOURSCORE THOUSAND HEWERS IN THE MOUNTAINS: eighty thousand that dug the stones out of the quarries, and squared them; these, with the others, made 150,000, see 2 Chronicles 2:17; according to Jacob Leon g, the number of workmen at the temple for seven years was 163,600, and some make them more. g Relation of Memorable Things in the Temple, ch. 3. p. 14....

4. THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE AND ITS DEDICATION CHAPTER 5 Hiram King of Tyre _ 1. Hiram sends servants to Solomon (1 Kings 5:1)_ 2. The message of Solomon (1 Kings 5:2) 3. Hiram's answer and league with Solomon (1 Kings 5:7) 4. Solomon's workmen (1 Kings 5:13) In connection with 1 Kings 5-8 the Chapter s in 2 Chronicles should be read which give a more extensive account (2 Chronicles 2-5:11). Solomon now begins the great work, which may be called his life work, the building of the house of the LORD. Hiram heard of Solomon's enthronement, and sent messengers to Solomon. This Gentile king was a lover

SOLOMON'S ALLIANCE WITH HIRAM. PREPARATION FOR THE TEMPLE. This chapter has a few Deuteronomic additions (1 Kings 5:3 and 1 Kings 5:12). In 1 Kings 5:4 there is a truly Deuteronomic touch: the one sanctuary could not come into existence till God had given the people rest (2 Samuel 7:11; Deuteronomy 12:9; Deuteronomy 25:19). The alliance was of mutual importance to the Israelites and the Tyrians. The corn-growing districts of N. Palestine were the granary

_threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens_ The Chronicler (2 Chronicles 2:17) points out that these 70,000 were of the strangers that dwelt in the land of Israel. These the king compelled to do the harder and more menial work, and the whole number of these non-Israelites was called out for work. Their number is stated in Chronicles to have been 153,600; of these 70,000 were bearers of burdens, 80,000 hewers in the mountains and the other 3600 (see Chronicles _l. c._) were overseers to set the people a-work....

B. THE ORGANIZATION OF LABORERS 5:13-18 TRANSLATION (13) Then King Solomon raised a levy from all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. (14) And he sent them to Lebanon ten thousand a month in shifts; a month they were in Lebanon, two months in their homes. And Adoniram was over the levy. (15) And Solomon had seventy thousand burden bearers, and eighty thousand stonecutters in the mountains, (16) besides Solomon's superintendents who were over the work, thirty-three hundred who supervised the people who labored in the work. (17) And the king commanded and they quarried great stones, precious stones, to lay the foundation of the house, dressed stones. (18) So the builders of Solomon and the builders of Hiram, even the Gegalites, dressed them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house. COMMENTS Solomon made further preparation for the construction work by draftin...