1 Kings 5:18

_AND SOLOMON'S BUILDERS AND HIRAM'S BUILDERS DID HEW THEM, AND THE STONESQUARERS: SO THEY PREPARED TIMBER AND STONES TO BUILD THE HOUSE._ And the stone-squarers. The margin, which renders it 'the Giblites' (Joshua 13:5), has long been considered a preferable translation. This marginal translation also must yield to another which has lately been proposed, by a slight change in the Hebrew text, and which would be rendered thus: 'Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them and bevel them' (Thenius). These great beveled or grooved stones, measuring some 20 feet, others 30 feet in length, and from 5 to 6 feet in width, are still seen in the substructures about the ancient site of the temple; and in the judgment of the most competent observers, were those originally employed 'to lay the foundation of the house.' Josephus ('Antiquities,' b. 8:, ch. 2:, sec. 9) says that King

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 5:18. _AND THE STONE-SQUARERS_] Instead of _stone-squarers_ the _margin_ very properly reads _Giblites_, הגבלים haggiblim; and refers to Ezekiel 27:9, where we find the inhabitants of _Gebal_ celebrated for their knowledge in _ship-building_. Some suppose that these _Giblites_ were the inhabitants of _Biblos_, at the foot of Mount Libanus, northward of Sidon, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; famous for its wines; and now called _Gaeta_. Both _Ptolemy_ and _Stephanus Byzantinus_ speak of a town called _Gebala_, to the east of Tyre: but this was different from _Gebal_, or _Biblos_. It seems more natural to understand this of a _people_ than of _stone-squarers_, though most of the versions have adopted this idea...

THE STONE-SQUARERS - The Gebalites (see the margin), the inhabitants of Gebal, a Phoenician city between Beyrout and Tripolis, which the Greeks called Byblus, and which is now known as Jebeil....

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'S BUILDERS AND HIRAM'S BUILDERS DID HEW [THEM],.... The stones; for it seems Solomon had not only hewers of wood, but of stone, from Hiram: AND THE STONESQUARERS; or rather the Giblites, the men of Gebal, which were under the jurisdiction of Tyre, and were skilful in this sort of work, as some of them were in others, see Ezekiel 27:9; SO THEY PREPARED TIMBER AND STONES TO BUILD THE HOUSE; both Solomon's and Hiram's builders, and the large number of workmen, both Israelites and strangers; which latter were an emblem of the Gentiles concerned in the building of the spiritual temple, the church of Christ, Zechariah 6:15; and whereas the number of strangers that wrought for the building was far greater than that of the Israelites, it may denote the greater n

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

STONESQUARERS. men of Gebal, or Giblites, as Ezekiel 27:9, now Jubeil, forty miles north of Sidon. Compare Psalms 83:7. Phoenician masons' marks still visible on them. SO. and....

_and the stonesquarers_ The text of A.V. is due to the Targum, which translates by -masons". But the margin of A. V. suggests that the word is not a common but a proper noun and gives -Giblites" as in Ezekiel 27:9. This is certainly a much more natural combination, than to class along with the men of Solomon and the men of Hiram, the stone squarers as of a different order. In Ezekiel the men of Gebal are spoken of as skilled in caulking ships, and they were not improbably able handicraftsmen in other branches. Josephus gives us no help. He speaks merely of -workmen whom Hiram sent." But the Vulgate reads -Giblii" as a proper name and in many MSS. _Biblii_or _Byblii_. In the Vatican LXX. the verse is left out, but the Alexandrine gives καὶ οἱ Βίβλιοι. Now Gebal was a Phœnician city not far from the sea coast, to the north of Berytus (_Beyrout_). The Greeks called it Byblos, but th