1 Kings 9:11

_(NOW HIRAM THE KING OF TYRE HAD FURNISHED SOLOMON WITH CEDAR TREES AND FIR TREES, AND WITH GOLD, ACCORDING TO ALL HIS DESIRE,) THAT THEN KING SOLOMON GAVE HIRAM TWENTY CITIES IN THE LAND OF GALILEE._ Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. According to Josephus ('Antiquities,' b. 8:, ch. vi., sec. 3), they were situated on the northwest of it, adjacent to Tyre. Had they lain within the boundaries of the promised land, they could not have been alienated (Leviticus 25:23). But they were not within the territory of Israel, nor occupied by Israelites (2 Chronicles 8:2), but were inhabited by Canaanite pagans (Judges 4:2;...

10-14 Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general....

Verse 1 Kings 9:11. _SOLOMON GAVE HIRAM TWENTY CITIES_] It is very likely that Solomon did not give those cities to Hiram so that they should be annexed to his Tyrian dominions, but rather gave him the produce of them till the money was paid which he had advanced to Solomon for his buildings. It appears however that either Hiram did not accept them, or that having received the produce till he was paid, he then restored them to Solomon; for in the parallel place, 2 Chronicles 8:2, it is said, _The cities which Hiram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built_ _them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there_. Some think that they were _heathen cities_ which Solomon had conquered, and therefore had a right to give them if he pleased, as they were not any part of the land given by...

By the spirit, if not by the letter, of the Law, Solomon had no right to give away these cities, or any part of the inheritance of Israel Leviticus 25:13. But the exigences of a worldly policy caused the requirements of the Law to be set aside....

EXPOSITION SOLOMON'S BUILDINGS AND UNDERTAKINGS.—So far the historian has spoken exclusively of the two greatest works of Solomon's reign, the Temple and the Palace, and principally of the former. Even the message just related was, as we have seen, the response to the prayer offered when the temple was consecrated. But he now proceeds to mention other proofs of Solomon's greatness, and of the prosperity of his reign—doubtless because the glory of Israel then reached its climax, and the author would be tempted to linger over these details because of the dark contrast which his own time supplied—and this leads him to speak of the means by which all these enterprises were accomplished. The particulars here given are but fragmentary, and are grouped together in a somewhat irregular manner. It would seem as if both this account and that of the chronicler had been compiled from much more copio...

(NOW HIRAM THE KING OF TYRE HAD FURNISHED SOLOMON WITH CEDAR TREES AND FIR TREES,.... For the building of both his houses; see 1 Kings 5:8, AND WITH GOLD, ACCORDING TO ALL HIS DESIRE): which is not before mentioned, and accounts for it from whence Solomon had his gold; if he made no use, as some think he did not, of what his father left him; see 1 Kings 7:51 with which he covered several parts of the temple, and made several vessels in it. Hiram traded to Ophir, and had it from thence; and he could supply Solomon with it, and did, before he sent a navy thither: THAT THEN SOLOMON GAVE HIRAM TWENTY CITIES IN THE LAND OF GALILEE; that is, by or near it, for they were not in the land of Canaan; for then Solomon could not have disposed of them, being allotted and belonging to o

5. JEHOVAH APPEARS UNTO SOLOMON AND THE GREATNESS OF THE KING CHAPTER 9 _ 1. The second appearance of the LORD to Solomon (1 Kings 9:1)_ 2. Transactions with Hiram (1 Kings 9:10) 3. The levy of the king (1 Kings 9:15) 4. Pharaoh's daughter occupies the house (1 Kings 9:24) 5. The king's offerings (1 Kings 9:25) 6. Solomon's navy (1 Kings 9:26) Jehovah's righteous government in the midst of His people Israel had

SOLOMON'S DEALINGS WITH HIRAM. THE LEVY. The source of this section seems to be the Acts of Solomon (see above). After Solomon had completed his buildings he was obliged to give Hiram cities in Galilee (1 Kings 9:11). The Chronicler, regarding this as unworthy of the great king, makes Hiram give the cities to Solomon (2 Chronicles 8:2). Galilee (pp. 28- 30) is mentioned in Joshua 20:7; Joshua 21:32; 1 Chronicles 6:76, and in 2 Kings 15:29, nearly always

NOW HIRAM. Figure of speech _Parenthesis._ FIR, or cypress....

now _Hiram the king … had furnished_, &c. We read of the supply of timber in 1 Kings 5:10, but the gold mentioned here does not appear in the earlier narrative. From 1 Kings 9:14 below we learn that the amount was -six score talents." Taking the value of a talent of gold at £6000 this sum would be worth £720,000. Josephus (_Ant._viii. 5, 3) says Hiram had contributed much gold and still more silver. _Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee_ These would most likely be in the extreme northern border of Galilee and so not remote from Hiram's frontier. But they would be inland cities and no doubt, to a maritime people like the Tyrians, some territory along the seaboard would have been more acceptable. Josephus specially notes that the cities were not far from Tyre. The region in