1 Kings 5

1 Kings, chapter 5 1 Kings 5 1 Kings 4 chapter 4 1 Kings 6 chapter 6 First book of Kings Old Testament 11 Nevi'im 4 Former Prophets Leningrad-codex-09-kings.pdf 250px The pages containing the Books of Kings (1 & 2 Kings) Leningrad Codex (1008 CE). 1 Kings 5 is the fifth chapter of the Book of Kings in the Hebrew Bible and the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.Halley 1965 191Collins 2014 288 The book is a compilation of annals documenting the deed of the kings of Israel and Judah by a Deuteronomistic compiler in the seventh century y, with a supplement added in the sixth century.McKane 1993 324KINGS, BOOKS OF JewishEncyclopedia.com https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9329-kings-books-of#anchor12 12 October 2026 Chapter 5 belongs to the section of Kings focusing on the reign of Solomon over the unified kingdom of Judah and Israel (1 Kings 1 to 11).Dietrich 2007 234 The focus of this chapter is on Solomon's reign as king of Israel.Dietrich 2007 236 Text This chapter is written in Biblical Hebrew. In the Hebrew Bible, it is divided into 32 verses.1 Kings 5 HE In most Christian Bibles, material corresponding to the first 14 verses is numbered as 4:21–34,1 Kings 4:21–34 9 leaving 18 verses in chapter 5.1 Kings 4:21–5:18 9. Textual witnesses Early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter in the Masoretic Text tradition include the Codex Cairensis (traditionally dated to 895 y, though this dating has been disputed),Tov Emanuel Emanuel Tov Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible 3rd rev. and expanded Minneapolis Fortress Press 2012 978-0-8006-9664-1 the Aleppo Codex (10th century), and the Leningrad Codex (1008).Würthwein 1995 35–37 The chapter was also translated into Koine Greek as part of the Septuagint. Extant manuscripts containing its text include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century) and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).Würthwein 1995 73–74The extant portion of Codex Sinaiticus does not contain 1 Kings.Codex Sinaiticus Related passages The account has parallels in 2 Chronicles 2: Solomon's request to Hiram and Hiram's response.Compare 1 Kings 5:1–12 9 with 2 Chronicles 2:3–16 9. Solomon's labor force and preparations for construction.Compare 1 Kings 5:13–18 9 with 2 Chronicles 2:2, 2:17–18 9 yes. Analysis The account of Hiram continues the preceding description of Solomon's wisdom. Christian theologian Peter Leithart reads 1 Kings 5:9–26 as a chiasm in which notices of Solomon's wisdom frame the exchange of messages between the two kings.1 Kings 5:9–26 HELeithart 2006 52 The arrangement associates wisdom with diplomacy and administration: Solomon secures cedar and skilled labor from Hiram, while supplying food for his household, and their agreement is summarized as both peace and a covenant.Cogan 2001 196–2001 Kings 5:15–26 HEThe JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition Jewish Publication Society 2023 532–533 978-0-8276-1560-1 Solomon presents the Temple as the fulfillment of the promise that David's son would build a house for God's name (hbo בַּיִת לְשֵׁם ה׳ bayit ləšēm HaShem yes a house for the Name of the Eternal).The Tetragrammaton is represented here by ה׳, a customary Jewish reverential abbreviation, rather than being written out in full.1 Kings 5:17, 5:19 HE yes David's wars had prevented the Temple's construction,2 Samuel 7:1–13 HE with 1 Chronicles 22:6–10 later giving the related explanation that David had shed much blood.1 Chronicles 22:6–10 HE Solomon, in contrast, states that he has obtained the rest from surrounding enemies required to undertake its construction:Cogan 2001 197–198 hbo yes yes Biblical Hebrew וְעַתָּה הֵנִיחַ ה׳ אֱלֹהַי לִי מִסָּבִיב אֵין שָׂטָן וְאֵין פֶּגַע רָע en no yes Revised JPS edition But now the ETERNAL my God has given me respite all around; there is no adversary and no mischance. 1 Kings 5:18 The agreement with Hiram also places the project in an international economic context: Phoenician timber, expertise, and transport are exchanged for Israelite agricultural produce.Cogan 2001 198–200 The chapter's final section emphasizes the scale of the royal administration. Solomon levies 30,000 Israelites for rotational service in Lebanon and employs additional porters, quarriers, and supervisors.Cogan 2001 200–202 (The narrator does not identify the ethnicity of the 70,000 porters and 80,000 quarriers.) The text presents this organization as enabling the Temple project, but the levy also anticipates the complaint after Solomon's death that his government had imposed a heavy burden.Leithart 2006 52–531 Kings 5:27–32, 12:1–14, 12:18 HE yes In their discussions recorded in the Talmud, Chazal, referencing 1 Kings 6:7, focus on how the dressed stones were prepared without the sound of iron tools at the Temple Mount.b Sotah 48b:10–12 The Talmud records one view that Solomon used a worm known as a hbo-latn shamir (hbo שָׁמִיר šāmîr yes none) to hew the stones and another that they were cut with iron outside the Temple precinct,Jastrow Marcus Marcus Jastrow A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature London Luzac 1903 2 1601 שָׁמִירDavis Joseph M. Solomon and Ashmedai (bGittin 68a–b), King Hiram, and Procopius: Exegesis and Folklore Jewish Quarterly Review 106 4 2016 1553-0604 10.1353/jqr.2016.0038 577–585 https://muse.jhu.edu/article/639595 12 October 2026 and Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi reconciles the two views by distinguishing the Temple from Solomon's palace: Rabbi Nehemiah said to Rabbi Yehudah: "And is it possible to say so? But isn't it already stated: 'All these were costly stones, according to the measures of hewn stones, sawed with saws' (2 Kings 7:9), which indicates that saws, which are iron implements, were used to shape the stones? If so, what is the meaning when the verse states: And hammer, ax, and any tool of iron were not heard in the house when it was being built'" (1 Kings 6:7)? It means that he would prepare the stones outside the Temple Mount using tools and bring them inside already cut, so that no iron tools were used inside the Temple itself. Rabbi [Judah Ha-Nasi] said: "The statement of Rabbi Yehuda that no iron tools were used appears to be correct with regard to the Temple stones, and the statement of Rabbi Nehemiah that tools were used appears to be correct with regard to the stones of the king's own house."b Sotah 48b:11 A longer tmr-latn aggadah (tmr אַגָּדָה ʾaggādā yes, telling narrative) recounted in tractate Gittin 68a–68b describes Solomon consulting the Jewish sages and Benaiah obtaining the hbo-latn shamir through Ashmedai; this develops the method of stone preparation rather than the chapter's account of labor organization.b Gittin 68a:7–68b:7Ginzberg Louis Louis Ginzberg The Legends of the Jews Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society 1913 4 149–152 Solomon's agreement with Hiram: 5:1–12 (or 5:15–26) Hiram I of Tyre, who had previously supplied David with timber and craftsmen, sent an embassy to Solomon after his accession.2 Samuel 5:11 HE1 Kings 5:15 HEDietrich 2007 237Coogan 2007 498 Hebrew Bible Solomon used the contact to obtain cedar timber and skilled woodcutters from Lebanon for the Temple. The two kingdoms supplied complementary resources: Hiram provided access to timber, Phoenician expertise, and maritime transport, while Solomon furnished workers and agricultural produce.Dietrich 2007 237Cogan 2001 196–200 Solomon explained that David's wars had prevented him from building the Temple, whereas the rest granted to Solomon enabled him to fulfill the promise that David's son would build a "house for the name of God" (hbo בַּיִת לְשֵׁם ה׳ bayit ləšēm HaShem yes none).1 Kings 5:17–19 HE First Chronicles 22 gives the related explanation that David had shed too much blood to build the Temple.Dietrich 2007 237Cogan 2001 197–198 Hiram accepted the proposal and arranged for cedar and hbo-latn beroshim timber to be floated by sea to a place designated by Solomon. In return, Solomon provided annual quantities of wheat and oil for Hiram's household.1 Kings 5:20–25 HE The botanical identification of hbo-latn beroshim is uncertain; English translations variously render the term as "cypress", "fir", or "juniper".Dietrich 2007 237Cogan 2001 198–200 The account concludes that there was peace between the kings and that they made a covenant.1 Kings 5:26 HE Verse 1/15 New King James Version versification: "Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, because he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always loved David".1 Kings 5:1 NKJV Hebrew Biblical versification: "King Hiram of Tyre sent his officials to Solomon when he heard that he had been anointed king in place of his father; for Hiram had always been a friend of David". "Hiram" (hbo חִירָם ḥîrām yes none): king of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre. His embassy to Solomon continued the diplomatic relationship established with David, to whom he had previously sent cedar, carpenters, and stonemasons.Dietrich 2007 237Coogan 2007 498 Hebrew Bible Josephus preserves extracts attributed to the Hellenistic historians Dius and Menander of Ephesus concerning Hiram's building activity and relations with Solomon.1 apion 1 110–120 In the account attributed to Menander, Hiram lived for 53 years and reigned for 34.1 apion 1 116–117 Modern reconstructions based partly on this literary tradition have dated his reign to 980–947 and identify him as the successor of Abibaal and predecessor of his son Baal-Eser I.Vance Donald R. March 1994 Literary Sources for the History of Palestine and Syria: The Phœnician Inscriptions The Biblical Archaeologist 57 1 2–19 Forced labor and building materials: 5:13–18 (or 5:27–32) Solomon imposed a levy of 30,000 men from "all Israel" and sent them to Lebanon in rotating groups of 10,000, each serving there for one month and spending two months at home.1 Kings 5:27–28, 9 HE The labor system demonstrates the scale of Solomon's royal administration, but it also anticipates the complaint after his death that he had imposed harsh service and a heavy yoke.Dietrich 2007 237Cogan 2001 200–202 That grievance contributed to the northern tribes' rejection of Rehoboam and the division of the kingdom.1 Kings 12:1–20 HEDietrich 2007 237 A further 70,000 laborers carried loads, 80,000 quarried stone in the hills, and 3,300 officials supervised the work.1 Kings 5:29–30 HECogan 2001 200–202Coogan 2007 498 Hebrew Bible A later passage states that Solomon imposed permanent forced labor on the remaining non-Israelite population while assigning Israelites other forms of royal service.1 Kings 9:20–23 HE Verse 18/32 New King James Version versification: "So Solomon's builders, Hiram's builders, and the Gebalites quarried them; and they prepared timber and stones to build the Temple".1 Kings 5:18 NKJV Hebrew Biblical versification: "Solomon's masons, Hiram's masons, and those from Gebal shaped them. Thus the timber and the stones for building the house were made ready."1 Kings 5:32 HE "Gebalites" (hbo הַגִּבְלִים haggiblîm yes none): workers from Byblos, a Phoenician coastal city north of Tyre.Jidéjian Nina Nina Jidejian Byblos Stern Ephraim Ephraim Stern The New Encyclopedia of Archaeological Excavations in the Holy Land 1 Jerusalem Israel Exploration Society and Carta 1993 192–205 978-0-13-276288-5 The passage associates them with shaping the building materials; their precise task is not specified beyond this.Dietrich 2007 237Coogan 2007 498 Hebrew Bible "House" (hbo הַבַּיִת habbayit the house yes none): the Hebrew term rendered "house" refers here to the Temple whose construction begins in the following chapter.Compare 1 Kings 5:32 HE with 1 Kings 6:1 HE. See also 22em Israel Jerusalem Sidon Solomon's Temple Related Bible parts: 2 Samuel 5, 1 Kings 4, 2 Chronicles 2 Notes References Sources Collins John J. Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures Chapter 14: 1 Kings 12 – 2 Kings 25 277–296 Fortress Press 2014 https://books.google.com/books?id=fbsoBAAAQBAJ 978-1451469233 Coogan Michael David Michael D. Coogan The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version, Issue 48 Coogan Michael David Marc Zvi Brettler Carol Ann Newsom Pheme Perkins Augmented 3rd Oxford University Press 2007 978-0195288810 https://books.google.com/books?id=HmpMPgAACAAJ Cogan Mordechai Mordechai Cogan I Kings: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary The Anchor Bible 10 1st New York Doubleday 2001 978-0-385-02992-6 Dietrich Walter 13. 1 and 2 Kings The Oxford Bible Commentary John Barton John Barton (theologian) John Muddiman John Muddiman Oxford University Press first (paperback) 2007 232–266 978-0199277186 https://books.google.com/books?id=ZJdVkgEACAAJ February 6, 2019 Halley Henry H. Henry Hampton Halley Halley's Bible Handbook: an abbreviated Bible commentary 24th (revised) Zondervan Publishing House 1965 https://archive.org/details/halleysbiblehand00henr registration 0-310-25720-4 Hayes Christine Introduction to the Bible Yale University Press 2015 https://books.google.com/books?id=SKbkXYHxvlAC 978-0300188271 Leithart Peter J. 1 & 2 Kings Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible Brazos Press 2006 https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_gvin9G7LgC 978-1587431258 McKane William Kings, Book of Metzger Bruce M Bruce M. Metzger Coogan Michael D The Oxford Companion to the Bible https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780195046458 registration Oxford University Press 1993 409–413 978-0195046458 Metzger Bruce M Bruce M. Metzger Coogan Michael D The Oxford Companion to the Bible Oxford University Press 1993 978-0195046458 Würthwein Ernst Ernst Würthwein The Text of the Old Testament Wm. B. Eerdmans Grand Rapids, MI 1995 Erroll F. Rhodes 0-8028-0788-7 https://books.google.com/books?id=FSNKSBObCYwC January 26, 2019 External links Jewish translations: Melachim I - I Kings - Chapter 5 (Judaica Press). Hebrew text and English translation [with Rashi's commentary] at Chabad.org Christian translations: Online Bible at GospelHall.org (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English) 1 Kings chapter 5. Bible Gateway 05 Category:Phoenicians in the Hebrew Bible Category:Hiram I Category:Solomon