1 Kings 9

1Ki 9:1-9.

GOD'S

COVENANT IN A

SECOND

VISION WITH

SOLOMON.

1. And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the

house--This first verse is connected with

1Ki 9:11,

all that is contained between

1Ki 9:2-10

being parenthetical.

2. That--rather, "For."

the Lord appeared--This appearance was, like the former one at Gibeon,

most probably made in a supernatural vision, and on the night

immediately following the dedication of the temple

(2Ch 7:12).

The strain of it corresponds to this view, for it consists of direct

answers to his solemn inaugural prayer

(1Ki 9:3

is in answer to 1Ki 8:29;

1Ki 9:4, 5

is in answer to 1Ki 8:25, 26;

1Ki 9:6-9

to 1Ki 8:33-46;

see also

De 29:22-24).

8. this house, which is high--"high," either in point of

situation, for it was built on a hill, and therefore conspicuous to

every beholder; or "high" in respect to privilege, honor, and renown;

or this "house of the Most High," notwithstanding all its beauty and

magnificence, shall be destroyed, and remain in such a state of ruin

and degradation as to be a striking monument of the just judgment of

God. The record of this second vision, in which were rehearsed the

conditions of God's covenant with Solomon and the consequences of

breaking them, is inserted here as a proper introduction to the

narrative about to be given of this king's commercial enterprises and

ambitious desire for worldly glory; for this king, by encouraging an

influx of foreign people and a taste for foreign luxuries, rapidly

corrupted his own mind and that of this subjects, so that they turned

from following God, they and their children

(1Ki 9:6).

1Ki 9:10-23.

THE

MUTUAL

PRESENTS OF

SOLOMON AND

HIRAM.

10. at the end of twenty years--Seven and a half years were spent in

building the temple, and twelve and a half or thirteen in the erection

of his palace

(1Ki 7:1;

2Ch 8:1).

This verse is only a recapitulation of

1Ki 9:1,

necessary to recover the thread of connection in the narrative.

11. Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee--According

to JOSEPHUS, they were situated on the northwest of it, adjacent to

Tyre. Though lying within the boundaries of the promised land

(Ge 15:18;

Jos 1:4),

they had never been conquered till then, and were inhabited by

Canaanite heathens

(Jud 4:2-13;

2Ki 15:29).

They were probably given to Hiram, whose dominions were small, as a

remuneration for his important services in furnishing workmen,

materials, and an immense quantity of wrought gold

(1Ki 9:14)

for the temple and other buildings [MICHAELIS].

The gold, however, as others think, may have been the amount of

forfeits paid to Solomon by Hiram for not being able to answer the

riddles and apothegms, with which, according to JOSEPHUS, in their private correspondence, the two

sovereigns amused themselves. Hiram having refused these cities,

probably on account of their inland situation making them unsuitable to

his maritime and commercial people, Solomon satisfied his ally in some

other way; and, taking these cities into his own hands, he first

repaired their shattered walls, then filled them with a colony of

Hebrews

(2Ch 8:2).

15-24. this is the reason of the levy--A levy refers both to men and

money, and the necessity for Solomon making it arose from the many

gigantic works he undertook to erect.

Millo--part of the fort of Jerusalem on Mount Zion

(2Sa 5:9;

1Ch 11:8),

or a row of stone bastions around Mount Zion, Millo being the great

corner tower of that fortified wall

(1Ki 11:27;

2Ch 32:5).

the wall of Jerusalem--either repairing some breaches in it

(1Ki 11:27),

or extending it so as to enclose Mount Zion.

Hazor--fortified on account of its importance as a town in the

northern boundary of the country.

Megiddo--(now Leijun)--Lying in the great caravan road between Egypt

and Damascus, it was the key to the north of Palestine by the western

lowlands, and therefore fortified.

Gezer--on the western confines of Ephraim, and, though a Levitical

city, occupied by the Canaanites. Having fallen by right of conquest to

the king of Egypt, who for some cause attacked it, it was given by him

as a dowry to his daughter, and fortified by Solomon.

17. Beth-horon the nether--situated on the way from Joppa to Jerusalem

and Gibeon; it required, from so public a road, to be strongly

garrisoned.

18. Baalath--Baal-bek.

Tadmor--Palmyra, between Damascus and the Euphrates, was rebuilt and

fortified as a security against invasion from northern Asia. In

accomplishing these and various other works which were carried on

throughout the kingdom, especially in the north, where Rezon of

Damascus, his enemy, might prove dangerous, he employed vast numbers of

the Canaanites as galley slaves

(2Ch 2:18),

treating them as prisoners of war, who were compelled to do the

drudgery and hard labor, while the Israelites were only engaged in

honorable employment.

23. These were the chief of the

officers--(See on

2Ch 8:10).

1Ki 9:24-28.

SOLOMON'S

YEARLY

SACRIFICES.

24, 25. three times in a year--namely, at the passover, pentecost, and

feast of tabernacles

(2Ch 8:13; 31:3).

The circumstances mentioned in these two verses form a proper

conclusion to the record of his buildings and show that his design in

erecting those at Jerusalem was to remedy defects existing at the

commencement of his reign (see

1Ki 3:1-4).

26. Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth--These were neighboring ports at

the head of the eastern or Elanitic branch of the Red Sea. Tyrian ship

carpenters and sailors were sent there for Solomon's vessels

(see on

2Ch 8:17, 18).

Ezion-geber--that is, "the giant's backbone"; so called from a reef of

rocks at the entrance of the harbor.

Eloth--Elim or Elath; that is, "the trees"; a grove of terebinths

still exists at the head of the gulf.

28. Ophir--a general name, like the East or West Indies with us, for

all the southern regions lying on the African, Arabian, or Indian seas,

in so far as at that time known [HEEREN].

gold, four hundred and twenty talents--(See on

2Ch 8:18).

At 125 pounds Troy, or 1500 ounces to the talent, and about £4 to

the ounce, this would make £2,604,000.