Bible Commentaries
1 Kings 9

Verses 1-28

God’s Response to Solomon’s Prayer. Solomon and Hiram

1. When.. finished] The Temple does not seem to have been dedicated until all the king’s buildings were completed, the Temple and Palace being probably included within a single wall and regarded as a unity. In 1 Kings 9:3-9 is contained the divine response to the prayer offered by Solomon at the dedication festival.

3. Mine eyes.. perpetually] Though God’s care extends over all His creation, yet those are nearest to His heart who render to Him the sincerest and worthiest service. At Jerusalem not only did the splendour of the Temple attest Israel’s desire to pay honour to the Lord, but the worship conducted there was the most spiritual of contemporary forms of devotion, being free from the sensuous and often impure elements that entered into religious rites elsewhere.

8. At this house, which is high] The original has ’the house shall be high,’ which may mean ’shall be conspicuous,’ as a warning to others. But the Syriac has ’this house shall be a heap’ (of ruins).

11. Twenty cities] As the payment for the supply of timber consisted of wheat and oil (1 Kings 5:9-11), the cities must have been in return for the supply of gold: see on 2 Ch 8 2. Galilee] The region thus designated is not defined in the OT., but the name seems to have been applied to a part of Zebulun and Naphtali, where the non-Israelite population was numerous enough to lead to its being called ’the Galilee (or Circuit) of the Gentiles’ (Isaiah 9:1). In NT. times it extended from the Leontes in the N. to the ridge of Carmel in the S.

13. Cabul] There was a city called Cabul in Asher (Joshua 19:27), and its name may have been taken to describe the district owing to its assonance with a Heb. phrase signifying ’as good as nothing.’

14. Sixscore talents] weighing nearly 13,000 lb.

15. Millo] some part of the fortifications of Jerusalem is meant, perhaps a solid tower, but its place is not known. The LXX renders it by ’citadel,’ and its importance is evidenced by its being so frequently rebuilt (1 Kings 11:27; 2 Chronicles 32:5). Hazor and Megiddo] Hazor, near Lake Merom, guarded the northern frontier, whilst Megiddo protected the approach to the plain of Esdraelon from the SW. Gezer] on the W. border of Ephraim, the modern Tell Jezer, 18 m. from Jerusalem. Gezer and Bethhoron (1 Kings 9:17) protected the valley of Aijalon.

16. A present] RV ’a portion’ (or dowry).

18. Baalath] a little N. of Beth-horon the nether. Tadmor, afterwards called Palmyra, in the Syrian desert, NE. of Damascus. Another reading has ’Tamar,’ a place in the S. of Judah (Ezekiel 47:19), the same as Hazezor Tamar or Engedi (Genesis 14:7; 2 Chronicles 20:2). In the land] i.e. within the borders of Israel. This, as it stands, is only appropriate as a description of Tamar, but it is possible that some name (e.g. of ’Aram’ or of ’Hamath’), descriptive of the locality of Tadmor, has been lost.

19. Desired to build] i.e. for his pleasure: cp. 1 Kings 9:1. In Lebanon] where residence would be desirable during the summer heats.

22. No bondmen] This apparently means that no native Israelites were permanently compelled to render forced service. But a considerable body of such was temporarily employed upon the construction of the Temple (1 Kings 5:13): cp. also 1 Kings 11:28; 1 Kings 12:4.

23. Five hundred and fifty] These were probably the officers who directed the labour of the 30,000 native Israelites: 2 Chronicles 8:10 has 250.

24. Unto her house] see 2 Chronicles 7:8. For Millo see on 2 Chronicles 7:15.

25. Three times in a year] see 2 Chronicles 8:13, and cp. Exodus 23:14-17; Exodus 34:23; Deuteronomy 16:1-17.

26. Ezion-geber.. Eloth] The two places were at the N. extremity of the gulf of Akaba.

28. Ophir] variously identified with the Indian coast (near the mouth of the Indus), the E. coast of Africa (Abyssinia or Somaliland), and S. Arabia. In favour of the latter is the fact that in Genesis 10:29; Ophir is represented as the son of Joktan, the ancestor of several Arabian tribes. Four hundred and twenty talents] For the weight of a talent see Genesis 9:14.