Commentary on 1 Kings 9:10–11 (Summary)

With 1 Kings 9:10 the narrative turns to consider for a while the consequences of Solomon’s building projects. The focus in this and the following verses is upon the cost of these projects in terms of the debt into which they placed Israel. It was a debt because much of the materials used in these projects had been procured from Hiram, the king of Tyre.

Previous chapters have told us of the foodstuffs that Solomon had provided for the workers that Hiram had provided for gathering the building material that he would provide for Solomon. Apparently, the debt was not covered by this provision for the workers' food.

The writer recaps for us in summary form what Hiram had provided. He provided cedarwood and cypress and gold. Dale Ralph Davis in his commentary on 1 Kings estimates the gold as 4 tons.¹ Given the price of an ounce of gold today, the idea of four tons boggles the imagination.

The writer tells us that Solomon sought to discharge some of his debt by giving over to Hiram twenty cities in Galilee. Before we go on to the next verse and consider the response of Hiram to this payment, we ought to ask ourselves a preliminary question: what right did Solomon have to give to a foreign king part of God’s promised inheritance for Israel? The law provided very jealously the integrity of the land in the manner that it would be apportioned to God’s people as an inheritance from him. Yet, there is no indication in the text that Solomon sought the Lord’s permission for this action.

We do not want to place too much emphasis on this point, but it is perhaps an indication that Solomon’s slide into infidelity to God’s commandments was already underway. Perhaps he believed that since the building project of the temple had the sanction of the Lord, he was free to finance it in any manner possible. Many have noted another problem with this gift of territory, but we will speak of that in connection with Hiram’s reaction to Solomon’s gift.