Hiram is a shortened form of Ahiriama.1 From around 979 BC2 he was king of the important Phoenician city of Tyre on the Mediterranean coast, which is present-day southern Lebanon. At that time David was already well established in Jerusalem, and Hiram was happy to provide assistance to David in the building of the king’s palace. This same king also helped Solomon with skilled labour and wood for the construction of the temple of the Lord (2 Chronicles 2:3–16; 2 Chronicles 9:1). Hiram’s gift of construction materials and craftsmen for the building of David’s palace may have been part of a trade agreement, much like that arranged later with Solomon (building supplies in exchange for food staples, 2 Chronicles 2:15–16).3 Trade agreements and sharing of resources were significantly different from the disastrous marriage alliances entered into later by several of David’s descendants.
Hiram’s desire to build a house for David foreshadows David’s later desire to build a house for the Lord in 1 Chronicles 17:1–27 (see 1 Chronicles 17:10), only to learn that the Lord desired to build a house
for him.4 The Chronicler is at pains to show that the Lord not only abundantly blessed the household of Obed-edom but is demonstrating that divine blessing rests upon David despite the outbreak of the Lord's anger at Perez-Uzzah.
The building of the palace in Jerusalem was a tangible indication that God had established him in Jerusalem as king of Israel. It is emphasized more strongly than in Samuel that David’s kingdom had been especially exalted by God for one very powerful reason: it was for the sake of his people Israel.
David’s line was established to bring blessing to the nation. This too is clearly seen in David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was sent for the sake of his people Israel, to save them from their sins (Matthew 1:21). The house that was built for David is also seen later to be symbolic of the house
that Yahweh promises to build him (see 1 Chronicles 17:10). The next paragraph points to this (1 Chronicles 14:3–7).5
1 And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also masons and carpenters to build a house for him.