And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.
Parallel translations
- WEB Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David.
- BSB Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
- NKJV 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.
- NASB Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
- NLT King Hiram of Tyre had always been a loyal friend of David. When Hiram learned that David’s son Solomon was the new king of Israel, he sent ambassadors to congratulate him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to Solomon, for he had loved David and heard of Solomon's accession. This opens the alliance for building the temple.
Overview
Hiram's longstanding friendship with David now extended to Solomon, providing skilled labor and materials. Tyre's renowned craftsmen and cedar were essential for the coming temple. This cooperation of a Gentile king in building God's house foreshadows how the nations would contribute to the worship of the true God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 1 Chr 14:1Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and timber of cedars, with masons and carpenters, to build him an house.
- 2 Sam 5:11And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.
- 2 Chr 2:3And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me.
- 1 Kgs 5:10So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.
- Ps 45:12And the daughter of Tyre shall be there with a gift; even the rich among the people shall intreat thy favour.
- 1 Kgs 5:13And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.
- Amos 1:9Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
- 1 Kgs 9:12–14And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
- 2 Sam 8:10Then Toi sent Joram his son unto king David, to salute him, and to bless him, because he had fought against Hadadezer, and smitten him: for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and vessels of brass:
- 2 Sam 10:1–2And it came to pass after this, that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 5:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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