Cabul is said to be a Phoenician word, and signified “displeasing” (see margin). There is some reason to believe that the cities thus despised by Hiram were restored to Solomon 2 Chronicles 8:2, and that Solomon rebuilt them and colonized them with Israelites. read more
1 Kings 9:11-14. Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee Or, near the land of Galilee, bordering upon it; in those parts which were near, and adjoining to, Hiram’s dominions: with the cities, understand the territories belonging to them. These cities, though they were within those large bounds which God fixed to the land of promise, (Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4,) yet were not within those parts which were distributed by lot in Joshua’s time. It is probable they were not... read more
Building development in other cities (9:10-25)Earlier Solomon had borrowed from Hiram about four thousand kilograms of gold to help finance his ambitious building programs. In payment of these debts, Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in northern Israel. Hiram was not satisfied with these cities and returned them (which meant that Solomon had to look for other ways to repay the loan) (10-14; see 2 Chronicles 8:1-2).To strengthen Jerusalem’s security, Solomon rebuilt the Millo (some sort of... read more
Now Hiram. Figure of speech Parenthesis. fir , or cypress. read more
What cities. ? Figure of speech Erotesis. App-6 . Cabul. The point of the sarcasm is not apparent to us on account of our not knowing the meaning of the word. It has been variously suggested as meaning "worthless", "not to my taste" (Josephus). Galilee always despised. Septuagint says "frontier"; others, "received as a pledge"; others, "good for nothing". read more
1 Kings 9:13. And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day— Houbigant thinks that Cabul is derived from an Arabic word, signifying to defer the payment of a debt; perhaps because he had not given them to king Hiram before he had finished all his buildings. The Arabic word signifies also to refuse, to be short in; which signification may imply, that those cities were either too small, or such as a Tyrian king should refuse. Some think, that the word כבול Cabul should here be considered as... read more
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 (Genesis 15:18; Joshua 1:4), they had never been conquered till then, and were inhabited by Canaanite heathens (Judges 4:2-13; 2 Kings 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... read more
D. The Fruits of Solomon’s Reign chs. 9-11The writer next recorded what happened to Solomon and to Israel as a result of the king’s provision to exalt the reputation of Yahweh among His people. He narrated God’s covenant with Solomon (1 Kings 9:1-9), further evidences of Yahweh’s blessing (1 Kings 9:10-28), Solomon’s greatness (ch. 10), and Solomon’s apostasy (ch. 11). read more
Solomon’s gifts to Hiram 9:10-14Solomon mortgaged 20 Galilean towns (settlements) bordering Phoenicia to Hiram. This brought the border of Phoenicia farther south. This arrangement compensated Hiram for all the lumber and 9,000 pounds of gold he had sent to Solomon for his building projects. Hiram may have called them Cabul, a word that sounds like the Hebrew word for "good for nothing" (1 Kings 9:13), because they were not in a productive region. This cheap gift did not contribute to ongoing... read more
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Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - 1 Kings 9:12
They pleased him not - It is a reasonable conjecture that, when a question arose with respect to a cession of land, Hiram had cast his eyes on the bay or harbour of Acco, or Ptolemais, and was therefore the more disappointed when he received an inland tract of mountain territory. read more