And Solomon built Gezer ,.... Rebuilt it, it having been burnt, at least great part of it, by Pharaoh when he took it: and Bethhoron the nether ; and the upper also, 2 Chronicles 8:5 , which belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and were on the borders of it, between that and Benjamin, Joshua 16:3 . read more
And Solomon built Gezer [In the case of Gezer it was an actual rebuilding. But as applied to Beth-boron, etc; "built" probably means enlarged, strength ened] and Beth-horon the nether [mentioned in connexion with Gezer, Joshua 16:3 (cf. Joshua 10:10 ). It is deserving of mention that the two cities of Beth-horon still survive in the modern villages of Beitur el-tahta and el-fok, " names which are "clearly corruptions of Beth-horon "the Nether" and "the Upper": One lies at the... read more
Beth-horon the nether - See the marginal reference note. read more
1 Kings 9:17-19. And Beth-horon the nether The lower Beth-horon, which was in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:13. Baalath A city in the tribe of Dan, Joshua 19:44. And Tadmor in the wilderness The name of this city signifies wonderful, or admirable, and it was so named, probably, from the singularity of the thing, in finding here springs and wells of water, and other conveniences to subsist a city, among such horrid and parched sands, with which it was on all sides surrounded. It... 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
built = rebuilt and fortified. read more
17. Beth-horon the nether—situated on the way from Joppa to Jerusalem and Gibeon; it required, from so public a road, to be strongly garrisoned. 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
2. Further evidences of God’s blessing 9:10-28Somewhat after the mid-point of Solomon’s 40-year reign, God was blessing him for his faithfulness. What the writer described in this section took place after Solomon had completed his major building projects in Jerusalem, which took about 20 years. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 9:15-28
We have here a further account of Solomon's greatness. I. His buildings. He raised a great levy both of men and money, because he projected a great deal of building, which would both employ many hands and put him to a vast expense, 1 Kgs. 9:15. And he was a wise builder, who sat down first, and counted the cost, and would not begin to build till he found himself able to finish. Perhaps there was some complaint of the heaviness of the taxes, which the historian excuses from the greatness of his... read more