And King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel ,.... Not of money, but of men, as follows: and the levy was thirty thousand men ; for what purpose, and how they were employed, 1 Kings 5:14 shows. read more
And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses ,.... In their turns; these are the servants of his he proposed to be with Hiram's servants, assisting in cutting down the trees, and squaring the timber in Lebanon, 1 Kings 5:6 ; a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home ; that they might not be overworked; for they wrought but four months in the year in the hard service in Lebanon, the rest of their time was spent in managing their domestic affairs; these were... read more
And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens ,.... Seventy thousand to carry the stones from the mountains out of which they were dug, and which were near Jerusalem, to the city; these were strangers in Israel, as were those that follow: and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains : eighty thousand that dug the stones out of the quarries, and squared them; these, with the others, made 150,000, see 2 Chronicles 2:17 ; according to Jacob Leon F7 Relation of... read more
Besides the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work ,.... Over the whole work, preparatory for the building of the temple; though it seems chiefly to have respect to that of hewing the stones, and bringing them to the city: three thousand and three hundred which ruled over the people that wrought in the work ; to keep them to their work, and to see that they performed it well: in 2 Chronicles 2:18 ; they are said to be 3600, which is three hundred more than here; those... read more
And the king commanded, and they brought great stones ,.... Not in quality, but in quantity, large stones, fit to lay in the foundation; strong, and durable against all the injuries of time, as Josephus says F9 Antiqu. l. 8. c. 3. sect. 2. : costly stones ; not what are commonly called precious stones, as gems, pearls, &c.; but stones of value, as marble, porphyry, &c.; and hewed stones ; not rough as they were taken out of the quarry, but hewed, and made smooth: ... read more
And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them ,.... The stones; for it seems Solomon had not only hewers of wood, but of stone, from Hiram: and the stonesquarers ; or rather the Giblites, the men of Gebal, which were under the jurisdiction of Tyre, and were skilful in this sort of work, as some of them were in others, see Ezekiel 27:9 ; so they prepared timber and stones to build the house ; both Solomon's and Hiram's builders, and the large number of workmen, both... read more
The levy was thirty thousand men - We find from the following verse that only ten thousand were employed at once, and those only for one month at a time; and having rested two months, they again resumed their labor. These were the persons over whom Adoniram was superintendent, and were all Israelites. read more
Threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens - These were all strangers, or proselytes, dwelling among the Israelites; as we learn from the parallel place, 2 Chronicles 2:17 , 2 Chronicles 2:18 . read more
Besides - three thousand and three hundred which ruled over the people - In the parallel place, 2 Chronicles 2:18 , it is three thousand six hundred. The Septuagint has here the same number. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 5:10-18
Here is, I. The performance of the agreement between Solomon and Hiram. Each of the parties made good his engagement. 1. Hiram delivered Solomon the timber, according to his bargain, 1 Kgs. 5:10. The trees were Solomon?s, but perhaps?Materiam superabat opus?The workmanship was of more value than the article. Hiram is therefore said to deliver the trees. 2. Solomon conveyed to Hiram the corn which he had promised him, 1 Kgs. 5:11. Thus let justice be followed (as the expression is, Deut.... read more