And it came to pass at the end of twenty years ,.... From the time Solomon first began to build: when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king's house; the first was seven years in building, and the other thirteen; in all twenty. read more
At the end of twenty years - He employed seven years and a half in building the temple, and twelve years and a half in building the king's house; see 1 Kings 7:1 ; 2 Chronicles 8:1 . read more
EXPOSITION SOLOMON 'S BUILDINGS AND UNDERTAKINGS .—So far the historian has spoken exclusively of the two greatest works of Solomon's reign, the Temple and the Palace, and principally of the former. Even the message just related was, as we have seen, the response to the prayer offered when the temple was consecrated. But he now proceeds to mention other proofs of Solomon's greatness, and of the prosperity of his reign—doubtless because the glory of Israel then reached its... read more
The “twenty years” are to be counted from the fourth year of Solomon, the year when he commenced the building of the temple. They are made up of the seven years employed in the work of the temple 1 Kings 6:38, and the thirteen years during which Solomon was building his own house 1 Kings 7:1. 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
twenty years. Compare 1 Kings 7:1 . read more
HIRAM'S DISPLEASURE WITH SOLOMON"And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king's house (now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. And he said, What cities are... read more
10. at the end of twenty years—Seven and a half years were spent in building the temple, and twelve and a half or thirteen in the erection of his palace (1 Kings 7:1; 2 Chronicles 8:1). This verse is only a recapitulation of 1 Kings 9:1, necessary to recover the thread of connection in the narrative. 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
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 9:10-14
What agreement was made between Solomon and Hiram, when the building-work was to be begun, we read before, 1 Kgs. 5:1-18 Here we have an account of their fair and friendly parting when the work was done. 1. Hiram made good his bargain to the utmost. He had furnished Solomon with materials for his buildings, according to all his desire (1 Kgs. 9:11), and with gold, 1 Kgs. 9:15. So far was he from envying Solomon's growing greatness and reputation, and being jealous of him, that he helped to... read more