1 Kings 5

Chapters 1–11 of 1 Kings cover the reign of Solomon, and chapter 5 records the preparations for building the temple. The preceding chapter, 1 Kings 4, describes Solomon's officials, prosperity, and wisdom. This chapter begins the account of the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, which continues with the start of construction in 1 Kings 6.

Outline

• Verses 1–6 Hiram king of Tyre sends his servants to Solomon. Solomon tells him that his father David could not build a house for God because of the wars on every side, but that he himself, now given rest, intends to build it. He then asks Hiram to have cedars of Lebanon cut for him.
• Verses 7–12 Hiram rejoices greatly and praises the LORD. He agrees to send cedar and fir timber by sea in floats. In return Solomon gives him 20,000 measures of wheat and 20 measures of pure oil each year, and the two make a league together.
• Verses 13–18 Solomon raises a levy (laborers conscripted for the king's work) of 30,000 men from all Israel and sends them to Lebanon in rotation, 10,000 a month. Adoniram is placed over the levy. In addition there are 70,000 burden-bearers, 80,000 hewers of stone, and 3,300 officers overseeing the work. Great and costly stones are hewn and laid as the foundation, and the builders of Solomon and Hiram, together with the men of Gebal, prepare the timber and stone.

Key Verses

• 1 Kings 5:5 "And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God" — shows that the promise of the Davidic covenant (2 Samuel 7) is carried forward in Solomon's building.
• 1 Kings 5:12 "And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him" — is read as showing that the wisdom Solomon received in 1 Kings 3 was also evident in his dealings with neighboring nations.

People and Places

• Solomon — son of David and king of Israel.
• David — Solomon's father. He desired to build the temple but did not build it himself.
• Hiram — king of Tyre. In 2 Samuel 5 he had sent David cedar trees, carpenters, and masons.
• Adoniram — the official over the levy, who also appears in the list of officials in chapter 4.
• Tyre and Sidon — Phoenician cities on the Mediterranean coast. In verse 6 the Sidonians are mentioned for their skill in hewing timber.
• Lebanon — the mountain region where the cedars grow.
• Gebal — a Phoenician coastal city, commonly identified with Byblos.

Interpretive Notes

• Chapter division: The Hebrew Masoretic Text divides the chapters differently. What English Bibles number 4:21–34 is 5:1–14 in the Hebrew Bible, and verses 1–18 of this chapter correspond to 5:15–32 (chapters and verses of the Bible).
• Parallel passage: 2 Chronicles 2 reports the same events. However, it spells Hiram's name "Huram," and the goods Solomon sent and the number of supervising officers (3,600) differ from this chapter. It also identifies Joppa as the place where the timber was received. Various explanations have been offered for these differences, including different methods of counting and variations that arose in the course of copying.
• Why David did not build: This chapter says it was because the wars left him no opportunity. 1 Chronicles 22 states that it was because David had shed much blood.
• The levy: The levy in this chapter is often read in connection with 1 Kings 12. There the people complain of a heavy yoke, and Adoram, who was over the levy, is stoned to death. Many hold that Adoram is the same person as Adoniram in this chapter.
• Connection with the New Testament: In Acts 7, Stephen says that Solomon built a house, yet the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands. Paul calls believers the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16–17).

In the Korean Church

Churches preparing for church construction or a dedication service sometimes preach on this chapter as a text about preparing to build. At the same time, the practice of calling a church sanctuary a "temple" and equating it with the Old Testament temple has been criticized as theologically unsound.