Annotations Upon the Historical Books Part 2, 1 Kings · Chapter 9
CHAP. IX.
Verſ. 1. WHen Solomon had finiſhed the building of the houſe of the Lord, and the kings houſe, &c.] Some would have theſe words (and the kings houſe, and all Solomons deſire which he was pleaſed to doe) to be included in a parentheſis, and that becauſe they would have the meaning of this clauſe to be, that when Solomon had finiſhed the building of the houſe of the Lord, the Lord appeared to Solomon, &c. before he had built his own houſe, and his other buildings: but I ſee no neceſſity at all, why this ſecond apparition of the Lord to Solomon, might not be after all his buildings were finiſhed, as the words in our tranſlation do plainly imply. Thirteen years indeed were ſpent in building his own houſe, after the Temple was finiſhed, and ſo long therefore it ſeems it was after the finiſhing of the Temple, ere the Lord appeared the ſecond time to Solomon, and aſſured him that he had heard his prayer, which he had made at the dedication of the Temple; for God would firſt ſettle him in the full glory of his kingdome, and then he takes that opportunity to renew his covenant with him in a ſecond viſion, aſſuring him, that in this glory his kingdome ſhould be continued to his poſterity, in caſe both he and his children would keep covenant with him; and withall threatning, that if they revolted from him, he would leave both them and the Temple and all, and poure forth his wrath and fury upon them.
Verſ. 2. The Lord appeared to Solomon the ſecond time, &c.] To wit, in a dream by night chap. 3.5. and ſo it is partly expreſſed, 2. Chro. 7.12. And the Lord appeared unto Solomon by night, and ſaid unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and choſen this place to my ſelf, for a houſe of ſacrifice: once ſince that viſion in Gibeon we reade, that the word of the Lord came to Solomon, chap. 6.11. But that it ſeems was by ſome meſſenger or Prophet ſent to him, for this was the ſecond time the Lord appeared unto him in a viſion, as is here expreſſely noted.
Verſ. 3. I have hallowed this houſe which thou haſt built, to put my name there for ever, &c.] That is, untill the coming of the Meſſiah without interruption. As for that following clauſe, and my eyes, and mine heart ſhall be there perpetually; thereby is promiſed, both the Lords carefull preſervation of that houſe in ſucceeding times, and his readineſſe to heare the prayers that were offered to him there, and likewiſe, that he would do this out of his fatherly care over them, and love to them.
Verſ. 7. This houſe which I have hallowed for my name, will I caſt out of my ſight, &c.] That is, I will caſt it out of my protection, as a filthy polluted thing: concerning the following clauſe, and Iſrael ſhall be a proverb, &c. ſee the note, Deut. 28.37.
Verſ. 11. Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furniſhed Solomon with cedar trees, and firre trees, and with gold.] To wit, one hundred and twenty talents, as is expreſſed, verſ. 14.
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.] By way of requiting Hirams bountie, in ſupplying him with thoſe thing, mentioned in the former words, or by way of ſatisfying him for thoſe things. It was queſtionleſſe unlawfull for Solomon to give away any part of the land of Canaan to a ſtrange king, or people; for therein, firſt, there ſhould have been wrong done to that tribe in whoſe lot theſe cities were, who ſhould hereby have been deprived of a part of their inheritance which God had given them: and ſecondly, he ſhould have incroached upon Gods royaltie, who ſtill held the land as his, and onelyonly allowed the Iſraelites to dwell in it as ſojourners, by right derived unto them from him; and to manifeſt this, had conveyed it to them, with this condition or proviſo, that it ſhould not be lawfull for any of them to alienate or ſell a way their eſtates for ever, no not to any of their brethren the Iſraelites, Levit. 25.23. But how then could Solomon, who yet continued in his uprightneſſe, give away twenty cities in the land of Galilee, to Hiram king of Tyre? I anſwer, either Solomon gave him theſe cities onelyonly that he might receive thence for certain years, till he was ſatisfied for that which was owing him, the tribute or other profits which were thence yearly paid to Solomon; or elſe rather, theſe cities were not a part of that land which God had of old given for the inheritance of his people, but lay in a tract of ground on the outſide of the borders of Aſher, Joſh. 19.24. betwixt them and mount Libanus, and being now reduced under Solomons dominion, and either now, or afterward, counted as a part of Galilee, to which they were joyned, thence Solomon gave unto Hiram twenty cities. And indeed this anſwer ſeems moſt probable, becauſe upon Hirams refuſing theſe cities, they were repaired and inlarged by Solomon, and certain colonies of the Iſraelites were planted therein, 2 Chron. 8.1, 2. whereas before they were inhabited by the heathen, which, ſome ſay, was the firſt occaſion why Galilee was called Galilee of the Gentiles, Eſa. 9.1.
Verſ. 12. And they pleaſed him not.] That is, he liked them not, becauſe they ſtood in an unfruitfull and mariſh ground: or, becauſe he thought it would be long ere he ſhould thence reap that ſatisfaction he expected from Solomon; and as he miſliked them, ſo it ſeems, he refuſed the profer, and choſe rather to receive ſatisfaction ſome other way: for at this very time, to wit, in the one and twentieth yeare after the foundation of the Temple was laid, Solomon repaired and fortified theſe places which Hiram refuſed, as was before noted from 2 Chron. 8.1, 2.
Verſ. 15. And this is the reaſon of the levie which king Solomon raiſed, for to build the houſe of the Lord, &c.] That is, for the ſame reaſon, that he had received this aid from Hiram, did he alſo raiſe a levie both of men and money amongſt the people, namely, for to build the houſe of the Lord, and his own houſe, &c. of the levie of men, we reade chap. 5.13. and of the levie of money, that is underſtood (as ſome Expoſitours hold) which we reade 2 Chron. 9.13, 14. And though the people yielded willingly to this levie for the Temple, yet when it was ſtill continued for theſe other buildings, it ſeems they grudged at it, as we may gather from what they ſaid to Rehoboam, Chap. 12.4.
And Millo, and the wall of Jeruſalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, &c.] Concerning this Millo, ſee the note 2 Sam. 5.19. either it was now repaired and enlarged by Solomon, or elſe a new one was built in another place. Hazor was in the tribe of Napthali, Joſh. 19.32, 36. the chief citie aforetimes of the Canaanites, Joſh. 11.1, 10. and Megiddo belonged to Manaſſeh, Joſh. 17.11.
Verſ. 16. For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer.] This Gezer was a city allotted to the Levites in Ephraims tribe, Joſh. 21.20, 21. yet it had been hitherto it ſeems in the Canaanites poſſeſſion, till perhaps upon ſome diſtaſt given, Solomon being then buſied in his magnificent buildings, entreated Pharaoh his father in law, to rid him of theſe neighbours, which he accordingly performed, and gave the citie as a preſent for his daughter.
Verſ. 17. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether.] Yea, and Beth-horon the upper alſo, 2 Chron. 8.5. one being here expreſſed for both: this was alſo a citie of the Levites, in the tribe of Ephraim, Joſh. 21.21, 22.
Verſ. 18. And Baalath and Tadmor in the wilderneſſe, in the land.] Baalath was a citie in the tribe of Dan, Joſh. 19.40.44. as for that laſt clauſe of this verſe, (in the land,) it may have relation to Tadmor alone, to imply, that it was in the land of Iſrael, though in the utmoſt coaſts thereof; or elſe, to all the towns and cities before mentioned: and is added, to ſhew, that beſides what Solomon built elſewhere, all theſe before mentioned he built or repaired in the land of Canaan.
Verſ. 19. And that which Solomon deſired to build in Jeruſalem, and in Lebanon.] To wit, in the place where the houſe of Lebanon ſtood, or elſe in the mountain of Lebanon, which was on the north bounds of the land of Canaan, for there he might build certain forts or towns, though the houſe of Lebanon were built not far from Jeruſalem, of which, ſee the note, chap. 7.2.
Verſ. 21. Whom the children of Iſrael were not able utterly to deſtroy. See the note, Joſh. 15.63.
Upon thoſe did Solomon levie a tribute of bond-ſervice unto this day.] That is, not onelyonly of money but alſo of perſonall ſervice, and that in more ſervile imployments then he would impoſe upon the Iſraelites, fitter for bondmen then for free men, as we may ſee, 2 Chron. 2.18. and hence it was, that the poſteritie of theſe ſtrangers were called Solomons ſervants, Ezra 2.55, 58. nor is it neceſſary that we ſhould think, that this was a tranſgreſſion of that law, Deut. 7.2. And when the Lord thy God ſhall deliver them before thee, thou ſhalt ſmite them, and utterly deſtroy them; thou ſhalt make no covenant with them, nor ſhew mercy to them: ſince that may be meant onelyonly of the inhabitants that were in the land at their entring firſt into it, not of their poſteritie, eſpecially if the Iſraelites had made peace with them, and much more, if they had embraced the true religion.
Verſ. 23. Theſe were the chief of the officers that were over Solomons work, five hundred and fifty, &c.] In the fifth chapter of this book, and the ſixteenth verſe, we reade of a far greater number, to wit, of three thouſand and three hundred; but there the ſtorie ſpeaks of thoſe chief officers, which were over the work in mount Lebanon, where the materials were prepared for the building of the Temple, and here it ſpeaks onelyonly of thoſe chief officers that had the overſight of thoſe that were imployed at home in building; the greater difficultie is how to reconcile this place with that in the 2 Chron. 8.10. where it is ſaid, that the chief of King Solomons officers were but two hundred and fifty men: but to this, three anſwers may be given; firſt, that there the number of Solomons chief officers of ſtate is expreſſed that bare rule over the people, not as here, of thoſe that were imployed about his buildings: or ſecondly, there only thoſe officers were numbred, which were to take account of the builders, and had the chief command over the work: but that here the maſter builders that had the charge to overſee the reſt, and give direction for the building, which were three hundred, are alſo comprehended: or thirdly, though there were five hundred chief officers, and fifty in a higher rank above them, which were over the five hundred, (all which are here together numbred) yet thoſe five hundred did execute their places by turns, two hundred and fifty at a time, and that therefore there are but two hundred and fifty mentioned, 2 Chron. 8.10.
Verſ. 25. And three times in the yeare did Solomon offer burnt offerings, &c.] That is, at the three great feaſts, the feaſt of unleavened bread, the feaſt of Pentecoſt, and the feaſt of Tabernacles: but under theſe by a Synechdoche, all other parts of Gods worſhip required by the law are comprehended, and therefore in 2 Chron. 8.13. there is mention made alſo of the daily ſacrifices, and of the ſacrifices on the Sabbaths, and on the new moons.
So he finiſhed the houſe, &c.] That is, having finiſhed the building of the houſe, he imployed it in thoſe ſervices for which it was appointed, and therefore, 2 Chron. 8.14. it is alſo added, that he appointed the prieſts and Levites to their ſeverall charges, in their courſes, according to the order which David by direction from the Lord had ordained.
Verſ. 26. And king Solomon made a navie of ſhips in Ezion-geber, &c.] Though this be here firſt related, yet evident it is, that this navie was ſent forth before the Temple was built, becauſe of the Almug-trees brought home by this navie; And the king made of the Almug-trees pillars and terriſes for the houſe of the Lord, and harps and pſalteries for ſingers, chap. 10.12. and 2 Chron. 9.10.11. How Jehoſhaphat attempted to enrich himſelf by ſending out a navie after the ſame manner, as Solomon had done before him, and how he ſped, we may read, Chap. 22.48.
Verſ. 27. And Hiram ſent in the navie his ſervants, &c.] To wit, becauſe the Tyrians that were under Hirams government, were always held the moſt expert ſeamen: neither did Hiram onelyonly afford him mariners, but was alſo at coſt to build certain ſhips in Ezion-geber, where Solomons navie was built that ſhould go along in that voyage with the ſhips of Solomon, for that muſt needs be the meaning of that place, 2 Chron. 8.18. And Hiram ſent by the hands of his ſervants, ſhips and ſervants that had knowledge of the ſea, and they went with the ſervants of Solomon to Ophir, and that becauſe Hiram could not ſend ſhips ready built from Tyre, which was in the midland ſea to Ezion-geber, which was in the red ſea, without fetching an infinite great compaſſe by ſea, which hath no appearance of likelyhood in it.
Verſ. 28. And they came to Ophir, and fet from thence gold, foure hundred and twenty talents, &c.] Ophir is thought to be in the eaſt Indies, for thither indeed they might moſt eaſily fail from Ezion-geber, which was in the red ſea; and whereas in 2 Chron. 8.18. we read of foure hundred and fifty talents, it ſeems, that thereof thirty talents, went in expence for the charges of the fleet, and for the wages of the men, or it was the return of the adventure of ſome private perſons, and onelyonly foure hundred and twenty, as here, came clear to the king.