1 Kings 9

AND it came to pass when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the kings house, and all Solomons desire which he was pleased to do:

That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time To wit, in a Dream or Vision: for that which is mentioned, Chap. 6. 11. seems to have been imparted unto him by some Prophet or Messenger sent from God, with that Errand. The time of this Revelation was, either 1. after all Solomon's Buildings, as the words, thus rendred plainly imply. And if it seem strange, that God should not Reveal this purpose and sentence of his concerning the Temple, till so many years after the finishing of it; it must be considered, 1. That as it is an act of God's singular Grace, when he does thus Reveal himself to any person, so it is but meet he should choose his own time for it. 2. That God had presently after the finishing of the Temple, at the Feast of the Dedication of it, sufficiently showed his acceptance and approbation of it, by that Glorious Cloud, Chap. 8. 10, 11. and therefore this Revelation was not then necessary. 3. That God might choose this as the fittest time for giving Solomon the following Admonition, when he perceived that his heart began to be lifted up in Pride, for his sumptuous and magnificent Buildings, &c. and that he was grown vain, and careless, and secure; and therefore most needed such an awakening Oracle. Or, 2. Presently after the Building of the Temple, as may be thought from the Matter of this Revelation, which seems best to suit with that time when it was newly Built, and when Solomon's Prayer here mentioned was newly made: for seeing the following words contain God's Answer to that Prayer, it seems improbable, that the Answer should come so many years after it. But then this second Verse, and the rest even to ver. 11. are to he inclosed with a Parenthesis; and the place must be thus rendred, ver. 2. For (so the Hebrew vau is oft rendred) the Lord appeared, or, had appeared to Solomon, &c. ver. 3. And the Lord had said unto him, &c. And this Parenthesis may seem to have a foundation in ver. 10. where the first Verse (in substance, though not in the very same words) is repeated, as is usual after long digressions; and then he compleats the Sentence ver. 11, &c. which till then had been suspended. Nor are such long Parenthesis without Example in Scripture; See my Latin Synopsis, on Rom. 5. 12, &c. Eph. 3. 1, &c. Revel. 22. 7., as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon.

And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and thy supplication that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house I have my Glorious Presence in the Cloud, and by my Acceptation of thy Sacrifices Sanctified it to my proper use and Service. which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever As long as the Mosaical Dispensation lasts; whereas hitherto my Name and Worship has been successively in several places., and mine eyes i. e. My watchful and gracious Providence. and mine heart My true and tender Affection. shall be there Shall be towards this Place and People. perpetually Upon condition of your Obedience; as it here follows..

And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked Who, though he miscarried in some things, yet in the general course of his Life was Upright and Faithful towards me., in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments:

Then Upon that condition; for my Promise to David was Conditional. I will establish the Throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.

But if ye shall at all turn from following me Or rather, if ye shall wholly turn, &c. If you shall wilfully and obstinately depart from God, and violate his Laws, as the doubling of the Word implies. Whereby he also intimates, That he would not be so rigid and severe towards them, as to mark every thing that was amiss; but would bear with much, as he did in David, &c. only that... e would not endure a total defection from him., ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes, which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them:

Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them, and this house which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight I will not regard it, I will take away my Protection and gracious Presence from it., and Israel shall be a proverb Their Miseries shall be named Proverbially, to express extreme Calamities. See Deut. 28. 37., and a by-word among all people:

And at this house which is high i. e. Exalted in its Priviledges, Glorious, and Renowned. The Particle which is oft understood, and is here fitly supplied out of 2 Chron. 7. 21. where it is expressed., every one that passeth by it shall be astonished At its unexpected and wonderful Ruine., and shall hiss By way of Contempt, and Derision. See Ier. 19. 8. and 49. 17. and 50. 13.; and they shall say, Why has the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house?

And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore has the LORD brought upon them all this evil.

¶ And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the kings 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 Or, near (as Beth oft signifies, as has been proved before) the Land of Galilee bordering upon it; in those parts which were near, and adjoyning to Hiram's Dominions: with the Cities, understand the Lands and Territories belonging to them. Quest. How could Solomon give away any part of that Land wherein the People had a Right by a Divine Lot, and God had a Right, as being the only Proprietary of it; upon which ground the total Alienation of it, or any part of it, was forbidden. Levit. 25. 23? Answ. 1. It is not said, that he gave them away wholly, and for ever; but he might Assign them to him only for a time, until he was fully satisfied for his Debt. 2. If these Cities were possessed by Israelites, Solomon did not give him their particular Possessions, but only his own Royalties over them, and all the Profits he received from them, which were very considerable, as may be gathered from that passage, Chap. 12. 4. 3. These Cities, though they were within those large bounds which God fixed to the Land of Promise, Gen. 15. 18. Ios. 1. 4. yet were not within those parts which were distributed by Lot in Ioshua's time; nor belonging to the Tribe of Asher, (as some suppose) as may be gathered both from Iosh. 19. ver. 27. where their border is said to go out only to the Land of Cabul; to wit, exclusively: and ver. 30. where all their Cities are said to be but twenty and two; and from 2 Chron. 8. 2. where it is said of those Cities, when Hiram restored them, That Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. Which makes it more than probable, that these Cities were not Inhabited by Israelites, but by Canaanites, or other Heathens; who being Subdued, and Extirpated by David, or Solomon, those Cities became a part of their Dominion, and at their Disposal; and afterwards were reckon'd a part of Galilee, as Iosephus notes. And may be one reason, why he gave these, rather than other Cities, because they were in his power to give, when others were not..

And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not He did not accept them for satisfaction, because the Cities were out of repair, as appears from ver. 13. and the Soyl not good in his Eyes, and therefore he refused them, 2 Chron. 8. 2. and expected, and doubtless had satisfaction some other way; as may be gathered from the following Story..

And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul i. e. Of dirt, as most interpret it. Not that it was a barren Soyl, as some imagine; for they who describe those parts, commend them as Fruitful: nor would Solomon have made him so unworthy a return: but because it was not pleasant, nor agreeable to his, nor to his Peoples humour; because, though the Land was very good, yet being a thick and stiff Clay, and therefore requiring great pains to Manure and Improve it, it was very unsuitable to the disposition of the Tyrians, who were Delicate, and Lazy, and Luxurious, and wholly given to Merchandise. unto this day.

And Hiram sent Or rather, for Hiram had sent. And this seems to be here added, both to declare the quantity of the Gold sent, which had been only named before, ver. 11. and as the reason why he resented Solomon's Action so ill, because so great a Sum required a better Recompence. to the king sixscore talents of gold.

¶ And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised Both the Levy of Men; of which, Chap. 5. 13. and the Levy of Money upon his People and Subjects, which is sufficiently evident from many Scriptures. And this Sentence may look both backward, and forward. He raised this Levy, both to pay what he owed to Hiram, which is mentioned before; and to Build the Works here following., for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo It seems to have been an eminent, and large, and strong Fort or Castle in Ierusalem; as may be gathered from 1 King. 11. 27. 2 Chron. 32. 5., and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor In Napthali, See Iosh. 11. 10. and 19. 36., and Megiddo In that part of the Tribe of Manasseh within Iordan: of which see Iosh. 17. 15., and Gezer In Ephraim, Iosh. 21. 21. It now was, and long had been in the possession of the Canaanites, Iosh. 16. 10. Iudg. 1. 29. and permitted so to be by David, and Solomon; either by neglect, or because they were busied in greater and more necessary Employments..

For Pharaoh king of Eggpt had gone up, and taken Gezer Not now, but long before this time, and presently after the Marriage of his Daughter, as is most probable; and it is here mentioned only as the occasion of Solomon's Building it. Possibly the Canaanites of this place had been guilty of some Hainous Crime; and because Solomon thought not fit to destroy them himself, he desired Pharaoh to do it for him, or Pharaoh might offer his Service therein for his Daughters advantage., and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the City, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomons wife.

And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether In Benjamin, Ios. 18. 13, 14. and Bethoron the upper, which is added 2 Chron. 8. 5. a City in the Tribe of Ephraim, Ios. 16. 5. possibly bordering upon Benjamin, and... igh unto the lower Bethoron: which alone may be here mentioned, either, because it was the more famous place: or, be cause it needed more reparations.,

And Baalath In the Tribe of Dan, Ios 19. 40, 44., and Tadmor Supposed to be called Tamar, Ezek. 47. 19., in the wilderness, in the land This Clause may belong either first, to all the places above-mentioned, which are here declared to be in the Land of Canaan. But so that Clause may seem superfluous; for none would easily think that he would Build much out of his own Land. Or rather, Secondly, To Tadmor, which otherwise, being in that Wilderness which was the border of the Land, might have been presumed to have been out of the Land.,

And all the cities of store To lay up Arms and Ammunition for War, and Corn, or other Provisions, against a time of scarcity. See Exod. 1. 11. that Solomon had, and cities for his charets, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon Either in the Mountain of Lebanon, which being the Border of his Land, he might Build some Forts, or a Frontier City in it. Or, in the House of the Forest of Lebanon: of which see chap. 7. 2., and in all the land of his dominion.

And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel,

Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-service He used them as Bond-men, and imposed Burdens and Bodily Labours upon them. See 2 Chron. 2. 18. Hence some think they are called Solomon's servants, Ezra 2. 55, 58. Quest. Why did not Solomon destroy them, as God had commanded, when now it was fully in his power to do so? Ans. First, The command of destroying them, Deut. 7. 2. did chiefly, if not only, concern that Generation of Canaanites who lived in or near the time of the Israelites entring into Canaan. Secondly, That Command seems not to be Absolute and Universal, but conditional, and with some exception for those who should submit to them, and embrace the True Religion, as may be gathered both from Ios. 11. 19. and from the History of the Gibeonites, Ios. 9. whom Ioshua did not sin in sparing, when he had Sworn to do so; and Saul did sin in indeavouring to destroy them. But if Gods Command had been Absolute, the Oaths of Ioshua, and of the Princes, could not have obliged them, nor dispensed with such a Command. unto this day.

But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bond-men: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his charets, and his horsemen.

These were the chief of the officers that were over Solomons work, five hundred and fifty Obj. They were only 250 in 2 Chron. 8. 10. Ans. First, Those might be Officers of another sort; for they are not said to be over the work, as these are, but only over the people. Secondly, The 250 were Israelites, who are therefore distinctly mentioned in that Book, where many things are more exactly noted than in the former; and the other 300 were strangers, who therefore are neglected in that more accurate account. Or, Thirdly, There was but 250 at one time, which is noted there, and 250 at another time, (for it is apparent they did their work by turns) and the other 50 either were Superior to all the rest; or rather, were a reserve to supply the place of any of the 500 when there was occasion, which might frequently happen. And so this was an act not unbecoming Solomon's Wisdom, to make provision for Emergencies., which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work.

¶ But Pharaohs daughter came up out of the city of David, unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo.

¶ And three times in a year i. e. At the three Solemn Feasts. Which is not said exclusively, as is evident both from 2 Chron. 8. 13. and from the express and oft-repeated Commands of God to offer at other times, which it is absurd to think that Solomon, not yet fallen into sin, should so wickedly and scandalously neglect; but because then he did it more Solemnly, and more costlily, and more publickly: whereby it might be presumed, that he did so at all other appointed times. did Solomon offer burnt-offerings, and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD: so he finished the house Or, so he perfected the house, to wit, by applying it to the use for which it was made, in which the perfection of such things consists. Or, the house may be put Metonymically for the Work or Service of the House, as it is elsewhere commonly used for the things or persons in the House. Or, the words may be, and are rendred thus, After that (for so the Hebrew Vau oft signifies, as Isa. 37. 9, 36. Hos. 1. 11. Zech. 12. 2.) he finished the house; i. e. From the time of the finishing of the House, until this time, he continued to do so..

¶ And king Solomon made a navy of ships Not now in the order in which it is placed in the History, but in the beginning of his Reign; as appears, because the Almug-trees which he used in this Work, were brought in this Navy from Ophir, chap. 10, 11, 12. 2 Chron. 9. 10, 11. which was a three Years Voyage there, ver. 22. For Ophir and Tharsis were either the same place, or one near to another., in Ezion-Geber, which is beside Eloth n, on the shore of the red sea, in the land of Edom Which David brought under his Dominion, and Solomon kept it.. r Or, Elath, as it is called 2 King. 14. 22. See Deut. 2. 8. It is thought to be that famous Port on the Red Sea, which Ptolemy and Strabo call Elana.

And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, ship-men that had knowledge of the sea For which the Tyrians were famous. He sent also Ships to joyn with Solomon's, 2 Chron. 8. 18. not from Tyre, the famous City of Phoenicia, which was in the Midland Sea, from whence he could not Sail to the Red Sea, without fetching a vast compass; but from an Island in the Red-Sea, called Tyre, because it was a Colony of the Tyrians, as Strabo notes., with the servants of Solomon.

And they came to Ophir A place famous for the plenty and fineness of the Gold there; Of which see Gen. 2. 11, 12. Iob 22. 24. and 28. 16. Psal. 45. 9. Isa. 13. 12. It is manifest and agreed, that it was a part of the East-Indies, which though very remote from us, yet was far nearer to the Red-Sea, from whence they might easily Sail to it in these Ancient times, because they needed not to go far from the Coast to come to it, because they might (according to the manner of these first Ages) Sail all along near the Coast, though the Voyage was thereby more tedious, which was the reason why three Years were spent in it. And here, and here only were to be had all the Commodities which Solomon fetched from Ophir, 1 King. 10. 22., and fet from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents In all there came to the King 450 Talents, whereof it seems 30 Talents were allowed by Solomon to Hiram and his Men for the Voyage, and so there were only 420 that came clearly into the King's Treasury., and brought it to king Solomon.