1 Kings 5:9

9 My workers will bring logs from Lebanon to the sea, and I will have them make them into rafts to go by sea to any place you specify. There I will have them taken apart, and you can use them. You can pay me by providing food for my palace."

1 Kings 5:9 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 5:9

My servants shall bring [them] down from Lebanon unto the sea,
&c.] The Mediterranean sea, on which Tyre stood:

and I will convey them by sea in floats;
which were either a sort of carriage for the timber the Tyrians and Sidonians had, being furnished with various navigable vessels; or these were the timber itself, and the planks of it, which being fastened together, were set afloat under the direction of some boats with oars, of which they had plenty:

unto the place that thou shalt appoint me;
which was Joppa, as appears from ( 2 Chronicles 2:16 ) ; belonging to the land of Israel, in the same sea:

and will cause them to be discharged there;
either to be unloaded from the vessels, or to be unloosed and taken up separately:

and thou shalt receive [them];
by his servants appointed there to bring them to Jerusalem, which was forty miles from Joppa:

and thou shalt accomplish my desire in giving food for my household;
signifying, that all that he desired in return was, that he would supply him with corn or wheat, which he stood in need of, and his letter in Josephus F4 expresses; and we find in later times this place was supplied with bread corn from Judea, see ( Ezra 3:7 ) ( Ezekiel 27:17 ) ( Acts 12:20 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F4 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 8. c. 2. sect. 8.)

1 Kings 5:9 In-Context

7 Hiram was very glad to hear what Solomon had said. Hiram responded, "May the LORD be praised today. He has given David a wise son to rule this great nation."
8 Hiram sent men to Solomon to say, "I've received the message you sent me. I will do everything you want in regard to the cedar and cypress logs.
9 My workers will bring logs from Lebanon to the sea, and I will have them make them into rafts to go by sea to any place you specify. There I will have them taken apart, and you can use them. You can pay me by providing food for my palace."
10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress wood he wanted.
11 Solomon gave Hiram 120,000 bushels of wheat and 120,000 gallons of pure olive oil. Solomon paid Hiram this much every year.
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