1 Kings 9:12

12 Hiram left Tyre to see the cities Solomon gave him. However, they didn't please him.

1 Kings 9:12 Meaning and Commentary

1 Kings 9:12

And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon
had given him
For these cities, being in or near Galilee, were not far from Tyre:

and they pleased him not;
being either out of repair, as some think; see ( 2 Chronicles 8:2 ) or the ground barren, and unfruitful; which is not likely, being in a very fruitful country, as the tribes on which they bordered were: but they were not agreeable to him, they did not suit with the disposition of him and his people, who were given not to husbandry, but to merchandise; and the land about these would require a good deal of pains and labour to till, which they were not used to.

1 Kings 9:12 In-Context

10 It took Solomon 20 years to build the two houses (the LORD's house and the royal palace).

11 [When King Solomon had finished,] he gave King Hiram of Tyre 20 cities in Galilee. (Hiram had supplied Solomon with as much cedar and cypress lumber and gold as he wanted.)

12 Hiram left Tyre to see the cities Solomon gave him. However, they didn't please him.

13 "What kind of cities have you given me, brother?" he asked. So he named it the region of Cabul [Good for Nothing]. ([They're] still [called] that today.)

14 Hiram had sent the king 9,000 pounds of gold.