1 Kings 5:9

9 My lumberjacks will haul the timbers from the Lebanon forest to the sea, assemble them into log rafts, float them to the place you set, then have them disassembled for you to haul away. All I want from you is that you feed my crew."

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 When Hiram got Solomon's message, he was delighted, exclaiming, "Blessed be God for giving David such a wise son to rule this flourishing people!"
8 Then he sent this message to Solomon: "I received your request for the cedars and cypresses. It's as good as done - your wish is my command.
9 My lumberjacks will haul the timbers from the Lebanon forest to the sea, assemble them into log rafts, float them to the place you set, then have them disassembled for you to haul away. All I want from you is that you feed my crew."
10 In this way Hiram supplied all the cedar and cypress timber that Solomon wanted.
11 In his turn, Solomon gave Hiram 125,000 bushels of wheat and 115,000 gallons of virgin olive oil. He did this every year.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.