1 Kings 5:9

9 My servants will bring the wood down the Lebanon Mountains to the sea. I'll make rafts out of them and float them on the sea to the place you specify. There I'll dismantle them, and you can carry them away. Now, as for what you must do for me in return, I ask you to provide for my royal house."

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 thrilled when he heard Solomon's message. He said, "Today the LORD is blessed because he has given David a wise son who is in charge of this great people."
8 Hiram sent word back to Solomon: "I have heard your message to me. I will do as you wish with the cedar and pinewood.
9 My servants will bring the wood down the Lebanon Mountains to the sea. I'll make rafts out of them and float them on the sea to the place you specify. There I'll dismantle them, and you can carry them away. Now, as for what you must do for me in return, I ask you to provide for my royal house."
10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and pinewood that he wanted.
11 In return, Solomon gave an annual gift to Hiram of twenty thousand kors of wheat to eat, and twenty thousand kors of pure oil for his palace use.
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