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1 Reis 5

BLIVRE · Chapter 5/22

1Hirão, rei de Tiro, enviou seus servos a Salomão, quando ouviu que tinham ungido por rei em lugar de seu pai; porque Hirão sempre havia amado a Davi.

2Então Salomão enviou a dizer a Hirão:

3Tu sabes como meu pai Davi não pôde edificar uma casa ao nome do SENHOR, seu Deus, por causa das guerras que o cercaram, até que o SENHOR pôs os seus inimigos debaixo das plantas de seus pés.

4Porém agora o SENHOR, meu Deus, me deu repouso por todos os lados; nem há adversários, nem encontro mal algum.

5Eu, portanto, decidi edificar uma casa ao nome do SENHOR, meu Deus, como o SENHOR o falou ao meu pai Davi, dizendo: Teu filho, que eu porei em teu lugar no teu trono, ele edificará uma casa ao meu nome.

6Manda, pois, agora, que me cortem cedros do Líbano; e meus servos estarão com os teus servos, e eu te darei o salário dos teus servos conforme a tudo o que disseres; porque tu sabes que ninguém há entre nós que saiba cortar a madeira como os sidônios.

7E quando Hirão ouviu as palavras de Salomão, alegrou-se em grande maneira, e disse: Bendito seja hoje o SENHOR, que deu filho sábio a Davi sobre este povo tão grande.

8E enviou Hirão a dizer a Salomão: Ouvi o que me mandaste a dizer: eu farei tudo o que te satisfizer acerca da madeira de cedro, e a madeira de faia.

9Meus servos a levarão desde o Líbano à mar; e eu a porei em balsas pelo mar até o lugar que tu me assinalares, e ali se desatará, e tu a tomarás: e tu farás minha vontade em dar de comer à minha família.

10Deu, pois, Hirão a Salomão madeira de cedro e madeira de faia tudo o que quis.

11E Salomão dava a Hirão vinte mil coros de trigo para o sustento de sua família, e vinte coros de azeite puro; isto dava Salomão a Hirão cada um ano.

12Deu, pois, o SENHOR a Salomão sabedoria como lhe havia dito: e havia paz entre Hirão e Salomão, e fizeram aliança entre ambos.

13E o rei Salomão impôs tributo a todo Israel, e o tributo foi de trinta mil homens:

14Os quais enviava ao Líbano de dez mil em dez mil, cada mês por seu turno, vindo assim a estar um mês no Líbano, e dois meses em suas casas: e Adonirão estava sobre aquele tributo.

15Tinha também Salomão setenta mil que levavam as cargas, e oitenta mil cortadores no monte;

16Sem os principais oficiais de Salomão que estavam sobre a obra, três mil e trezentos, os quais tinham cargo do povo que fazia a obra.

17E mandou o rei que trouxessem grandes pedras, pedras de grande valor, para os alicerces da casa, e pedras lavradas.

18E os pedreiros de Salomão e os de Hirão, e os preparadores, cortaram e prepararam a madeira e pedras para lavrar a casa.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Solomon forms an alliance with Hiram, king of Tyre, to obtain cedar wood and skilled craftsmen for building the temple. In exchange, he sends wheat and olive oil. Thousands of Israelite and foreign workers are recruited for the great project.

Explanation

This chapter shows the international diplomacy required for a project of such magnitude — the temple in Jerusalem was not built in isolation, but with the cooperation of neighboring nations and their resources and technical knowledge. The alliance with Tyre (a Phoenician city famous for seafaring and craftsmanship) demonstrates that major projects of faith often depend on practical partnerships and good diplomatic relations. It is also worth noting the high human cost: the forced labor conscription (mentioned as a 'levy') would become one of the grievances that later led to the kingdom's division.

Fun facts

  • Cedars of Lebanon were extremely prized in the ancient world for their durability and fragrance, used in temples and palaces by various civilizations of the ancient Near East, including Egypt.
  • The trade agreement between Solomon and Hiram — timber for food — is one of the first international trade treaties recorded in detail in the Bible.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 1 Reis 5:1Hiram, king of Tyre, sends envoys to Solomon as soon as he hears he has become king — because Hiram always had a good relationship with David, and the alliance naturally passes to the son.
  2. 1 Reis 5:2Solomon replies to Hiram’s message with a proposal — the start of the negotiation to build the Temple.
  3. 1 Reis 5:3Solomon explains that David could not build the house of God because he was always at war, until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.
  4. 1 Reis 5:4Now, Solomon says, God has given rest on every side: no adversary, no threat — the right moment to finally build the Temple.
  5. 1 Reis 5:5Solomon announces his intention to Hiram: to build the house of the Lord, fulfilling the promise God made to David that his son would raise up that Temple.
  6. 1 Reis 5:6Israel had no good building timber or tradition of working with it; that is why Solomon negotiates with Hiram, the Phoenician king of Tyre, trading skilled labor and raw material for food. It is a typical commercial deal of the time between neighbors with different resources.
  7. 1 Reis 5:7On hearing Solomon’s request, Hiram is glad and blesses God for having given David such a wise son to rule over that great people.
  8. 1 Reis 5:8Hiram replies that he will provide everything Solomon asked for regarding cedar and cypress timber.
  9. 1 Reis 5:9The practical deal: Hiram’s men will float the timber by sea in rafts to wherever Solomon indicates, and in exchange Solomon will supply food for Hiram’s household.
  10. 1 Reis 5:10Hiram delivers to Solomon all the cedar and cypress timber he had requested — the commercial deal takes shape.
  11. 1 Reis 5:11Payment to Hiram is made in wheat and oil, not money. It is a sign of an economy still based on trading goods, since minted currency would only appear in the region centuries later.
  12. 1 Reis 5:12God gives Solomon the promised wisdom, and there is peace between him and Hiram: the two seal an alliance.
  13. 1 Reis 5:13This levy of workers was forced labor in shifts: Israelites drafted to cut and haul timber in Lebanon, one month away from home and two at home. It is the same kind of demand that, expanded by Solomon’s son, will trigger the revolt that splits the kingdom in chapter 12.
  14. 1 Reis 5:14Solomon sends the workers to Lebanon in shifts of ten thousand at a time: one month working there, two months at home, all under Adoniram’s supervision.
  15. 1 Reis 5:15Besides that, Solomon had seventy thousand men carrying loads and eighty thousand cutting stone in the mountains — the scale of the Temple project was enormous.
  16. 1 Reis 5:16Over all these workers, three thousand three hundred foremen gave the orders and coordinated the work.
  17. 1 Reis 5:17The king ordered large, high-quality stones to be brought, already cut, to serve as the foundation of the house.
  18. 1 Reis 5:18Solomon’s builders, Hiram’s builders, and the men of Gebal worked together preparing the timber and the stone to raise the Temple.

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