CHAPTER FIVE

 1Ki 5:1  And Hiram the king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, for he heard that they had anointed him king instead of his father. For Hiram was a lover of David all his days. 

1Ki 5:2  And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, 

1Ki 5:3  You knew my father David, that he was not able to build a house to the name of Jehovah his God because of the wars that were all around him, until Jehovah had put them under the soles of his feet. 

1Ki 5:4  And now Jehovah my God has given me rest all around; there is no adversary nor evil happening. 

1Ki 5:5  And, behold, I am commanding a house to be built to the name of Jehovah my God, as Jehovah spoke to my father David, saying, Your son whom I will appoint in your place on your throne, he shall build the house for My name. 

1Ki 5:6  And now, command and they shall cut down for me cedars out of Lebanon. And my servants shall be with your servants. And I will give you hire for your servants according to all that you say. For you know that there is not a man among us knowing to cut timber like the Sidonians. 

1Ki 5:7  And it happened, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced exceedingly, and said, Blessed be Jehovah today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people. 

1Ki 5:8  And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard that for which you have sent to me. I will do all your will as to cedar wood and fir wood. 

1Ki 5:9  My servants will bring it down from Lebanon to the sea. And I will make floats for them in the sea to go to the place that you tell me. And I will spread them out there; and you shall take them up. And you shall do what I desire, to give food for my house. 

1Ki 5:10  And Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees, all his desire. 

1Ki 5:11  And Solomon gave to Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat, food for his house; and twenty measures of beaten oil. This Solomon gave to Hiram year by year. 

1Ki 5:12  And Jehovah gave wisdom to Solomon, as He had spoken to him. And there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they cut a covenant, the two of them. 

1Ki 5:13  And King Solomon caused a labor force to go out of all Israel; and the labor force was thirty thousand men. 

1Ki 5:14  And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses. They were a month in Lebanon, two months in their own house. And Adoniram was over the labor force. 

1Ki 5:15  And Solomon had seventy thousand bearing burdens, and eighty thousand hewing in the mountain; 

1Ki 5:16  besides the rulers of Solomon's overseers who were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, those ruling over the people who were working in the work. 

1Ki 5:17  And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, quarried stones, to lay the foundation of the house. 

1Ki 5:18  And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders, and the Giblites, cut and prepared the wood and the stones to build the house. 

 Summary: Solomon contacts Hiram and asks him for resources to build the temple. Specifically, he asked for lumber. Hiram loved David and was pleased to help David's son. Solomon supplied food to Hiram. This was a covenant agreement. 30000 laborers were conscripted for the work. Also working on projects were another 150000 + 3300 administrators. 

3. Why was Hiram so happy to provide cedars to help Solomon in building the temple? "Hiram was a lover of David all his days" - It's interesting to see the level of affection this king has for David. We really do not know much about Hiram, which informs us that MUCH of David's movements are likely not recorded. David was very good at giving Jehovah the glory publicly. Hiram apparently found a measure of faith and sees jehovah as a good God. 
What must not be lost is that many kings may carry some faith, but still cling to their own regional god(s). 

Note that the Giblites were part of the land left to be conquered in God's charge to Joshua and Israel. Here they are these many years later still intact and likely still very idolatrous. 

Israel has peace and great prosperity, but there is an underlying current of compromise that can go very wrong if not kept in check.

4. To completely understand 5:15 and who who Solomon's work force was, compare 2Chron. 2:17-18. The 153600 hard labor work force were "aliens/strangers" in the land, counted during David's census. It does not indicate that these were captured or conquered people (though it might apply). 

Concretely, they were not Israelites, and so as in all the systems of the day, were subject to the governing authorities. It seems reasonable to assume this was "forced labor." It may have been a preference to have this than nothing.