וַיְהִי כְּכַלּוֹת שְׁלֹמֹה לִבְנוֹת אֶת־בֵּית־יְהוָה וְאֶת־בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֵת כָּל־חֵשֶׁק שְׁלֹמֹה אֲשֶׁר חָפֵץ לַעֲשׂוֹת׃ 9:1
1Kin. 9:1 And it was when Solomon was finished building the house of the Lord and the house of the king and all the desires of Solomon that he was pleased to fashion,
וַיֵּרָא יְהוָה אֶל־שְׁלֹמֹה שֵׁנִית כַּאֲשֶׁר נִרְאָה אֵלָיו בְּגִבְעוֹן׃ 9:2
1Kin. 9:2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon again as He had appeared to him in Gibeon.
In 1Kin. 3:4, the Lord had appeared to Solomon in a dream when he had traveled there to sacrifice. So this is also undoubtedly a dream.
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלָיו שָׁמַעְתִּי אֶת־תְּפִלָּתְךָ וְאֶת־תְּחִנָּתְךָ אֲשֶׁר הִתְחַנַּנְתָּה לְפָנַי הִקְדַּשְׁתִּי אֶת־הַבַּיִת הַזֶּה 9:3 אֲשֶׁר בָּנִתָה לָשׂוּם־שְׁמִי שָׁם עַד־עוֹלָם וְהָיוּ עֵינַי וְלִבִּי שָׁם כָּל־הַיָּמִים׃
1Kin. 9:3 And the Lord said to him, “I heard your prayer and your supplication that you made before Me. I have hallowed this house that you have built to put My name there forever, and My ‘eyes’ and My ‘heart’ will be there continually.”
וְאַתָּה אִם־תֵּלֵךְ לְפָנַי כַּאֲשֶׁר הָלַךְ דָּוִד אָבִיךָ בְּתָם־לֵבָב וּבְיֹשֶׁר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ חֻקַּי 9:4 וּמִשְׁפָּטַי תִּשְׁמֹר׃
1Kin. 9:4 “And you, if you walk before Me as David, your father, walked, with integrity of heart and with uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you, My statutes and My ordinances you keep,
וַהֲקִמֹתִי אֶת־כִּסֵּא מַמְלַכְתְּךָ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל לְעֹלָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי עַל־דָּוִד אָבִיךָ לֵאמֹר לֹא־יִכָּרֵת לְךָ 9:5 אִישׁ מֵעַל כִּסֵּא יִשְׂרָאֵל׃
1Kin. 9:5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised to David, your father, saying, ‘No man of yours shall be cut off from being on the throne of Israel.”
אִם־שׁוֹב תְּשֻׁבוּן אַתֶּם וּבְנֵיכֶם מֵאַחֲרַי וְלֹא תִשְׁמְרוּ מִצְוֺתַי חֻקֹּתַי אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לִפְנֵיכֶם וַהֲלַכְתֶּם 9:6 וַעֲבַדְתֶּם אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶם לָהֶם׃
1Kin. 9:6 If you will turn back again, or your children, from following Me, and not keep My commandments, My statutes, that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them,
וְהִכְרַתִּי אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לָהֶם וְאֶת־הַבַּיִת אֲשֶׁר הִקְדַּשְׁתִּי לִשְׁמִי אֲשַׁלַּח 9:7 מֵעַל פָּנָי וְהָיָה יִשְׂרָאֵל לְמָשָׁל וְלִשְׁנִינָה בְּכָל־הָעַמִּים׃
1Kin. 9:7 then I will cut Israel off from the surface of the soil that I have given to them, and I shall push away the house that I have hallowed for My name from My presence, and Israel will become for a proverb and for a byword with all the peoples.”
In v. 9:6 the words translated as and go and serve are second-person plural, indicating that the Lord was referring not only to Solomon but also his sons after him.
וְהַבַּיִת הַזֶּה יִהְיֶה עֶלְיוֹן כָּל־עֹבֵר עָלָיו יִשֹּׁם וְשָׁרָק וְאָמְרוּ עַל־מֶה עָשָׂה יְהוָה כָּכָה לָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת 9:8 וְלַבַּיִת הַזֶּה׃
1Kin. 9:8 “And this house will become an elevation. Everyone coming on it will be astonished and will hiss. When they will say, ‘Why did the Lord do like this to this land and to this house?’
וְאָמְרוּ עַל אֲשֶׁר עָזְבוּ אֶת־יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיא אֶת־אֲבֹתָם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וַיַּחֲזִקוּ בֵּאלֹהִים 9:9 אֲחֵרִים (וַיִּשְׁתַּחוּ) [וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ] לָהֶם וַיַּעַבְדֻם עַל־כֵּן הֵבִיא יְהוָה עֲלֵיהֶם אֵת כָּל־הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת׃
1Kin. 9:9 then they will say, ‘For the reason that they forsook the Lord, their God, Who brought forth their fathers from the land of Egypt, and they took hold on other gods and bowed down to them and served them. Therefore the Lord brought on them all this evil.’”
The word in parentheses has a vav missing. The correction is in the brackets.
וַיְהִי מִקְצֵה עֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה אֲשֶׁר־בָּנָה שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת־שְׁנֵי הַבָּתִּים אֶת־בֵּית יְהוָה וְאֶת־בֵּית הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ 9:10
1Kin. 9:10 And it was at the end of twenty years that Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the house of the king. [Return to 2Chr. 8:1]
חִירָם מֶלֶךְ־צֹר נִשָּׂא אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹה בַּעֲצֵי אֲרָזִים וּבַעֲצֵי בְרוֹשִׁים וּבַזָּהָב לְכָל־חֶפְצוֹ אָז יִתֵּן הַמֶּלֶךְ 9:11 שְׁלֹמֹה לְחִירָם עֶשְׂרִים עִיר בְּאֶרֶץ הַגָּלִיל׃
1Kin. 9:11 Hiram, king of Tyre, had furnished Solomon with trees of cedar and trees of cypress and with gold according to all his desires. Then king Solomon would have given to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
וַיֵּצֵא חִירָם מִצֹּר לִרְאוֹת אֶת־הֶעָרִים אֲשֶׁר נָתַן־לוֹ שְׁלֹמֹה וְלֹא יָשְׁרוּ בְּעֵינָיו׃ 9:12
1Kin. 9:12 When Hiram came out to see the cities that Solomon had given to him, then they were not right in his eyes.
וַיֹּאמֶר מָה הֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַתָּה לִּי אָחִי וַיִּקְרָא לָהֶם אֶרֶץ כָּבוּל עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ 9:13
1Kin. 9:13 And he said, “What kind of cities are these that you have given to me, my brother?” So he gave the name Cabul to them of the land until this day.
The word Cabul, presumably referring to the cities, can mean bound, chained, or shackled. But some of the Hebrew in the latter part of this verse may be somewhat ambiguous. The words I’ve translated as he gave the name of Cabul to them of the land could also be translated as he gave to them the name of the Land of Cabul or he called them the land of Cabul. These latter translations seem to be preferred and appear in various bibles. However, these translations ignore the grammar of the Hebrew. The pronoun them near the end of the verse is masculine whereas its referent, cities, is feminine. So I believe the translation most true to the Hebrew is the one I have.
וַיִּשְׁלַח חִירָם לַמֶּלֶךְ מֵאָה וְעֶשְׂרִים כִּכַּר זָהָב׃ 9:14
1Kin. 9:14 And Hiram sent to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold.
וְזֶה דְבַר־הַמַּס אֲשֶׁר־הֶעֱלָה הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה לִבְנוֹת אֶת־בֵּית יְהוָה וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ וְאֶת־הַמִּלּוֹא וְאֵת 9:15 חוֹמַת יְרוּשָׁלִָם וְאֶת־חָצֹר וְאֶת־מְגִדּוֹ וְאֶת־גָּזֶר׃
1Kin. 9:15 And this is the account of the levy that Solomon raised to build the house of the Lord and his house and the Millo and the wall of Jerusalem and Hazor and Megiddo and Gezer.
Abruptly at this point the difficulty between Hiram and Solomon is dismissed. The scribe continues his description of events as if verses 9:11 to 9:14 were not there. To me, it’s almost as if he grudgingly included them just to be thorough.
Also, the Millo is thought to be part of the fortifying wall of Jerusalem beside the city of David.
פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַיִם עָלָה וַיִּלְכֹּד אֶת־גֶּזֶר וַיִּשְׂרְפָהּ בָּאֵשׁ וְאֶת־הַכְּנַעֲנִי הַיֹּשֵׁב בָּעִיר הָרָג וַיִּתְּנָהּ 9:16 שִׁלֻּחִים לְבִתּוֹ אֵשֶׁת שְׁלֹמֹה׃
1Kin. 9:16 Pharoah, king of Egypt, had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, and he slew the Canaanite who dwelled in the city, and gave a dowry for his daughter, wife of Solomon.
וַיִּבֶן שְׁלֹמֹה אֶת־גָּזֶר וְאֶת־בֵּית חֹרֹן תַּחְתּוֹן׃ 9:17
1Kin. 9:17 And Solomon had rebuilt Gezer and lower Beth-horon,
וְאֶת־בַּעֲלָת וְאֶת־ (תָּמָר) [תַּדְמֹר] בַּמִּדְבָּר בָּאָרֶץ׃ 9:18
1Kin. 9:18 and Balaath, and Tadmor in the wilderness in the land,
The word in parentheses, being interpreted as the name Tadmor, was originally thought to be missing a daled. However, many later scholars thought the reference is to Tamar, a city mentioned in Ezek, Chapters 47 and 48. The presumed correction is in the brackets.
וְאֵת כָּל־עָרֵי הַמִּסְכְּנוֹת אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לִשְׁלֹמֹה וְאֵת עָרֵי הָרֶכֶב וְאֵת עָרֵי הַפָּרָשִׁים וְאֵת חֵשֶׁק שְׁלֹמֹה 9:19 אֲשֶׁר חָשַׁק לִבְנוֹת בִּירוּשָׁלִַם וּבַלְּבָנוֹן וּבְכֹל אֶרֶץ מֶמְשַׁלְתּוֹ׃
1Kin. 9:19 and all the cities of storage that were Solomon's, and the cities of chariots, and the cities of horsemen, and the delights of Solomon that he desired to build in Jerusalem and in Lebanon and in all the land of his realm.
כָּל־הָעָם הַנּוֹתָר מִן־הָאֱמֹרִי הַחִתִּי הַפְּרִזִּי הַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי אֲשֶׁר לֹא־מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה׃ 9:20
1Kin. 9:20 All the people that was left from the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perezzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites who were not from the children of Israel,
בְּנֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר נֹתְרוּ אַחֲרֵיהֶם בָּאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יָכְלוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לְהַחֲרִימָם וַיַּעֲלֵם שְׁלֹמֹה לְמַס־עֹבֵד 9:21 עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃
1Kin. 9:21 their children who were left after them in the land whom the children of Israel were not able to utterly destroy, with them Solomon raised a levy of being bondservants until this day.
וּמִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא־נָתַן שְׁלֹמֹה עָבֶד כִּי־הֵם אַנְשֵׁי הַמִּלְחָמָה וַעֲבָדָיו וְשָׂרָיו וְשָׁלִשָׁיו וְשָׂרֵי רִכְבּוֹ 9:22 וּפָרָשָׁיו׃
1Kin. 9:22 But Solomon did not get bondservants from the children of Israel, but they were the men of battle and his servants, and his generals and his captains and the chiefs of his chariots and of his horsemen.
אֵלֶּה שָׂרֵי הַנִּצָּבִים אֲשֶׁר עַל־הַמְּלָאכָה לִשְׁלֹמֹה חֲמִשִּׁים וַחֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת הָרֹדִים בָּעָם הָעֹשִׂים 9:23 בַּמְּלָאכָה׃
1Kin. 9:23 These were the highest of the officers who were over the work for Solomon, five hundred and fifty, who were the rulers among the people who were occupied in the work.
אַךְ בַּת־פַּרְעֹה עָלְתָה מֵעִיר דָּוִד אֶל־בֵּיתָהּ אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה־לָהּ אָז בָּנָה אֶת־הַמִּלּוֹא׃ 9:24
1Kin. 9:24 When the daughter of Pharoah came up from the city of David to her house that he built for her, then he built the Millo. [Return to 2Chr. 8:11]
וְהֶעֱלָה שְׁלֹמֹה שָׁלֹשׁ פְּעָמִים בַּשָּׁנָה עֹלוֹת וּשְׁלָמִים עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֲשֶׁר בָּנָה לַיהוָה וְהַקְטֵיר אִתּוֹ 9:25 אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וְשִׁלַּם אֶת־הַבָּיִת׃
1Kin. 9:25 And Solomon would offer burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built for the Lord three times a year, and would burn incense with he who was before the Lord, as he completed the house. [Return to 2Chr. 8:12]
וָאֳנִי עָשָׂה הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה בְּעֶצְיוֹן־גֶּבֶר אֲשֶׁר אֶת־אֵלוֹת עַל־שְׂפַת יַם־סוּף בְּאֶרֶץ אֱדוֹם׃ 9:26
1Kin. 9:26 And king Solomon fashioned a navy in Ezion-geber, which is Eloth, on the shore of the Reed Sea in the land of Edom.
The name Ezion-geber is apparently the name of a city in southern Israel during King Solomon’s time, but was later renamed Eloth. Could this be the modern Red Sea resort Eilat?
וַיִּשְׁלַח חִירָם בָּאֳנִי אֶת־עֲבָדָיו אַנְשֵׁי אֳנִיּוֹת יֹדְעֵי הַיָּם עִם עַבְדֵי שְׁלֹמֹה׃ 9:27
1Kin. 9:27 And Hiram sent his servants into the navy, men of ships, experts of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.
וַיָּבֹאוּ אוֹפִירָה וַיִּקְחוּ מִשָּׁם זָהָב אַרְבַּע־מֵאוֹת וְעֶשְׂרִים כִּכָּר וַיָּבִאוּ אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה׃ 9:28
1Kin. 9:28 And they went to Ophir and got four hundred gold talents from there and came to king Solomon.
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