838 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east,.... The Arabians, and Persians, famous for wisdom, and who lay to the east of the land of Judea; whose wisdom lay in the knowledge of the stars, in divination by birds, and soothsaying (m): and all the wisdom of Egypt; which it was eminent for in the times of Moses, and in...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For he was wiser than all men,.... Not only that lived in his time, but in ages past since the fall of Adam, and in times to come, especially in natural wisdom and knowledge, in all the branches of it; for though some men excel in some part of knowledge, yet not in all, as Solomon did: than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he spake three thousand proverbs,.... Wise sayings, short and pithy sentences, instructive in morality and civil life; these were not written as the book of Proverbs, but spoken only, and were taken from his lips, and spread by those that heard them for the use of others, but in process of time were lost; whereas the above book, being written...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he spake of trees,.... Of all trees, herbs, and plants, of the nature, virtues, and use them: from the cedar tree that [is] in Lebanon: a mountain on the northern border of Judea, famous for cedars, the tallest and largest of trees: even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall; which grew about Jerusalem, and in the mountains of it, as...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth,.... Who sent their ambassadors to his court to know the truth of what was reported, and bring them some proofs and specimens, by which they might judge of the truth of the relations that had been told them; which perhaps might seem to them to be beyond all...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST KINGS 5 This chapter relates Solomon's preparation for building the temple: on Hiram, king of Tyre, sending a congratulatory letter to him, he returned another to him, signifying his intention to build an house for God, and requesting him to supply him with timber, and men to work it, 1 Kings 5:1; to which Hiram readily...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Hiram king of Tyre sent servants unto Solomon,.... His ambassadors, to condole him on the death of his father, and congratulate him on his accession to the throne; this king is called by the Phoenician historians (s) Hirom, and by Eupolemus (t) Suron, as he is Huram in 2 Chronicles 2:3; and by Theophilus of Antioch (u) Hierom the son of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Solomon sent to Hiram,.... A letter, either by the hand of his ambassadors when they returned, as Kimchi thinks, or by ambassadors Solomon sent on purpose. Josephus (w) appeals to the Tyrian archives for the genuineness of these letters that passed between Hiram and Solomon; and Eupolemus, an Heathen writer (x) has both this which Solomon sent...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the Lord his God,.... As he designed, and was desirous of; and which Hiram might know not only by common fame, but from David himself, between whom there was an intercourse, and that in relation to cedars for building, which David had of Hiram, 2 Chronicles 2:3; for...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every side,.... From foreign enemies; for Solomon had no wars with any: [so that there is] neither adversary; or Satan, no internal enemy in his kingdom, as well as no external ones, Adonijah, Joab, and other ill-designing persons, being cut off: nor evil occurrent; nothing that rose up, and met him,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God,.... For his worship, and for his honour and glory: as the Lord spake unto David my father; by the prophet Nathan, 2 Samuel 7:12; saying, thy son whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name; which was no small encouragement to Solomon to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedars out of Lebanon,.... That is, order his servants to cut them down there for him. Some think that Lebanon belonged to the land of Israel, and therefore Solomon did not ask for the cedars upon it, but for his servants to hew them for him; but as it lay upon the borders of Israel, part of it might...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon,.... The letter read he sent him: that he rejoiced greatly; that the friendship which had subsisted between him and David was like to be continued between him and his successor, but chiefly for what follows: saying, blessed [be] the Lord this day; or Jehovah, by which he seems to have some...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Hiram sent to Solomon,.... A letter to him, to the following purpose: saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for; whether he could, and whether it was fitting he should grant his request; which was acting like a wise and prudent prince: [and] I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
My servants shall bring [them] down from Lebanon unto the sea,.... 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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
So Hiram, gave Solomon cedar trees, and fir trees,.... Ordered his servants to cut them down from Lebanon, and sent them to him in floats, which he received: [according to] all his desire; he had as many as he requested, and what he wanted.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat [for] food to his household,.... This measure was the Hebrew measure "cor", or "corus", and, according to Bishop Cumberland (e), its contents were 17,477 solid inches; it was equal to ten ephahs, each of which held two gallons and an half, and the cor held seventy five wine gallons five...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him,.... Which, among other things, appeared in his preparations for building the temple, and in his agreements with Hiram for timber and workmen for that purpose and by continuing and confirming friendship between himself and Hiram, who was so serviceable to him: and there was peace between Hiram...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel,.... Not of money, but of men, as follows: and the levy was thirty thousand men; for what purpose, and how they were employed, 1 Kings 5:14 shows.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses,.... In their turns; these are the servants of his he proposed to be with Hiram's servants, assisting in cutting down the trees, and squaring the timber in Lebanon, 1 Kings 5:6; a month they were in Lebanon, [and] two months at home; that they might not be overworked; for they wrought...