1 Kings 5:18

1Ki 5:18 And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders did hew [them], and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

Ver. 18. And Hiram’s builders did hew them.] In Lebanon was the temple framed; in Zion set up: neither hammer nor axe was heard in that holy structure. There was nothing but noise in Lebanon; nothing in Zion, but silence and peace. Whatever tumults are abroad, it is fit - saith a right reverend writer {a} here - there should be all quietness and concord in the Church.

And the stone squarers.] Or Giblites, who were heathens, {Eze 27:9} neighbours to the Sidonians, worshippers of Adonis, saith Strabo, yet used about the holy temple. Ye may likewise make use of human learning in ecclesiastical exercises, but not for ostentation; for that is to make a calf of the treasure gotten out of Egypt.

{a} Dr Hall.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 5:18. Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s did hew them — It seemed Solomon’s servants learned of Hiram’s, or, at least, were directed by them to assist in the work. And the stone-squarers — Hebrew, the Giblites, the inhabitants of Gebal, a place near Zidon, mentioned Psa 83:7; Eze 27:9, famous for artificers and architects, Jos 13:5. These are here distinguished from the rest of Hiram’s builders, as the most eminent of them. So they prepared timber and stones to build the house — Made all ready, not only to lay the foundation, but to raise the superstructure.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

With Kg1 5:18 the account of the preparations for the building of the temple, which were the object of Solomon's negotiations with Hiram, is brought to a close. "Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders, even the Giblites, hewed and prepared the wood and the stones for the building of the house." The object to יפסלוּ is not the square stones mentioned before, but the trees (beams) and stones mentioned after ויּכנוּ. והגּבלים is to be taken as explanatory, "even the Giblites," giving a more precise definition of "Hiram's builders." The Giblites are the inhabitants of the town of Gebal, called Byblos by the Greeks, to the north of Beirut (see at Jos 13:5), which was the nearest to the celebrated cedar forest of the larger Phoenician towns. According to Eze 27:9, the Giblites (Byblians) were experienced in the art of shipbuilding, and therefore were probably skilful builders generally, and as such the most suitable of Hiram's subjects to superintend the working of the wood and stone for Solomon's buildings. For it was in the very nature of the case that the number of the Phoenician builders was only a small one, and that they were merely the foremen; and this may also be inferred from the large number of his own subjects whom Solomon appointed to the work.

(Note: Without any satisfactory ground Thenius has taken offence at the word והגּבלים, and on the strength of the critically unattested καὶ ἔβαλον αὐτούς of the lxx and the paraphrastic ἁρμόσαντας καὶ συνδήσαντας of Josephus, which is only introduced to fill in the picture, has altered it into ויּגבּילוּם, "they bordered them (the stones)." This he explains as relating to the "bevelling" of the stones, upon the erroneous assumption that the grooving of the stones in the old walls encircling the temple area, which Robinson (Pal. i. 423) was the first to notice and describe, "occurs nowhere else in precisely the same form;" whereas Robinson found them in the ancient remains of the foundations of walls in different places throughout the land, not only in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, viz., at Bethany, but also at Carmel on the mountains of Judah, at Hebron, Semua (Esthemoa), Beit Nusib (Nezib), on Tabor, and especially in the north, in the old remains of the walls of the fortification es Shukif, Hunn, Banias, Tyrus, Jebail (Byblus), Baalbek, on the island of Ruwad (the ancient Aradus), and in different temples on Lebanon (see Rob. Pal. ii. 101,198, 434,627; iii. 12,213, 214; and Bibl. Researches, p. 229). Bttcher (n. ex. Krit. Aehrenl. ii. p. 32) has therefore properly rejected this conjecture as "ill-founded," though only to put in its place another which is altogether unfounded, namely, that before והגּבלים the word הצּרים ("the Tyrians") has dropped out. For this has nothing further in its favour than the most improbable assumption, that king Hiram gathered together the subjects of his whole kingdom to take part in Solomon's buildings. - The addition of τρία ἔτη, which is added by the lxx at the end of the verse, does not warrant the assumption of Thenius and Bttcher, that שׁנים שׁלשׁ has dropped out of the text. For it is obvious that the lxx have merely made their addition e conjectura, and indeed have concluded that, as the foundation for the temple was laid in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, the preliminary work must have occupied the first three years of his reign.)

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

The Hebrew word is Giblim, which some say were excellent masons.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

and the stone squarers--The Margin, which renders it "the Giblites" (Jos 13:5), has long been considered a preferable translation. This marginal translation also must yield to another which has lately been proposed, by a slight change in the Hebrew text, and which would be rendered thus: "Solomon's builders, and Hiram's builders, did hew them and bevel them" [THENIUS]. These great bevelled or grooved stones, measuring some twenty, others thirty feet in length, and from five to six feet in breadth, are still seen in the substructures about the ancient site of the temple; and, in the judgment of the most competent observers, were those originally employed "to lay the foundation of the house."

Next: 1 Kings Chapter 6

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 18. And the stone-squarers] Instead of stone-squarers the margin very properly reads Giblites, הגבלים haggiblim; and refers to Eze 27:9, where we find the inhabitants of Gebal celebrated for their knowledge in ship-building. Some suppose that these Giblites were the inhabitants of Biblos, at the foot of Mount Libanus, northward of Sidon, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; famous for its wines; and now called Gaeta. Both Ptolemy and Stephanus Byzantinus speak of a town called Gebala, to the east of Tyre: but this was different from Gebal, or Biblos. It seems more natural to understand this of a people than of stone-squarers, though most of the versions have adopted this idea which we follow in the text.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(18) The stone-squarers.—This rendering is a curious gloss on the proper name, “Giblites” (see margin)—the inhabitants of Gebal (mentioned in Eze_27:9 in connection with Tyre, and probably in Psa_83:7), a city on the coast of Phœnicia—simply because the context shows that they were clever in stone-squaring. As they are distinguished from Hiram’s builders, it is possible that they were serfs under them, like the Canaanites under Solomon’s builders.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

18. and the stonesquarers] The text of A.V. is due to the Targum, which translates by ‘masons’. But the margin of A. V. suggests that the word is not a common but a proper noun and gives ‘Giblites’ as in Eze_27:9. This is certainly a much more natural combination, than to class along with the men of Solomon and the men of Hiram, the stone squarers as of a different order. In Ezekiel the men of Gebal are spoken of as skilled in caulking ships, and they were not improbably able handicraftsmen in other branches. Josephus gives us no help. He speaks merely of ‘workmen whom Hiram sent.’ But the Vulgate reads ‘Giblii’ as a proper name and in many MSS. Biblii or Byblii. In the Vatican LXX. the verse is left out, but the Alexandrine gives καὶ οἱ Βίβλιοι. Now Gebal was a Phœnician city not far from the sea coast, to the north of Berytus (Beyrout). The Greeks called it Byblos, but the name is found also spelt Βίβλος (Zosim. i. 58; Eze_27:9. LXX.). Thus the LXX. supports the proper name, which, to keep clear that it means the people of Gebal, we ought to write ‘the Gebalites.’ This has been adopted by R.V.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them,.... The stones; for it seems Solomon had not only hewers of wood, but of stone, from Hiram:

and the stonesquarers; or rather the Giblites, the men of Gebal, which were under the jurisdiction of Tyre, and were skilful in this sort of work, as some of them were in others, see Eze 27:9;

so they prepared timber and stones to build the house; both Solomon's and Hiram's builders, and the large number of workmen, both Israelites and strangers; which latter were an emblem of the Gentiles concerned in the building of the spiritual temple, the church of Christ, Zac 6:15; and whereas the number of strangers that wrought for the building was far greater than that of the Israelites, it may denote the greater number of Gentiles in the Gospel church state mentioned besides these: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year: so long as the building lasted, and the workmen were employed; but Abarbinel thinks that he gave it to him as long as he lived, out of his great munificence and liberality.

Next: 1 Kings Chapter 6

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The stone-squarers - The Gebalites (see the margin), the inhabitants of Gebal, a Phoenician city between Beyrout and Tripolis, which the Greeks called Byblus, and which is now known as Jebeil.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Giblians. Ezechiel (xxvii. 9,) commends them for building ships. Giblos of Gebal is supposed to be the town, which profane authors style Biblos, at the foot of Libanus. Ptolemy also mentions Gabala, to the east of Tyre. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The stone-squarers, Heb. the Gibites; the inhabitants of Gebel, a place near Zidon, named Psa 83:7; Eze 27:9, famous for artificers and architects, Jos 13:5. These are here mentioned apart, as distinct from the rest of Hiram’s builders, as the most eminent of them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

18. The stonesquarers — Rather, as in the margin, the Giblites, whose city, Gebal, lay on the seacoast, and whose land lay in the vicinity of Lebanon. See on Jos_13:5. According to Eze_27:9, they were skilled in ship building. In one of the ravines of Lebanon, which opens at the port of the ancient Gebal, Tristram discovered extensive cedar groves; and observes that the Giblites probably cut and launched at their own port cedars from this very valley, which would be far more accessible to them than those on the distant inland moraines and snow-covered heights.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Solomon"s builders and Hiram"s builders did hew them, and the stone squarers: the marg. Giblites, i.e., people of Gebal, is to be preferred. For Gebal (=mountain) see; Jos_13:5 ("the land of the Giblites and Lebanon" Psa_83:7 ("Gebal and they of Tyro" Eze_27:9, where the LXX translate the word Biblus, which was the Greek name of the city and district north of the famous river Adonis, on the extreme border of Phoenicia. It is now known as Jebeil. It has been already remarked that Tyre and Sidon, as well as Gebal, have Hebrew meanings. These are among the proofs of the practical identity of the Hebrew and Phoenician tongues. The Aramaean immigrants (Deu_26:5; Gen_12:5) no doubt adopted the language of Canaan (Dict. Bib., art. "Phoenicians"). Keil renders, "even the Giblites." He would understand, i.e. , that the Zidonian workmen were Giblites; but this is doubtful. The Giblites are selected, no doubt, for special mention because of the prominent part they took in the work. Gebal, as its ancient and extensive ruins prove, was a place of much importance, and lying as it did on the coast, and near the cedar forests, would naturally have an important share in the cutting and shipping of the timber. Indeed, it is not improbable that it was at this port that the land transport ended, and the rafts were made. A road ran anciently from Gebal to Baalbak, so that the transport was not impracticable. But as the forests were probably of great extent, there may have been two or three depots at which the timber was floated so they prepared timber Heb. the timber and stones Heb. the stones to build the house. The LXX (Vat. and Alex. alike) add here, three years. It is barely possible that these words may have dropped out of the text, but they look more like a gloss, the inference from the chronological statement of 1Ki_6:1.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Stone-squarers - Hebrew. the Giblites, the inhabitants of Gebel, a place near Zidon, famous for artificers and architects, Josh. xiii, 5. These are here mentioned apart, distinct from the rest of Hiram's builders, as the most eminent of them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.