1 Kings 5:8

1Ki 5:8 And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: [and] I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

Ver. 8. I have considered.] Heb., Heard. A request is to be considered ere it be granted, lest men come in afterwards with the fool’s, Had I known. {a}

And concerning timber of fir.] Whereof there was much use made about the temple. {1Ki 6:15} Algum trees also were sent from Lebanon, {2Ch 2:8} which were a wood that is unknown to us, but most precious.

{a} ουκ ψμην.

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.

Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things . . . and I will do--The contract was drawn out formally in a written document (Ch2 2:11), which, according to JOSEPHUS, was preserved both in the Jewish and Tyrian records.

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

8. and Hiram sent to Solomon] The Chronicler says he answered in writing.

I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for] More literally (see R.V.): ‘I have heard the message which thou sentest to me.’ We need not with this literal rendering suppose Solomon’s to have been a verbal request.

There is also no need to insert the conjunction before the next clause (as in A.V.), Render, as in R.V., ‘I will do.’

concerning timber of fir] Josephus says ‘cypress’ and from the uses to which the wood is put, that seems the more probable rendering. Beside being employed in the Temple building, the tree בְּרוֹשׁ (b’rósh) is used in shipbuilding (Eze_27:5), for spear shafts (Nah_2:4), and for musical instruments (2Sa_6:5). It was a tall tree on which storks built their nests.

The LXX. has πεύκινος = pine wood, the Vulgate ligna abiegna, to which, no doubt, the ‘firwood’ of A.V. is due.

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 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 fir; or of cypress, as in Josephus's copy of this letter, and which grew on Lebanon (c); these were odorous, sound, and durable timber, especially the cedar, and therefore chosen by Solomon for building.

(c) Diodor. Sic. l. 19. p. 700.

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

Fir-trees. Some take these to be another species of cedars, as they say fir is too slender and corruptible; (Martin, &c.) and Solomon had not asked for it, ver. 6.; though he does in 2 Paralipomenon ii. 8, where (Haydock) the word is translated archeuthina, "juniper-trees," by the Septuagint and St. Jerome. (Calmet) --- Beroshim, is rendered fir-trees by Pagnin; box or cedars, &c., by others. The precise import of the Hebrew names of plants, animals, &c., is not sufficiently known. (Menochius) --- Fir is use by the best architects. (Virtuvius, ii. 9.) (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).

Hiram sent a letter, 2Ch 2:11.

Concerning timber of fir; which formerly was, and still is, very useful in most buildings. Others render the Hebrew word, pitch trees, or ash trees, or pine trees. To others it was a particular sort of cedars, and therefore comes under the general name of cedars, in Solomon’s message before related.

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

8. Timber of cedar, and… of fir — The fir tree is often mentioned in connection with the cedar. It was a lofty, ornamental tree that grew on Lebanon, (2Ki_19:23; Isa_60:13,) and was used in making ships, (Eze_27:5,) spears, (Nah_2:3,) and musical instruments, (2Sa_6:5.) The Hebrew name is berosh, (ברושׁ,) and may also designate the cypress or the pine. In 2Ch_2:8, almug trees are mentioned besides cedar and fir, clearly showing that Lebanon was noted for other kinds of celebrated wood besides the cedar. But the almug trees furnished by Hiram were of a quality inferior to those which Solomon subsequently obtained from Ophir. See on 1Ki_10:12.

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

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

Ver. 8. And Hiram sent to Solomon in writing, 2Ch_2:11. It is instructive to remember in connexion with this fact that, according to the universal belief of antiquity, the use of letters, i.e. , the art of writing, was communicated to the Greeks by the Phoenicians. Gesenius, indeed, holds that the invention of letters is also due to them. See the interesting remarks of Mr. Twisleton, Dict. Bib. 2. pp. 866-868, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest unto me for Heb. heard the things (i.e., message) which thou sentest unto me: and I will do all thy desire concerning Heb. in, i.e., as to timber (or trees ) of cedar Heb. cedars and timber of fir Heb. trees of cypresses. This is, perhaps, the proper place to inquire what. trees are intended by the words zra and vwrB, here respectively translated" cedar" and "fir." As to the first, it is impossible to restrict the word to the one species (Pinus cedrus or Cedrus Libani) which is now known as the cedar of Lebanon, or, indeed, to any single plant. That the Cedrus Libani, one of the most magnificent of trees, is meant in such passages as Ezekiel 31., Psa_92:12, etc., admits of no manner of doubt. It is equally clear, however, that in other passages the term "cedar" must refer to some other tree. In Num_19:6, and Lev_14:6, e.g., the juniper would seem to be meant. "The cedar could not have been procured in the desert without great difficulty, but the juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus) is most plentiful there." (The "cedar" of our pencils, it may be remarked, is a kind of juniperJuniperus Bermudiana. ) In, Eze_27:5, "they have taken cedars of Lebanon to make masts for thee," it is probable that the Pinus Halepensis, not, as was formerly thought, the Scotch fir (Pinus sylvestris) is intended. The Cedrus Libani appears to be indifferently adapted to any such purpose, for which, however, the Pinus Halepensis is eminently fitted. But in the text, as throughout ch. 5-8., the reference, it can hardly be doubted, is to the Cedrus Libani. It is true the wood of this species is neither beautiful nor remarkably durable. Dr. Lindley calls it the "worthless, though magnificent cedar," but the former adjective, however true it may be of English-grown cedar, cannot justly be applied to the tree of the Lebanon mountain. The writer has some wood in his possession, brought by him from the Lebanon, and though it has neither fragrance nor veining, it is unmistakably a hard and resinous wood. And it should be remembered that it was only employed by Solomon in the interior of the temple, and was there, for the most part, overlaid with gold, and that the climate of Palestine is much less destructive than our own. There seems to be no sufficient reason, therefore, for rejecting the traditional and till recently universal belief that the Cedrus Libani was the timber chosen for the temple use. Mr. Houghton, in Smith"s Dict. Bib., vol. 3. App. A. p. 40., who speaks of it "as being kat ejxochn, the firmest and grandest of the conifers," says at the same time that "it has no particular quality to recommend it for building purposes; it was probably therefore not very extensively used in the construction of the temple." But no other tree can be suggested which better suits the conditions of the sacred narrative. The deodara, which has found favour with some writers, it is now positively stated, does not grow near the Lebanon. It may be added that, under the name of Eres, the yew was probably included. The timber used in the palaces of Nineveh, which was long believed to be cedar, is now proved to be yew (Dict. Bib., art. "Cedar"). However it is certain that zra is a nomen generale which includes, at any rate, the pine, the cedar, and the juniper, in confirmation of which it may be mentioned that at the present day, "the name arz is applied by the Arabs to all three" (Royle, in Kitto"s Cyclop., art. "Eres").

The Grove of Cedars now numbers about 450 trees, great and small. Of these about a dozen are of prodigious size and considerable antiquity, possibly carrying us back (as the natives think) to the time of Solomon. Their precise age, however, can only be a matter of conjecture.

The identification of the "fir" is even more precarious than that of the cedar. Celsius would see in this the true cedar of Lebanon. Others identify it with the juniper (Juniperus excelsa) or with the Pinus Halepensis, but most writers (among whom are Keil and Bahr) believe the evergreen cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) to be intended. Very probably the name Berosh comprehended two or three different species, as the cypress, the juniper, and the savine. The first named grows even near the summits of the mountain. Bahr says it is inferior to cedar (but see above). According to Winer, it is well fitted for building purposes, as" it is not eaten by worms, and is almost imperishable and very light." It is certainly of a harder and closer grain, and more durable than the Cedrus Libani.

It shows the brevity of our account that Solomon has not mentioned his desire for "fir" as well as" cedar." This is disclosed in Hiram"s reply, and in the parallel passage of the chronicler. It is also to be noticed that in the text the request for materials is more prominently brought to view, while in Chronicles the petition is for workmen.

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

And the barley and the straw. Were provided by these officers in the place where the king would be.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.