1 Kings 9:14

1Ki 9:14 And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.

Ver. 14. And Hiram sent to the king.] Miserat autem, so Vatablus rendereth it, And Hiram had sent. &c., sc., before the offer of those twenty cities.

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.

For his tribute toward the building.

The common talent was about threescore pounds weight.

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

Verse 14. Sixscore talents of gold.] This was the sum which Hiram had lent, and in order to pay this Solomon had laid a tax upon his people, as we afterward learn. The whole is very darkly expressed.

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

(14) Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.—The payment, on any calculation, was a large one, though little more than a sixth of Solomon’s yearly revenue. (See 1Ki_10:14.) How it is connected with the previous verses is matter of conjecture. It may possibly be a note referring back to 1Ki_9:11, and explaining the amount of gold which Hiram had sent. If this is not so, it would then seem to be a payment in acknowledgment of the cession of the cities, as being of greater value than the debt which it was meant to discharge. Hiram’s depreciation of the cities need not imply that he did not care to keep them. “It is naught, it is naught, saith the buyer: but when he is gone his way, then he boasteth.” (Pro_20:14). Josephus (Ant. viii. 5, 3), has a quaint story in connection with this intercourse between Hiram and Solomon (quoted from Dios), declaring that a contest in riddles took place between these kings, and that, when Hiram could not solve the riddles of Solomon, he “paid a large sum of money for his fine,” but adds that he afterwards retaliated on Solomon, by aid of Abdemon of Tyre. It appears by 2Ch_7:2, that the cities were afterwards restored to Israel—how, and why, we know not.

(15 28) The rest of the chapter consists of brief historical notes, partly referring back to the previous records. Thus, 1Ki_9:15 refers back to 1Ki_5:13; 1Ki_9:20-22 to 1Ki_5:15; 1Ki_9:24 to 1Ki_7:8; 1Ki_9:25 is a note connected with the history of the dedication of the Temple. The style is markedly different from the graphic and picturesque style of the passages preceding and following it.

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

And this is the reason of the levy which King Solomon raised,.... Both of men to work, Kg1 5:13, and of money to defray the expense:

it was for to build the house of the Lord; the temple:

and his own house; or palace:

and Millo; which he repaired: See Gill on Sa1 5:9.

and the wall of Jerusalem; which, as Abarbinel says, was a large building, there being three walls one within another:

and Hazor; a city in the tribe of Naphtali, and which had been a royal city with the Canaanites; see Jos 11:1.

and Megiddo; which was in the tribe of Manasseh, Jos 17:11.

and Gezer; which was in the tribe of Ephraim, and formerly a royal city of the Canaanites, Jos 10:33.

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

Hiram sent sixscore talents of gold - Apparently, to show that, although disappointed, he was not offended. The sum sent was very large - above a million and a quarter of our money, according to one estimate of the weight of the Hebrew gold talent; or about 720,000 according to the estimate adopted in Exo 38:24-29 note. At any rate, it was more than equal to a sixth part of Solomon’s regular revenue 1Ki 10:14.

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

Or rather, for Hiram had sent. And this seems to be here added, both to declare the quantity of the gold sent, which had been only named before, 1Ki 9:11, and as the reason why he resented Solomon’s action so ill, because so great a sum required a better recompence.

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

14. Hiram sent… gold — Probably not as a present, but as a loan; and the verse may be regarded as a fuller statement of his furnishing Solomon with gold, which is more briefly noticed in 1Ki_9:11. In view of the vast profusion of gold with which Solomon adorned the temple and the palace, and other works throughout his whole kingdom, we need not wonder that he gathered gold from all possible quarters.

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

And Hiram sent jl must be understood as pluperfect, Now Hiram had sent," referring to verse 11. This fact is mentioned to explain the gift of the cities, viz., that they were in payment for the gold he had furnished. The timber and stone and labour had been paid for in corn and wine and oil (See on 1Ki_5:11) to the king sixscore talents of gold.

This sum is variously estimated at from half a million to a million and a quarter of our money. (Keil, in loc., and Dict. Bib. 3:1734. It equalled 3000 shekels of the sanctuary. (Exo_38:24-26) Keil, who, as we have seen, interprets Cabul to mean pledged, says somewhat positively that these 120 talents were merely lent to Solomon to enable him to prosecute his undertakings, and that the twenty cities were Hiram"s security for its repayment. He further sees in the restoration of these cities (2Ch_8:2, where see note) a proof that Solomon must have repaid the amount lent him. The "sixscore talents "should be compared with the 120 talents of ch. 10:10, and the 666 talents of 1Ki_10:14.

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

Sent - And this seems to be here added, both to declare the quantity of the gold sent, which had been only named before, ver. 11, and as the reason why he resented Solomon's action, because so great a sum required a better recompense.

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