John Gill Commentary 1 Kings 5

And Hiram king of Tyre sent servants to 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 ^F19 Hirom, and by Eupolemus ^F20 Suron, as he is Huram in (2 Chronicles 2:3); and by Theophilus of Antioch ^F21 Hierom the son of Abelmalus, in the twelfth year of whose reign the temple was built:

for he had heard that they had anointed him, king in the room of his
father ;
that the Israelites had anointed him king:

for Hiram was ever a lover of David ;
a friend and ally of his; and we never read of the Tyrians being at war with him, or assisting any of his enemies.

FOOTNOTES:

• F19: Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 17, 18.
• F20: Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 33, 34.
• F21: Ad Antolyc. l. 3. p. 131, 132.

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 ^F23 appeals to the Tyrian archives for the genuineness of these letters that passed between Hiram and Solomon; and Eupolemus, an Heathen writer ^F24 has both this which Solomon sent to Hiram, and that which Hiram sent in answer to it, which agree with those in the sacred records:

saying :
as follows.

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: Antiqu. l. 8. c. 2. sect. 8.
• F24: Ut Supra. (Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 32, 34.)

You know how that David my father could not build an house
to 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 the wars which were about him on every side ;
or warriors, as the Targum, the Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, and Syrians:

until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet ;
made them subject and tributary to him, as he did at length, see (2 Samuel 7:1) (8:1) so the "Cetib", or textual reading, is; but the "Keri", or marginal reading, is, "under the soles of my feet"; that is, Solomon's, which agrees with what follows; it was true of both.

But now the Lord my God has 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, to discourage or hinder the prosecution of the good work he had in view.

And, behold, I purpose to build an house to the name of the
Lord my God
For his worship, and for his honour and glory:

as the Lord spoke to David my father ;
by the prophet Nathan, (2 Samuel 7:12 2 Samuel 7:13) ;

saying, your son whom I will set upon your throne in your room, he shall
build an house to my name ;
which was no small encouragement to Solomon to go about this work; in which he was a type of Christ, the builder of his temple, the church, see (Zechariah 6:12Zechariah 6:13) .