1 Kings 9:10 - Meaning and Application

We read earlier, in chapter 5, what agreement Solomon and Hiram made before the building work began. Here we see their friendly parting after the work was finished. Hiram kept his promise fully, supplying Solomon with all the materials he needed for his buildings, according to Solomon’s wishes, and also with gold (1 Kings 9:11, 15). He did not resent Solomon’s rising power or growing fame. Instead, he helped to honor him.

Solomon also kept his side of the agreement, no doubt giving Hiram food for his household, as had been arranged (1 Kings 5:9). But here we are told that Solomon gave him twenty cities in the land of Galilee besides that, probably small towns like the ones mentioned later (1 Kings 9:19). These cities may not have belonged to any of the tribes of Israel, because the border of Asher reached them (Joshua 19:27), which suggests they were not included in Asher’s territory. They likely remained in native hands until Solomon took them and then gave them to Hiram.

It is right for those who are great and good to be generous. Hiram came to inspect the cities and did not like them (1 Kings 9:12). He called the area the land of Cabul, a Phoenician word, according to Josephus, meaning “displeasing” (1 Kings 9:13). So he returned the cities to Solomon, as we see later (2 Chronicles 8:2). Solomon then rebuilt them and settled Israelites there, which suggests they had not lived there before. When Solomon received back what he had given away, he likely gave Hiram an equal value in something else.

What should we think of this? Did Solomon give Hiram something unworthy of his acceptance, or was Hiram too fussy and hard to please? It seems likely that neither was the case. The land was truly valuable, and so were the cities, but they did not suit Hiram’s way of life. The people of Tyre were merchants and sea traders. They lived in fine houses and grew rich through shipping, but they did not know how to value land suited for grain and pasture, work that was outside their normal concerns. So Hiram wanted Solomon to take the cities back. If Solomon would please him, let it be in the way Hiram understood best, by joining him in trade, as we later read (1 Kings 9:27).

Hiram, who was used to the clean streets of Tyre, could not bear the muddy lanes in the land of Cabul. Yet the best farmland often has the worst roads. We can see here how God’s providence fits the earth to the different tastes of people, and people to the different gifts of the earth, all for the good of humanity. Some enjoy farming and cannot see what sailors enjoy about a rough sea. Others love sailing and cannot understand what pleasure farmers find in a muddy country like the land of Cabul. We see the wisdom of the One who owns every soul and every land.