I Kings 9:10-14 · Bible study
1 Kings 9:10-14 Commentary: Solomon's Project and Hiram's Displeasure
Hebrew · 9 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Examine Solomon's twenty-year building project, his gift of Galilee cities to Hiram, and what this reveals about royal priorities.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The twenty-year building project leads to a transfer of cities to Hiram, exposing the economic costs and relational strains of Solomon’s grand ambitions.
- Key words: twenty years (v.10), cities (v.11), Cabul (v.13, possibly “displeasing”), gold (v.14), my brother (v.13).
- Main debate: Was Solomon wise to give these cities, or did he violate God’s law on land inheritance? (Barnes vs. those who argue the cities were not part of the tribal allotment.)
- Theological theme: The tension between covenant faithfulness, land as a gift from God, and political expediency.
- Best use: A cautionary tale about the hidden costs of success and the importance of understanding the needs of those we deal with.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
10Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace,
11King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire.
12So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.
13“What are these towns you have given me, my brother?” asked Hiram, and he called them the Land of Cabul, as they are called to this day.
14And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold.
WEB World English Bible 2000
10At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built the two houses, Yahweh’s house and the king’s house
11(now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and cypress trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12Hiram came out of Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they didn’t please him.
13He said, “What cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” He called them the land of Cabul to this day.
14Hiram sent to the king one hundred twenty talents of gold.
KJV King James Version 1769
10And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord, and the king’s house,
11(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.
14And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
10And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king’s house
11(now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not.
13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.
14And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
10And it cometh to pass, at the end of twenty years, that Solomon hath built the two houses, the house of Jehovah, and the house of the king.
11Hiram king of Tyre hath assisted Solomon with cedar-trees, and with fir-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire; then doth king Solomon give to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12And Hiram cometh out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon hath given to him, and they have not been right in his eyes,
13and he saith, `What are these cities that thou hast given to me, my brother?' and one calleth them the land of Cabul unto this day.
14And Hiram sendeth to the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
10And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of Jehovah and the king's house,
11Hiram the king of Tyre having furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire, — that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him; and they did not please him.
13And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day.
14And Hiram had sent to the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
10And when twenty years were ended, after Solomon had built the two houses; that is, the house of the Lord, and the house of the king,
11(Hiram, the king of Tyre, furnishing Solomon with cedar trees, and fir trees, and gold, according to all he had need of) then Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
12And Hiram came out of Tyre, to see the towns which Solomon had given him, and they pleased him not;
13And he said: Are these the cities which thou hast given me, brother? And he called them the land of Chabul, unto this day.
14And Hiram sent to king Solomon a hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · I Kings 9:10
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The supplied commentaries agree on the basic chronology and transaction. The twenty years are counted from Solomon's fourth year: seven years for the temple (1 Kings 6:38) and thirteen for his own palace (1 Kings 7:1). As Barnes and the Cambridge Bible note, this passage records that Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in Galilee as payment for timber, cypress wood, and gold (the gold mentioned here does not appear in the earlier agreement of 1 Kings 5). Hiram came to inspect the cities, was displeased, and called them the land of Cabul, a name that stuck. After this apparent disappointment, Hiram still sent 120 talents of gold (approximately £720,000 by one standard, per Cambridge). Several commentators, including Matthew Henry and Gill, observe that Hiram's continued generosity suggests he was not mortally offended, though the cities themselves were refused and eventually restored to Solomon (2 Chronicles 8:2). The consensus is that this episode reveals the heavy cost of Solomon's building program and the tensions underlying even the most celebrated alliances.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Priority imbalance view: The temple took 7 years, the palace 13; the disparity suggests Solomon’s own house mattered more to him than God’s house (1 Kings 6:38; 7:1).
- Pragmatic alliance view: The trade of cities for timber and gold was a standard diplomatic payment; the timeline simply records the duration of the two projects without moral comment.
- Covenant concern view: Barnes points to Leviticus 25:13-34 as a law against alienating the land; Solomon's action may have violated that principle, whatever his intentions.
What is clear: Solomon built both houses over twenty years, transferred land to Hiram, and the transaction left Hiram dissatisfied — a fact preserved in the geography (Cabul) and later corrected when the cities were restored (2 Chronicles 8:2).
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Chronology of twenty years | All commentators agree the twenty years run from the fourth year of Solomon, comprising 7 for the temple and 13 for the palace. | Some (e.g., Matthew Henry) see the disparity as innocent accounting; others (e.g., Barnes) imply it reveals a potential misordering of priorities. |
| Meaning of the name Cabul | Everyone agrees it became the name of the region, recorded as such to the writer's day. | Is it a Phoenician word meaning “displeasing” (Barnes, margin) or a Hebrew word meaning “binding” (lexicon)? The LXX renders it “boundary,” suggesting a geographic term. |
| Legality of giving away Israelite cities | The transfer of land from Solomon to a foreign king is recorded as historical fact. | Barnes says the Law forbade it (Leviticus 25). Others (Poole, Gill) argue these cities were never part of the Israelite inheritance proper, so no law was broken. |
| Order of gold payment | Hiram sent 120 talents of gold to Solomon (v.14). | Gill reads the Hebrew verb as pluperfect (”had sent”), meaning the gold preceded the city gift. Others treat it as a later settlement or a separate loan. |
| Hiram’s ultimate disposition of the cities | Hiram was displeased and called them Cabul. | Did he return them immediately (2 Chronicles 8:2 mentions restoration) or retain them while complaining? Josephus (cited by Jamieson-Fausset-Brown) says he refused them; Clarke thinks he accepted the produce until paid and then returned them. |
Historical & Cultural Context
These verses land at a pivot point in Solomon's reign. The twenty-year count (1 Kings 6:37, 7:1) covers the two signature projects: Yahweh's house and the king's house. The temple took 7 years; the palace took 13, nearly double. The phrase "two houses" (v.10) makes them a matched set, but the time disparity hints at a shift in priorities that later prophets would lament.
Hiram of Tyre was a key ally. Earlier (1 Kings 5) he supplied timber for the temple in exchange for food for his household. Now gold enters the record (v.11), perhaps shipped from Ophir (1 Kings 9:28; 2 Chronicles 8:18). The twenty cities Solomon gave lay in Galilee, the northern region bordering Tyre. They were likely inland towns (Barnes suggests Hiram wanted the coastal port of Acco) and possibly not previously settled by Israelites (Joshua 19:27 puts the border of Asher near but not including them). This introduces a legal concern: Barnes notes that by the spirit of the Law (Leviticus 25:13-34), Solomon had no right to alienate the tribal inheritance. Nonetheless, worldly policy prevailed.
The name "Cabul" (v.13) is debated. The lexicon gives "binding" as a Hebrew meaning; Barnes and the marginal reading suggest a Phoenician word meaning "displeasing." The LXX translates it as horion ("boundary"). Hiram's disappointed tone, "What cities are these, my brother?", underscores the mismatch: a maritime king received inland territory. The gold sent in v.14 may be a separate payment (or the same gold mentioned in v.11 presented as final settlement). Gill reads the verb as pluperfect ("had sent"), meaning Hiram's gold preceded the city gift. The episode sets the stage for the forced labor levy described in v.15 and after, where Solomon's building ambitions pressed hard on his people.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants in the Masoretic tradition. The Septuagint adds a clarifying phrase at v.12: “and went into Galilee” (Cambridge Bible). The verse order is stable across Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions. The main differences among English translations (WEB, KJV, BSB, etc.) concern word order and the rendering of numbers, “sixscore talents” (KJV) vs. “120 talents” (WEB), but these do not reflect a variant in the underlying Hebrew text.
Reception History
Christian interpreters have read this passage in several ways. Matthew Henry (1710) emphasized Hiram’s continued generosity as a model of friendship despite disappointment. Gill (1748) argued that Hiram's reply was not contemptuous but a polite recognition that the cities were unsuitable for his maritime people, a matter of practical mismatch rather than insult. Barnes (1832) raised the legal concern about alienating the tribal inheritance, a note that Reformed commentators often applied as a warning against compromising God's commands for political gain. In the broader church tradition, the episode illustrates the hidden costs of wealth and alliance: even the wisest king can misjudge a gift, and even the firmest friendship can be tested by a transaction. The name “Cabul” remains a standing reminder that how a gift is received can change the story.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Seven and thirteen: The temple took seven years; the palace took thirteen. The disproportion asks us what we build first and longest.
- A gift refused: Solomon gave twenty cities, but Hiram was displeased. Good intentions do not guarantee a warm reception.
- Gold despite disappointment: Hiram still sent 120 talents. Relationships sometimes survive a transactional failure.
Five-point outline
- Counting the cost: Twenty years of the king's prime went into building two houses. (V.10)
- The alliance basket: Hiram supplied timber, gold, and more; Solomon paid in food and finally in land. (V.11)
- A king's inspection: Hiram traveled to see his new property and was not pleased. (V.12)
- Calling it Cabul: The name stuck, a memorial of disappointment. (V.13)
- The final payment: 120 talents of gold crossed from Tyre to Jerusalem, whether as loan, gift, or settlement. (V.14)
Illustration hooks
- A church that launches a building campaign but finds the local community using the space in ways the leaders never expected, leading to tension.
- A business owner who trades a piece of land to a partner in payment for services, only to have the partner complain the land is worthless, and the relationship goes cold.
- A parent who buys a gift for a grown child thinking it is perfect, only to hear "I wish you had asked me first."
Questions your congregation is asking
- Did Solomon sin by giving away Israelite cities to a foreign king?
- Why did Hiram reject the cities? Was he being ungrateful, or was there a genuine problem with the land?
- What does this story say about balancing church projects and personal ambitions?
Leading a Discussion
This passage lets us watch a moment of friction in an otherwise famous friendship. Solomon has finished his great building projects; now he must settle accounts with his ally Hiram. What seems like a generous gift turns out to be a disappointment. As you talk through these questions, pay attention to the assumptions each party carried, and how you carry similar assumptions in your own giving and receiving.
Discussion questions
- Read v.10. How many years did Solomon spend on the temple versus his own house? What difference, if any, does that make to you?
- What did Hiram provide for Solomon (v.11), and how did Solomon repay him? Why might Solomon have chosen to give cities rather than more gold or food?
- Hiram inspected the cities and was not pleased (v.12). What reasons do the commentaries suggest for his disappointment? Which seems most likely to you?
- The name "Cabul" remains “to this day” (v.13). What effect does naming a place like that have on the memory of the event?
- Hiram still sent 120 talents of gold (v.14). Does this change how you read his displeasure? Was he offended or not?
- Read the parallel in 2 Chronicles 8:1-2. How does the notice that Hiram restored the cities affect your understanding of what happened here?
- What does this episode teach about the risks of mixing friendship with business, even in the context of God’s work?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Kings 6:37 | The foundation of Yahweh’s house was laid in the fourth year, in the month Ziv. |
| I Kings 7:1 | Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. |
| I Kings 9:1 | When Solomon had finished the building of Yahweh’s house, the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, |
| II Chronicles 8:1 | At the end of twenty years, in which Solomon had built Yahweh’s house and his own house, |
| II Chronicles 8:18 | Huram sent him ships and servants who had knowledge of the sea by the hands of his servants; and they came with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and brought from there four hundred fifty talents of gold, and brought them to King Solomon. |
| Joshua 20:7 | They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. |
| I Kings 5:6 | Now therefore command that cedar trees be cut for me out of Lebanon. My servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say. For you know that there is nobody among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.” |
| I Kings 5:10 | So Hiram gave Solomon cedar timber and cypress timber according to all his desire. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke suggests Solomon did not give Hiram the twenty cities outright but rather granted him their produce until a debt was repaid, noting that 2 Chronicles says Hiram later restored them. He also flags uncertainty about the meaning of "Cabul" and describes the financial arrangement as very obscurely explained.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes counts the twenty years as the combined time for building the temple and Solomon’s own house. He observes that Solomon had no right under the Law to give away these cities, but worldly policy set the Law aside. Hiram was disappointed, wanting a harbor instead of mountain land, and the name Cabul means “displeasing.” Hiram sent a large gold gift to show he was not offended.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge commentary focuses on the puzzling name "Cabul" given to the twenty cities Solomon gave Hiram. While the name clearly marks the territory as unsatisfactory, no single explanation of its meaning is fully convincing—ancient translators, Josephus, and later Hebrew scholars all offered different guesses, from "boundary" to "not pleasing" to "muddy ground."
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill points out that the cities Solomon gave Hiram were likely David's conquests not yet inhabited by Israelites, giving Solomon the right to give them away. Hiram rejected them not because the land was poor, but because his trading people were unsuited to farming. Gill suggests the name Cabul may mean "as nothing" or "not pleasing."
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB notes that the cities Solomon gave Hiram lay in territory Israel had not previously conquered from the Canaanites. He presents the gift as payment for Hiram's help with the temple, though he also records the alternate view that the gold mentioned was forfeited over unsolved riddles the two kings exchanged.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch interprets "Cabul" as meaning "good for nothing" or "as nothing," reflecting Hiram's contempt for the twenty cities Solomon gave him. They suggest Hiram likely returned the land, and the gold he sent was a loan to fund Solomon's extensive building projects.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights that Hiram, instead of envying Solomon's success, freely supplied materials and gold to help magnify him. In Henry's view, this shows that a ruler honored by God need not be feared by neighbors. Solomon's extra gift of twenty cities is presented as a fitting act of generosity.