1 kings 5 and 6

Read 1 Kings 5 and 6 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions:

1 Kin 5:1 {s} King Hiram of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon/ for he had always loved David;
1 Kin 5:2-11 {p} Solomon contracted with King Hiram for cedar and cypress logs from Lebanon for the Lord’s house
1 Kin 5:12-14 {s} The Lord gave Solomon wisdom/ peace/ labor force of 30,000 for Lebanon
1 Kin 5:15-16 {s} Also 70,000 carried burdens + 80,000 quarried stone + 3300 chiefs over the labor force
1 Kin 5:17-18 {p} They quarried stones for the foundation of the temple/ prepared timber + stones to build
1 Kin 6:1-10 {p} Solomon built the temple and finished it, in the 480th year from deliverance from Egypt
1 Kin 6:11-13 {p} Walk in My commandments, and I will establish you, and I will dwell with Israel
1 Kin 6:14-7:12 {p} …

The strong themes:

1 Kin 4:22-5:11 {sx4+p} Solomon’s greatness in prosperity, dominion, wisdom, peace enabled him to build the temple
1 Kin 5:12-18 {s+s+p} The Lord gave Solomon wisdom + peace/ he raised a great labor force to build the temple
1 Kin 6:1-10 {p} Solomon built the temple and finished it, in the 480th year from deliverance from Egypt
1 Kin 6:11-13 {p} Walk in My commandments, and I will establish you, and I will dwell with Israel

The strong theme from 1 Kin 4:22-5:11 {sx4+p} led me to a chiastic structure:

1a) 1 Kin 2:28-4:21, The foundation laid for Solomon’s reign;

1 Kin 2:28-3:2 {s+s+p} Authority transferred from those who flaunted the king’s mercy, to those who submitted themselves to his will, thus Solomon’s kingdom established;
1 Kin 3:3-15 {s+p} The LORD granted Solomon wisdom + he worshiped the LORD with gratitude for His gift;
1 Kin 3:16-23 {p} Two women came before Solomon to judge between the dead and living child;
1 Kin 3:24-28 {s+p} Solomon’s wise judgment determined the real mother; all Israel heard it and feared him;
1 Kin 4:1-21 {sx22+p} Solomon was king over all Israel, even from Egypt to the Euphrates; his officials + governors;

(This section forms its own chiastic structure, the central axis is Solomon’s worship of the Lord in gratitude; practice working it out if you would like …)

1b) 1 Kin 4:22-34 {sx3} Solomon’s daily provision/ peace in Israel/ his horses + chariots/ his wisdom;

1) 1 Kin 4:22-23, Solomon’s daily provision;
2) 1 Kin 4:24-25 {s} Solomon’s dominion, for he had peace on every side/ Judah + Israel dwelt safely all his days;
3) 1 Kin 4:26, Solomon’s 40,000 horses + 12,000 chariots;
4) 1 Kin 4:27-28 {s} His governors provided food with no lack;
5) 1 Kin 4:29-34 {s} God gave Solomon great wisdom, so that there was none wiser than he in all the earth;

1c) 1 Kin 5:1a, Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, hearing that he was king in place of David;

central axis) 1 Kin 5:1b {s} For Hiram had always loved David;

2c) 1 Kin 5:2-10, Then Solomon sent to Hiram: contracted for timber for the house of the Lord;

2b) 1 Kin 5:11-16 {p+s+s} Solomon’s yearly provision for Hiram/ his wisdom/ peace between them/ his labor force;

1) 1 Kin 5:11 {p} Solomon’s yearly provision for King Hiram of Tyre;
5) 1 Kin 5:12a The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him;
2) 1 Kin 5:12b, There was peace between Hiram and Solomon/ their treaty;
3) 1 Kin 5:13-15, Solomon’s labor force of 180,000 who cut timber, carried burdens, quarried stone;
4) 1 Kin 5:16 {s+s} His governors over the labor force.

2a) 1 Kin 5:17-18 {p} They quarried stones for the foundation of the temple/ prepared timber + stones to build.

The central axis often isn’t what you might expect it to be, when you first begin working out a structure! Why would the phrase of Hiram’s love for David be the central axis? Hiram was king of Tyre, i.e., king of the Phoenicians in their home city (for the Phoenicians had established colonies for shipping and trading throughout the Mediterranean and beyond). The Phoenicians, moreover, were Canaanites! The firstborn son of Canaan, was Sidon, who was the father of the Sidonians, the Hebrew name for the Phoenicians (“Phoenician” is what the Greeks called them).

We see that the temple could not have been built without Hiram’s help. Solomon depended on timber from Lebanon, which was a Phoenician possession, and the expertise of the Phoenician skilled architects and master builders, to finish the temple. I think it is a prophetic picture of the partnership between Israel and the Gentiles, grounded in the shared love of David, a prophetic type of Messiah Yeshua, to build the place for the presence of the LORD to dwell among His people!

1 Kin chapter 6 also forms a chiastic structure:

1a) 1 Kin 6:1, In the 480th year after the deliverance from Egypt Solomon began to build the house of the Lord;

1b) 1 Kin 6:2-8, Description of the building of the house;

1c) 1 Kin 6:9-10 {p} So he built the temple and finished it + he paneled it with cedar;

central axis) 1 Kin 6:11-13 {p} Then the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying: “Concerning this temple which you are building, if you walk in My statutes, execute My judgments, keep all My commandments, and walk in them, then I will perform My word with you, which I spoke to your father David. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake My people Israel;”

2c) 1 Kin 6:14-15, So Solomon built the temple and finished it + its interior walls and paneling were of cedar;

2b) 1 Kin 6:16-36, Details of the construction of the house, and its design;

2a) 1 Kin 6:37-38, In the 4th regnal year he laid the foundation, finished in the 11th/ he was 7 years building it.