Now Hiram king of Tyre
Hiram, the king of Tyre, represents a significant figure in the ancient Near East. Tyre was a prominent Phoenician city known for its wealth and skilled artisans. The mention of Hiram highlights the international recognition and respect that David commanded as the newly established king of Israel. Historically, Tyre was a hub of trade and craftsmanship, and Hiram's alliance with David signifies a diplomatic relationship that would have been beneficial for both kingdoms. This alliance also foreshadows the later collaboration between Hiram and Solomon, David's son, in building the Temple in Jerusalem.

sent envoys to David
The sending of envoys indicates a formal diplomatic gesture, suggesting that Hiram recognized David's authority and sought to establish a peaceful and mutually beneficial relationship. In the ancient world, such envoys were often used to negotiate treaties, trade agreements, or alliances. This act of sending envoys underscores the political acumen of both Hiram and David, as they sought to strengthen their respective kingdoms through cooperation.

along with cedar logs
Cedar wood was highly prized in the ancient Near East for its durability, pleasant aroma, and resistance to decay. The cedars of Lebanon, in particular, were renowned and often used in significant construction projects, including temples and palaces. The gift of cedar logs from Hiram to David symbolizes not only a gesture of goodwill but also the provision of high-quality materials for building a lasting and impressive structure. This reflects the importance of the palace as a symbol of David's established reign and God's blessing upon him.

carpenters, and stonemasons
The inclusion of skilled laborers such as carpenters and stonemasons emphasizes the quality and craftsmanship involved in constructing David's palace. These artisans from Tyre were likely among the best in the region, known for their expertise in working with wood and stone. This collaboration highlights the blending of Israelite and Phoenician skills and resources, resulting in a structure that would stand as a testament to David's reign and God's provision.

and they built a palace for David
The construction of a palace for David marks a significant moment in his kingship, symbolizing stability, permanence, and the establishment of Jerusalem as the political and spiritual center of Israel. The palace serves as a physical representation of God's promise to David, affirming his role as the chosen king. In a broader theological context, the building of the palace can be seen as a precursor to the construction of the Temple by Solomon, further solidifying Jerusalem's central role in God's plan for His people. This verse, therefore, not only recounts a historical event but also points to the unfolding of God's covenantal promises to David and his descendants.

(11) Hiram king of Tyre.--This is the same Hiram, variously spelt Hirom and Huram, who was afterwards the friend of Solomon (1Kings 5:1; 2Chronicles 2:3),and was still living in the twenty-fourth year of Solomon's reign (1Kings 9:10-14; comp. 6:1, 38; 7:1); either, therefore, he must have had a reign of some fifty-seven years, or else his embassy to David must have been some time after the capture of Jerusalem. It is not unlikely that several years may have elapsed between the two events, during which "David went on and grew great" (2Samuel 5:10), thereby attracting the attention and regard of Hiram. But the statement quoted by Josephus from Menander (100 Apion, i. 18) cannot be correct, that Hiram reigned only thirty-four years; for David was already in his "house of cedar" (2Samuel 7:2) when he formed the purpose of building the Temple, and this was before the birth of Solomon (2Samuel 7:12; 1Chronicles 22:9). Huram's father, however, was also named Huram (2Chronicles 2:13). . . . Verse 11. - Hiram King of Tyre. At first sight it seems as if the Hiram who so greatly aided Solomon in the building of the temple was the same person as David's friend (1 Kings 5:10; 2 Chronicles 2:3), but this identification is disproved by the express statement in 2 Chronicles 2:13, and by the chronology. For granting that this account of Hiram's embassy occurs in a general summary, yet David would not long defer the erection of a palace, and in the history of Bathsheba we find, as a matter of fact, that it was then already built (2 Samuel 11:2). But as Solomon was grown to manhood at his father's death, David's sin must have been committed not more than nine or ten years after he became king of all Israel. Now, we are told by Josephus ('Contr. Apion,' 1:18), on the authority of Menander of Ephesus, that Hiram reigned in all thirty years. But in 1 Kings 9:10-13 we have an account of a transaction with Hiram in Solomon's twentieth year. In another place ('Ant.,' 8:03. 1) Josephus tells us that Hiram had been King of Tyre eleven years when Solomon, in the fourth year of his reign, began the building of the temple. He would thus have been a contemporary of David for only the last seven or eight years of his reign. But the history of this embassy is given as a proof of David's establishment in his kingdom, and cannot therefore be referred to so late a period in his lifetime, when it would have lost its interest. The improbability of two successive kings having the same name is not, after all, so very great, especially as we do not know what the word Hiram, or Haram, exactly means. Nor is Menander's statement conclusive against it, where he says that Hiram's father was named Abibal - "Baal is my father." This would probably be an official name, borne by Hiram as the defender of the national religion, or as a priest king. There is, therefore, no real reason for rejecting the statement in 2 Chronicles 2:13 that Hiram, or as he is there called Huram, David's friend, was the father of the Huram who was Solomon's ally. Cedar trees. Cedar wood was greatly valued both for its fragrance and durability, owing to the resin which it contains preserving it from the attacks of insects. Its colour also is soft and pleasing to the eye, as may be seen in the Jerusalem Chamber in Westminster Abbey, the panels of which are of cedar. It did not grow in the Antilibanus, or eastern part of Lebanon, which belonged to Israel, but only in the western part, which belonged to Tyre. Cedar from the time of David became the favourite material at Jerusalem for the interior of houses (Jeremiah 22:14), and Isaiah charges the people of Samaria with pride for not being content with the native sycomores which had satisfied their fathers, but substituting for it this costly foreign timber (Isaiah 9:10). Carpenters and masons. The necessity of importing "workers of wood, and workers of stone for walls," as the words literally mean, proves how miserable was the social state of Israel in David's time. Though they had been slaves in Egypt, yet at the Exodus the Israelites had men capable of working in the precious metals and jewelry, in weaving and embroidery, in wood carving, and even in the cutting of gems (Exodus 35:30-35). During the long anarchy of the judges they had degenerated into a race of agricultural drudges, whom the Philistines had debarred from the use of even the simplest tools (1 Samuel 13:19). Possibly in Saul's time there was a faint restoration of the arts of civilized life (2 Samuel 1:24); but when we find Joab killing Absalom, not with darts, but with pointed stakes (2 Samuel 18:14), the weapons probably of most of the foot soldiers, we see that not much had been done even then in metallurgy; and here earlier in his reign David has to send to Tyre for men who could saw a plank or build a wall. When, then, we call to mind the high state of culture and the magnificence of Solomon's reign, we can form some idea of the vigour with which David raised his subjects from a state of semi-barbarism.

Parallel Commentaries ...


King
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

Hiram
חִירָ֨ם (ḥî·rām)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 2438: Hiram -- a Benjamite, also two Arameans (Syrians)

of Tyre
צֹ֥ר (ṣōr)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 6865: Tyre -- a Phoenician city

sent
וַ֠יִּשְׁלַח (way·yiš·laḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7971: To send away, for, out

envoys
מַלְאָכִים֮ (mal·’ā·ḵîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 4397: A messenger, of God, an angel

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

David,
דָּוִד֒ (dā·wiḏ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse

along with cedar
אֲרָזִ֔ים (’ă·rā·zîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 730: A cedar tree

logs,
וַעֲצֵ֣י (wa·‘ă·ṣê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

carpenters,
וְחָרָשֵׁ֣י (wə·ḥā·rā·šê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2796: A fabricator, any material

and stonemasons,
וְחָֽרָשֵׁ֖י (wə·ḥā·rā·šê)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2796: A fabricator, any material

and they built
וַיִּבְנֽוּ־ (way·yiḇ·nū-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 1129: To build

a palace
בַ֖יִת (ḇa·yiṯ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1004: A house

for David.
לְדָוִֽד׃ (lə·ḏā·wiḏ)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1732: David -- perhaps 'beloved one', a son of Jesse


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OT History: 2 Samuel 5:11 Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers (2Sa iiSam 2 Sam ii sam)