John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 6. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedars out of Lebanon , etc.] That is, order his servants to cut them down there for him.
Some think that Lebanon belonged to the land of Israel, and therefore Solomon did not ask for the cedars upon it, but for his servants to hew them for him; but as it lay upon the borders of Israel, part of it might belong to them, and another part to Hiram, and on which the best cedars might grow, and so he furnished Solomon both with trees, and men to cut them, as it seems from ( 1 Kings 5:10); see also ( 2 Chronicles 2:3,8); and my servants shall be with thy servants : to assist them, and to carry the timber from place to place, and to learn how to hew timber: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants, according to all that thou shalt appoint ; pay them for their work and service, as Hiram himself should judge fit and reasonable for them; no mention being made of paying for the timber, seems to countenance the notion that the trees were Solomon’s; but when the quantity of provisions sent yearly to Hiram for his household, besides what the servants had, is observed, it seems to have been sent as an equivalent to the timber received by Solomon, (see Kings 5:10,11); for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians ; it is not said Tyrians, the Sidonians, perhaps, being more skilful in this than they were; and the Sidonians are said by Homer to be poludaidaloi , very ingenious: and they were both under the jurisdiction and at the command of Hiram; so Eupolemus f75 makes the inscription of Solomon’s letter to him to run thus, to Suron (that is, Hiram) king of Tyre, Sidon, and Phoenicia. The Jews being chiefly employed in husbandry, and in feeding cattle, were very unskilful in mechanic arts, and in this of cutting down trees, and hewing timber; for there is skill to be exercised therein; the proper time of cutting down trees should be observed, the part in which they are to be cut, and the position in which they are to be put when cut down, as Vitruvius directs, with other things, and Pliny observes the same.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-9 - Here is Solomon's design to build a temple. There is no adversary, n Satan, so the word is; no instrument of Satan to oppose it, or to divert from it. Satan does all he can, to hinder temple work. When there is no evil abroad, then let us be ready and active in that whic is good, and get forward. Let God's promises quicken our endeavours And all outward skill and advantages should be made serviceable to the interests of Christ's kingdom. It Tyre supplies Israel with craftsmen Israel will supply Tyre with corn, Eze 27:17. Thus, by the wis disposal of Providence, one country has need of another, and is benefitted by another, that there may be dependence on one another, to the glory of God.
Original Hebrew ועתה6258 צוה6680 ויכרתו3772 לי ארזים730 מן4480 הלבנון3844 ועבדי5650 יהיו1961 עם5973 עבדיך5650 ושׂכר7939 עבדיך5650 אתן5414 לך ככל3605 אשׁר834 תאמר559 כי3588 אתה859 ידעת3045 כי3588 אין369 בנו אישׁ376 ידע3045 לכרת3772 עצים6086 כצדנים׃6722
