1 Kings 9:10-19 - At the end of twenty years

9:10-14

We now get a sign of things starting to not go well. Hiram had been on good terms with David, and then with Solomon, supplying him with much of the material for the building of the temple and the royal palace. However, things now start to break down. In return for his help, Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in Galilee. There is the question of whether Solomon had the right, in God’s eyes, to give away these towns. Whatever the case on that matter, Hiram was not pleased. The goods he had given to Solomon, including much gold, were truly valuable, but Hiram did not consider these twenty towns to be up to much at all. Hiram called the “Land of Kabul” (or Cabul, if you are reading ESV)., which means “good for nothing”. And they seem to have retained this title!

9:15-19

Solomon used a lot of forced labour in building the temple and the palace, along with other structures as well. Remember that Solomon had married Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh gave his daughter Gezer as a wedding gift, after he had captured it and set it on fire. So Gezer doesn’t actually seem that much better than the towns of Galilee.  However, Solomon rebuilt Gezer. Solomon was a master planner.