And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre.
Solomon's temple is going up, and the bronze work needs a craftsman. The king looks outside Israel, brings back a man from Tyre, and the record pauses to name him — so why does this one worker matter?
A reference work describes him, and notes that the two records of his mother's tribe do not match:
He was a skilled worker from Tyre, filled with wisdom and understanding. He was sent to make things for the temple. His father was a man of Tyre. In 2 Chronicles 2:14 he is called "the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan." But 1 Kings 7:14 reads "a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali," which may mean that her husband was a man of Naphtali. He is called Huram in 2 Chronicles 2:13.
God chose two Israelites to build the tabernacle in the wilderness, and no outsider shared the work. Solomon's temple is different:
In the wilderness the Lord had chosen Bezalel of Judah and Oholiab of Dan for the work of the tabernacle (Exodus 35:30-35). Then the work of the tabernacle had fallen to the children of Israel alone. The people, entirely separated from the nations, could have no work in common with them. The scene changes under Solomon: the reconciled nations now serve God together with His own people. The Lord's Anointed has dominion over them both. Hiram belonged to both by birth. His parentage came from the joining of Israel with the Gentiles — a remarkable fact that fits the scene before us exactly.
The temple record names only one builder, and that detail points forward:
Looking on to the temple, only one man is named as working — Hiram. His mother was Jewish and his father was a Gentile. He is surely a picture of the world to come: "And those who are far off shall come and build in the temple of the LORD" (Zechariah 6:15). Looking on further to the temple described for us in Ezekiel, not one person is mentioned as building there. Looking on further to the New Testament, where the spiritual house is brought into being, three Builders are named: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
God had the right man ready, and Chronicles lists far more than bronze work:
The Lord had prepared a suitable overseer for the work Solomon required. King Solomon sent and brought this man, Huram, from Tyre. His name was the same as the king of Tyre. In 2 Chronicles 2:13-14 much more is said about him. There he is "skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan that may be given him."
Gold filled the temple itself. Bronze — older translations call it brass — belonged to the outer court, and Hiram's work stopped there:
By divine righteousness we are able to stand before Him. We have it in Christ in heaven. Brass is the symbol of the righteousness of God, showing on earth what He is for sinful man. The furniture of the temple was made of gold. The furniture of the court was brass, and it had been cast in the earth. Hiram worked in brass only.
God prepared Hiram for work that no one else could match, and commentators see a picture in that:
We sometimes hear of a man who is "a jack of all trades, master of none," but here was a man who was a master of all trades. Certainly there would be nobody else who could approach his capabilities. God had specially prepared him for the purpose of building the temple. We surely see in him a picture of the Holy Spirit of God. The Spirit is perfectly skilled in every detail of the work of building God's house.
Hiram's finished work carried one meaning:
The work of Hiram ends here. It was, in type, the Holy Spirit's power unfolding in this world what Christ is and what God Himself is in His government.
- Sent for. Solomon looked outside Israel. He brought Hiram from Tyre to do the bronze work of the temple court.
- Mixed birth. His father was a man of Tyre, his mother an Israelite. Kings names Naphtali, Chronicles names Dan; her husband may have been the man of Naphtali.
- Widened work. Israelites alone built the tabernacle. The nations share in building the temple, because the Lord's Anointed rules over both.
- Only one name. The tabernacle has two named builders, the temple only one — and he belongs to both peoples. Those far off will come and build.
- The pattern. God prepared one man who was master of every craft — a picture of the Spirit, skilled in every detail of building God's house.
He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass; and he was full of wisdom and understanding and knowledge, to do all kinds of works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and made all his work.
Solomon sends to Tyre for the man who will cast the bronze work of the temple. The record then pauses to tell us who he was: his mother's tribe, his father's city, and the wisdom God gave him. That short biography raises three questions. Why does a foreigner's son handle the holy vessels? Why only one metal? And who does he picture?
Here his mother's tribe is Naphtali. In 2 Chronicles it is Dan. Writers treat this as a puzzle with an answer, not a contradiction:
Then Solomon sent and brought Hiram out of Tyre. This was not the king, but a master workman. His father was from Tyre. His mother was by birth of the tribe of Dan; she was a widow, and she had married a man of Naphtali. This reconciles an alleged discrepancy. In Chronicles he is called Huram. His correct name was probably Huram-abi ("abi" meaning "my father").
Israelites alone built the tabernacle. The temple is different, and Hiram's parentage marks the change:
In the wilderness the Lord had chosen Bezaleel of Judah and Aholiab of Dan for the work of the tabernacle. At that time the work of the tabernacle fell to the children of Israel alone. The people were completely separate from the nations and could have no work in common with them. The scene changes under Solomon: the nations, now reconciled, serve God together with His own people. The Lord's Anointed has dominion over them both. Hiram belonged to both by birth. The alliance of Israel with the Gentiles formed his parentage — a remarkable fact, and one that fits the scene before us.
This was more than a hiring decision. Fereday sees God's wider purpose for His house in it:
The two kings brought Israelite and Gentile together, and the skilled workman united both in one person. This reminds us again that when the Lord caused the temple to be built, He had Gentiles in mind for blessing as well as His people Israel. "Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from His people.' … these I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer … for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isaiah 56:3-7).
The verse does not say Hiram learned his trade; it says he was filled. Commentators read the whole range of his ability as a portrait:
We sometimes hear of a man who is "a jack of all trades, master of none," but here was a man who was a master of all trades. No one else could come near his ability. God had prepared him for this very purpose: building the temple. In him we see a picture of the Holy Spirit of God, who is fully skilled in every detail of the work of building God's house.
Two metals dominate the temple, and the verse assigns Hiram only one of them:
Gold is always the symbol of divine righteousness that brings us into God's presence. Because of divine righteousness we can stand before Him. We have it in Christ in heaven. Bronze is the symbol of the righteousness of God displaying upon earth what He is for sinful man. The furniture of the temple was made of gold. The furniture of the court was bronze, cast in the earth. Hiram worked in bronze only.
Hiram's work filled the court, outside the holy place, where everyone could see it. Rossier ties the picture together:
In a word, it is the righteousness of God, but shown to the outside world in His government. The furniture of the court shows us what is needed so that nothing hinders this display. The Spirit of God, whom Hiram represents, is occupied with this. So we find God opening His house so that we may dwell there with Him. Christ supplies us with the divine righteousness (the gold) we need for this. The Son, as King of Righteousness, shows the glory of His kingdom. And the Spirit acts so that this righteousness can be shown without hindrance before the eyes of all men on earth.
The craftsman shared the name of his king. One writer sees both sides of such an honour:
How suggestive it is of privileges given, and at the same time of responsibilities taken on.
- Filled — his skill came from God, not from training. God prepared him for this work before Solomon ever sent for him.
- Fitted — mother from Israel, father from Tyre. He belonged to both peoples, like the temple itself: Israel and the nations at work together.
- Focused — of the temple's two metals he handled only bronze. Bronze is righteousness shown on earth, in the open court, where people are.
- For all — the foreigner at the furnace is an early hint of the house called a house of prayer for all peoples.
- Followed by responsibility — he carried his king's name and his king's honour. Privilege given is privilege answered for.