Hiram the king of Tyre having furnished Solomon with cedar-trees and cypress-trees, and with gold, according to all his desire, -- that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
Hiram of Tyre had kept Solomon's building works going for twenty years, and Solomon settled the account with twenty towns in Galilee. The transfer raises a sharp question: could a king of Israel hand any part of the land over to a foreign ruler at all?
The payment covered more than timber.
Besides supplying Solomon with timber, he also gave him gold; this amounted to 120 talents of gold. Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in Galilee. When he came to look at them, he was not pleased with them. He called them Cabul, which probably means "as nothing." Solomon may have given these cities to King Hiram for the gold he had received from him. Hiram later gave the cities back to Solomon, most likely after Solomon had paid back the gold Hiram had supplied.
These twenty towns were the seed of a region that would later carry a very different name.
Hiram had helped freely with the temple and with the king's house. At the end of the twenty years of building, Solomon gave him a territory of twenty cities in the land of Galilee. This was the seed of what was later called "Galilee of the nations" (Isaiah 9:1; Matthew 4:15). At first the territory was part of the borders of Naphtali. Later it spread to include the area of Zebulun, all of "Upper Galilee," reaching to the Sea of Tiberias by way of Capernaum.
Solomon made a transfer he had no right to make. Israel held the land from God on terms that ruled out permanent sale.
Solomon did not have God's approval in giving away these cities. The Lord had said before, "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me" (Leviticus 25:23). Solomon had no right to give away the least part of the land, for it did not belong to him: it belongs to God.
The same writer asks what this means for believers today:
Can we today give away any part of the inheritance God has given to believers "in heavenly places"? The inheritance belongs first of all to the Lord Jesus, and in grace He shares it with us (Ephesians 1:9-11). We are not free to give away any part of it.
Hiram looked over his payment and gave the district a name meaning "amounting to nothing." One writer takes his reaction as typical of how the world treats what Christians value.
Hiram was unable to appreciate what had great value in the eyes of Solomon and of any Israelite. He said, "What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?" And he called them the land of Cabul (amounting to nothing) to this day (v. 13). He gave them this name because "they did not please him." So it always is. The world may act with the best intentions, like Hiram. But when it merely has the use of those good things of Christianity that are our joy — that is, without faith — it finds no delight in them. These things weary the world; they count for nothing in its life. No doubt the world will keep them so that it can boast at times of having them. But it cannot keep them as they first were.
Compare this passage with 2 Chronicles 8 and you meet a puzzle. There, Hiram gives cities to Solomon.
The territory of the promised land never had any value for the world. Solomon, for his part, committed real unfaithfulness in taking away Jehovah's land. Chronicles, as always, passes his sin over in silence. Instead of Solomon giving cities to Huram, in verse 2 we see Huram giving cities to Solomon. A day is coming when the world — Tyre stands for the world in the Word — will come with its riches. It will admit that it owes tribute to Christ, and it will offer its finest cities as homes for the children of Israel.
Hiram's verdict was not the last word on this district.
Hiram called these cities the land of Cabul, which means "as of nothing" or worthless. That is what he thought about Galilee. He did not mind sharing in the splendour of Solomon's house and outward glory. But he counted the reproach of Galilee as worthless. Into these conditions came the Lord Jesus. He grew up in Nazareth in poverty.
- Debt — Twenty Galilean towns paid Hiram for the timber and gold he supplied over twenty years of building. He later gave them back.
- Deed — The land belonged to the Lord and was never for permanent sale. Solomon had no right to sign any of it away.
- Disdain — Hiram looked at his payment and called it Cabul, "amounting to nothing." That is still the world's verdict on what faith values most.
- Difference — Chronicles turns the picture round: there Hiram gives cities to Solomon. It points to the day when the nations bring their riches to Christ.
- Dignity — The district called worthless became Galilee of the nations. There the Lord Jesus grew up in poverty.
And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him; and they did not please him.
Solomon had just finished twenty years of building, and he paid Hiram, the king of Tyre, with land — twenty towns in Galilee. Hiram came to inspect them and was not pleased, which raises two questions: was the land Solomon's to give, and why did he see nothing in it?
Hiram's help had been substantial, and Solomon settled the account with land.
Solomon finished building his houses in 20 years, and to thank Hiram for his great help in supplying timber and gold for the temple, Solomon gave Hiram 20 cities in the land of Galilee (vs.10-11). But these cities did not please Hiram (v.12). He let Solomon know they were less than pleasing. He does not seem to have refused them; he only asked, "What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?" (vs.11-12). He named them "Cabul" which means "good for nothing."
A Bible dictionary gives the name a second sense and records how the deal ended.
King of Tyre, who loved David and was a friend of Solomon. Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee, but Hiram was not pleased with them. He called them, in Aramaic, CABUL — 'displeasing or dirty' — and in the end the cities went back to Solomon.
One writer ties the return to money: the cities "were later restored to Solomon by Hiram, most likely after Solomon had paid back the gold Hiram had furnished" (Arno Clemens Gaebelein).
This was not a neutral business deal. Solomon was handing over property that was not his.
Solomon certainly did not have God's approval in giving away these cities. The Lord had already said, "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me" (Lev. 25:23). Solomon had no right to give away the least part of the land, for it did not belong to him: it belongs to God. Can we today give away any part of the inheritance God has given to believers "in heavenly places"? First of all, that inheritance belongs to the Lord Jesus, who in His grace shares it with us (Eph. 1:9-11). We are not free to give away any part of it.
The record in Chronicles does not match this one.
It is a remarkable fact that the book of Chronicles says nothing about this gift. For reasons given earlier, Chronicles never shows a king doing wrong unless the wrong has to be mentioned to make the history clear. Instead, it puts another account in its place: the "cities which Huram had given to Solomon." Solomon built and fortified them, and then gave them to the children of Israel to live in (2 Chr. 8:1-7). So in 1 Kings Solomon makes God's inheritance smaller; in 2 Chronicles he makes it larger.
Hiram was not hostile. He simply could not value what an Israelite valued. The same thing happens still.
Hiram could not value what meant so much to Solomon and to every Israelite… It is always so. The world may act with the best of intentions, as Hiram did. But when it merely has the use of those good things of Christianity that are our joy — that is, without faith — it finds no delight in them. These things weary the world; they count for nothing in its life. No doubt the world will keep them, so that it can boast at times of having them. But it cannot keep them in their original purity… The Christian who gives up the least part of his inheritance to the world in order to seem broad-minded gains nothing. He will only see his own character cheapened, his religion despised, and in the end shame brought upon God Himself.
The region Hiram dismissed had a future he could not see.
He gave him twenty cities in the region of Galilee. In 1 Kings 9:10-14 Hiram came to look at them. He called them the land of Cabul, which means "as of nothing" or worthless. That is what he thought about Galilee. He had no problem being linked with Solomon in the splendour of his house and outward glory. But he counted Galilee, with its shame, as worth nothing. Into these conditions came the Lord Jesus. He was brought up in Nazareth in poverty.
The loss was not the last word.
What is even more significant is that this territory was given up to a nation sinking deeper and deeper into idol worship, until the whole land came to be called "Galilee of the nations." Still, it was there that God's grace began to be revealed through the ministry of the Lord. So, a thousand years after Solomon, grace repaired his fault.
- Given — Solomon paid Hiram twenty Galilean towns for timber and gold. Hiram looked at them and was not pleased.
- Named — He called them Cabul, "good for nothing," and the name stuck to the whole district.
- Not his to give — The land was God's, not Solomon's. No part of it could be sold, and Chronicles leaves the episode out.
- Valued by faith alone — What is precious to God's people looks worthless to a world without faith.
- Redeemed — Christ came to the region written off as worthless, and there grace repaired Solomon's fault.
And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul to this day.
Solomon had just finished twenty years of building, and he repaid Hiram of Tyre with twenty cities in Galilee. Hiram came to look, disliked what he saw, and gave the district a name that stuck — so why did the gift disappoint him, and did Solomon have any right to give it?
Hiram's name for the cities was a verdict, and it stuck. A reference work explains where it came from and what it meant:
This is the name Hiram king of Tyre gave to the twenty cities in Galilee that Solomon gave him, because they did not please him. 1 Kings 9:13. Josephus says that in the Phoenician language the word meant "what does not please." It seems Hiram returned them to Solomon.
He did not hand the cities back on the spot. One writer reads his question as a complaint, not a refusal:
These cities did not please Hiram. He let Solomon know that they were less than pleasing. Yet he did not seem to refuse them. He only asked, "What kind of cities are these that you have given me, my brother?" He named them "Cabul," which means "good for nothing."
The deeper fault lies with Solomon, not with Hiram. One law about who owns the land explains why, and it reaches believers today:
Solomon did not have God's approval in giving away these cities. The Lord had already said, "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me" (Lev. 25:23). Solomon had no right to give away the least part of the land. It did not belong to him: it belongs to God. Can we today give away any part of the inheritance God has given to believers "in heavenly places"? The inheritance belongs first of all to the Lord Jesus, and He shares it with us in grace. We are not free to give away any part of it.
Hiram meant well. That is what makes his reaction so telling:
Hiram could not value what meant so much to Solomon and to every Israelite… It is always like this. The world may act with the best intentions, as Hiram did. But when it simply — that is, without faith — has the use of the good things of Christianity that are our joy, it finds no taste for them. These things tire the world out. They count for nothing in its life. No doubt the world will keep them, so that it can boast at times of having them. But it cannot keep them in their original character. It does not value them at all, so it uses them to show off. And Satan uses these religious-looking things to spread his rule over more souls… The Christian who gives away the least part of his inheritance to the world, hoping to seem broad-minded, gains nothing. He only sees his own character dragged down, his religion despised, and in the end shame brought on God Himself.
The district Hiram wrote off is where the Lord Jesus later grew up:
Solomon gave him twenty cities in the region of Galilee. 1 Kings 9:10-14 tells us that Hiram came to look at them. He called them the land of Cabul, which means "as of nothing" or worthless. That is what he thought about Galilee. He was glad to be linked with Solomon in the splendour of his house and outward glory. But he counted the disgrace of Galilee as worth nothing. Into these conditions came the Lord Jesus. He grew up in Nazareth in poverty.
In the parallel account in 2 Chronicles 8, Huram gives cities to Solomon instead. One writer sees a purpose in that:
Hiram despised this gift and called these cities the "land of Cabul" (good for nothing). We have noted two things. The land of promise never had any value for the world. And Solomon was plainly unfaithful in signing away the Lord's land. As always in this book, Solomon's sin goes unmentioned… Instead of Solomon giving cities to Huram, in verse 2 we see Huram giving cities to Solomon. A day is coming when the world, which Tyre stands for in the Word, will come with its riches. It will admit that it owes tribute to Christ, and it will offer its finest cities as homes for the children of Israel.
- Worth misjudged. Cabul means "what does not please" — worthless. Hiram looked at God's land and priced it at nothing.
- Worth surrendered. The land was God's, not Solomon's: "the land is mine." Giving away even the least part of it was unfaithfulness.
- Worth despised. Hand God's good things to a world without faith, and it will keep them for show. It cannot keep them as they were.
- Worth guarded. Give away part of your inheritance to please the world, and you gain nothing. You lose your own good name, and shame falls on God.
- Worth vindicated. The Lord Jesus grew up in the region Hiram despised. And in Chronicles, Tyre gives cities to the king instead of scorning them.