And now, I send a skilful man, endued with understanding, Huram Abi,
Solomon had asked the king of Tyre for a craftsman able to handle the temple work. This verse is the reply, and it raises two questions: who was this man, and why does Scripture describe a workman with such care?
The name in this verse is not the king's, though it looks identical. One writer explains his name and his mixed parentage, which clears up an apparent clash between the accounts in Kings and Chronicles.
Then Solomon sent and brought Hiram from Tyre. This was not the king, but a master workman. His father was a Tyrian. His mother was a widow, of the tribe of Dan by birth, and she had married a man of Naphtali. This reconciles an alleged discrepancy. (See 1 Kings 7:14 and 2 Chron. 2:13.) In Chronicles he is called Huram. (Probably Huram-abi — Abi meaning "my father" — was his correct name.) His mother belonged to the same tribe as Aholiab, who worked alongside Bezalel. (See Exodus 31:1-6.)
One writer measures his range of skill against a familiar saying:
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.
God had done this once before. He gave the same kind of skill to Bezalel for the tabernacle, the tent of worship in the wilderness. But one thing is different here.
To find an expert in all these skills would be amazing. But in Exodus 31:1-5 we read that God had given such ability to a man of Judah, Bezalel, so that he could supervise the building of the tabernacle. Each of these men is typical of the Holy Spirit of God who is in control of all the activities of the house of God. The tabernacle was temporary, so the man chosen for that work came from Judah. But the temple speaks of the display of God's glory in the coming thousand-year reign of Christ, when Gentiles will share with Israel in great blessing.
The verse describes him with two words: skilled, and having understanding. One writer ties that description to the Spirit of God.
Hiram was "full of wisdom, understanding, and skill for making any work in bronze" (v. 14). He is the representative of the Spirit of God (Isa. 11:2) for this work.
Commentators differ over his name. One takes Huram-abi as the man's own name; another reads the record as leaving him unnamed, and finds that silence full of meaning.
This man is not named, for the Spirit of God does not draw attention to Himself: instead, He glorifies Christ (Jn. 16:13-14). He was also a skilled worker in fabrics. Purple speaks of the royalty of the Lord Jesus, as Matthew shows Him. Blue pictures Christ as the Son of God come from heaven, as in John's Gospel. Fine linen stands for the purity of the perfect Manhood of the Lord Jesus, which Luke's Gospel emphasizes. Crimson expresses the attractiveness of His person as God's Servant, always doing His will, as Mark presents Him.
The craftsman's parentage is not a stray detail. Israel alone built the tabernacle. The temple is different.
In the wilderness the Lord had chosen Bezaleel of Judah and Aholiab of Dan for the work of the tabernacle (Ex. 35:30-35). At that time the work of the tabernacle fell 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 parents came from the joining of Israel with the Gentiles — a remarkable fact that suits the scene before us exactly.
That share is real, though it is not the leading place:
The Gentile has the privilege of a small share in the building of that house. He does not have the ready, free-giving heart of an Israelite, but he has a place there — a blessed place, we may say. And a more blessed place is yet to come. For that house is to be a house of prayer for all the nations (Mark 11:17)… The Gentile's place was a lower one, yet he shared in Israel's blessedness.
- Sent. The Huram of this verse is not the king but a master workman bearing a similar name, sent from Tyre for the temple work.
- Skilled. He was not a jack of all trades but a master of all trades, prepared by God specifically for this house.
- Spirit. Like Bezalel before him, he pictures the Holy Spirit, who is in control of every activity of God's house.
- Silent. One writer notes the record gives no name of his own — the Spirit does not draw attention to Himself, but glorifies Christ.
- Shared. He was half-Tyrian, half-Israelite. Israel alone built the tabernacle. In the temple the nations have a real place, even if a lower one.
the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and whose father was a man of Tyre, experienced in working in gold, and in silver, in bronze, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in byssus, and in crimson, and for doing any manner of engraving, and for inventing every device which shall be put to him, besides thy skilful men, and the skilful men of my lord David thy father.
Solomon's temple needed more than timber and gold; it needed a man who could handle every material and every design. Hiram, king of Tyre, sends such a man. His father was from Tyre, his mother from Israel, and his list of skills recalls the men who once built the tabernacle.
The verse names his parents, not him. His mother raises an old question: 1 Kings gives her a different tribe. Reference works set the two readings side by side:
A skilful workman of Tyre, filled with wisdom and understanding. He was sent to make things for the temple. His father was a man of Tyre, and he is called "the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan" in 2 Chron. 2:14; but in 1 Kings 7:14 it reads "a widow's son of the tribe of Naphtali," which may mean that her husband was a man of Naphtali.
Under Moses, the two chief builders were both Israelites: Bezaleel of Judah and Aholiab of Dan. Dan appears again here, but now joined to Tyre in one man. Something has changed since the wilderness:
In the wilderness the Lord had chosen Bezaleel of Judah and Aholiab of Dan for the work of the tabernacle. Then the work of the tabernacle had rested on 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: he was born from the alliance of Israel with the Gentiles.
The list of materials is not random. Writers give each one a meaning of its own:
This master craftsman is without doubt a picture of the work of the Spirit of God in Jewish and Gentile believers. He was skilled to work in gold, which speaks of the glory of God. He worked in silver, which pictures the great truth of redemption through the sufferings of Christ. He worked in bronze (or copper), which stands for the holiness of God. He worked in iron, which stands for the power of God. But he was not only a metal worker. He was also skilled in working with wood, which pictures the work of the Spirit of God in believers, for trees are a symbol of mankind.
Writers take the same approach to the fabrics. They also notice what the verse leaves out — the man's own name:
This man is not named, for the Spirit of God does not draw attention to Himself. Instead, He glorifies Christ. Yet he was also a skilled worker in fabrics. Purple speaks of the royalty of the Lord Jesus, as seen in Matthew. Blue pictures Christ as the Son of God come from heaven, as in John's Gospel. Fine linen stands for the purity of the perfect Manhood of the Lord Jesus, which Luke's Gospel brings out. Crimson expresses the attractiveness of His person as God's Servant, always doing His will, as Mark presents Him. Added to this is the making of engravings for the temple. Engravings are meant to keep a permanent record, and this is what the Spirit of God does, for His work is eternal.
The verse ends with the king of Tyre naming David. His choice of words is worth noticing:
In verse 14 he refers to David as "my lord". He acknowledged David's supremacy over him. By his works and his words Hiram gives evidence of a well balanced love.
The mixed parentage of this one workman points beyond the building work:
The two kings bring Israelite and Gentile together, and the skilled workman unites both in one person. This reminds us again that the LORD had Gentiles in mind for blessing, as well as His people Israel, when He had the Temple built. "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" (Isa. 56:3-7).
- Parentage — Tyre on his father's side, Israel on his mother's. First Kings names Naphtali instead of Dan, which may point to her husband's tribe.
- Union — At the tabernacle both chief builders were Israelites. Here one man belongs to Israel and to the nations by birth.
- Skill — Gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, wood, fabric, engraving. Writers see in that range the Spirit of God, who works in every material of God's house.
- Anonymity — The verse describes the craftsman but never names him, like the Spirit, who draws no attention to Himself but glorifies Christ.
- Reach — A Gentile king calls David "my lord," and a workman of two peoples builds the temple. God's house was to be a house of prayer for all peoples.