1 Kings 5:13-18

1 Kings 5:13-18

[13] And king  Solomon  raised  a levy  out of all Israel;  and the levy  was thirty  thousand  men.  [14] And he sent  them to Lebanon,  ten  thousand  a month  by courses:  a month  they were in Lebanon,  and two  months  at home:  and Adoniram  was over the levy.  [15] And Solomon  had threescore and ten  thousand  that bare  burdens,  and fourscore  thousand  hewers  in the mountains;  [16] Beside the chief  of Solomon's  officers  which were over the work,  three  thousand  and three  hundred,  which ruled  over the people  that wrought  in the work.  [17] And the king  commanded,  and they brought  great  stones,  costly  stones,  and hewed  stones,  to lay the foundation  of the house.  [18] And Solomon's  builders  and Hiram's  builders  did hew  them, and the stonesquarers:  so they prepared  timber  and stones  to build  the house. 

What does 1 Kings 5:13-18 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Solomon"s forced laborers were non-Israelites ( 2 Chronicles 8:7-8). Israelites also served, but they were not slaves ( 1 Kings 9:22). Solomon"s method of providing workers for state projects became very distasteful to the people eventually, perhaps because of how it was administered (cf. 1 Kings 12:18).
"[1] was probably one of the most hated men in Israel, an embodiment of autocracy." [2]
Solomon"s temple rested on massive limestone blocks that he had quarried out of the hills north of Jerusalem ( 1 Kings 5:17). The Gebelites ( 1 Kings 5:18) lived in Byblos, 13miles north of modern Beirut and60 miles north of Tyre.
The main emphasis in this chapter is on the favorable response of the Phoenician king, Hiram, with which God blessed Israel through Solomon"s wisdom ( 1 Kings 5:7). Solomon wrote that "when a person"s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" ( Proverbs 16:7). Such was God"s blessing on Solomon at this time.