Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon had built the house of the LORD and his own palace, Solomon rebuilt the cities Hiram had given him and settled Israelites there. Then Solomon went to Hamath-zobah and captured it. He built Tadmor in the wilderness, in addition to all the store cities that he had built in Hamath. He rebuilt Upper and Lower Beth-horon as fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, as well as Baalath, all the store cities that belonged to Solomon, and all the cities for his chariots and horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion. As for all the people who remained of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to destroy—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day. But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slave labor, because they were his men of war, his officers and captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. They were also the chief officers for King Solomon: 250 supervisors. Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king of Israel, because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy.”
Now at the end of the twenty years during which Solomon built these two houses, the house of the LORD and the royal palace, King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire. So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them. "What are these towns you have given me, my brother?" asked Hiram, and he called them the Land of Cabul, as they are called to this day. And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold. This is the account of the forced labor that King Solomon imposed to build the house of the LORD, his own palace, the supporting terraces, and the wall of Jerusalem, as well as Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire, killed the Canaanites who lived in the city, and given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. So Solomon rebuilt Gezer, Lower Beth-horon, Baalath, and Tamar in the Wilderness of Judah, as well as all the store cities that Solomon had for his chariots and horses—whatever he desired to build in Jerusalem, Lebanon, and throughout the land of his dominion. As for all the people who remained of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites (the people who were not Israelites)— their descendants who remained in the land, those whom the Israelites were unable to devote to destruction—Solomon conscripted these people to be forced laborers, as they are to this day. But Solomon did not consign any of the Israelites to slavery, because they were his men of war, his servants, his officers, his captains, and the commanders of his chariots and cavalry. They were also the chief officers over Solomon’s projects: 550 supervisors over the people who did the work. As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
Significance
These are parallel accounts of Solomon's building projects, city fortifications, and administrative organization after the temple was completed. A notable difference: 1 Kings 9:11-14 records Solomon giving twenty cities in Galilee to Hiram (who was displeased with them), while 2 Chronicles 8:1-2 reverses the direction, stating that Huram gave cities to Solomon, who then settled Israelites in them. This inversion likely reflects the Chronicler's concern to protect Solomon's reputation—a king who gave away Israelite territory would violate the land-grant theology central to Israel's identity. The Chronicler also uniquely records Solomon relocating Pharaoh's daughter out of the house of David, "because the places the ark of the LORD has entered are holy" (2 Chr 8:11), guarding the sanctity of sacred space.
Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s)
Redemptive-Historical Progression + Contrast — The Chronicler re-presents the whole 1 Kings 9:10-24 block of Solomon's post-temple works for the post-exilic community — "at the end of the twenty years," the rebuilt store cities, the conscripted Canaanite laborers, the exempted Israelite officers, and Pharaoh's daughter brought up from the City of David — but deliberately reworks the cities transaction: Kings has Solomon give twenty towns in Galilee to a displeased Hiram (1 Kgs 9:11-13), while Chronicles has Solomon rebuild "the cities Hiram had given him" and settle Israelites there (2 Chr 8:2), keeping Israel's inheritance intact and adding the holiness rationale for relocating Pharaoh's wife away from where the ark had entered (2 Chr 8:11).
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