2 Samuel 5:11 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house.

NIV: Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.

NASB: Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, carpenters, and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.

CSB: King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David; he also sent cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.

NLT: Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built David a palace.

KJV: And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.

NKJV: Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house.

Now that David has established his capital city, he begins to build a house or a palace. During this era, a king's palace stands as a representation of his greatness and strength. In one of David's first alliances, the king of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, Hiram, provides David with both timber and skilled construction workers to build the palace. The cedars of Lebanon are famous in the ancient Near East as the highest quality building material.

Tyre is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea. King Hiram may want to maintain a good relationship with Israel to be able to freely move goods between Tyre and Egypt to the south. King Hiram will also provide cedar trees for the temple Solomon will build (1 Kings 5:1–18), perhaps meaning that Hiram's son will continue in good relationship with Israel.

Ironically, the closer a nation is to Israel and the more they know Israel's God, the more strictly God will judge them. When God exiled the Jews to Babylon, Tyre saw their chance and looted the homes of the Jews (Ezekiel 26:2–3). Tyre's king compared himself to a god (Ezekiel 28:6–10). In return, God compared him to Satan (Ezekiel 28:11–19). God judged Tyre by allowing first Babylon and then Alexander the Great to destroy it.

Second Samuel 5:11–16 gives more examples of God's blessings on David. He and his men have taken Jebus and renamed it Jerusalem: a place established in peace (1 Chronicles 11:9—12:40). The king of Tyre sends the materials and tradesmen necessary to build a house. David takes more wives and concubines and has several more sons. First Chronicles 14:1 also records Hiram's contributions, and 1 Chronicles 3:1–9 and 14:3–7 repeat the list of David's expanding family. Next, David furthers his domination over the armies of the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:17–25).

Second Samuel 5 is a series of vignettes describing how God blesses David after his inauguration as king over the nation. David took Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made the city the nation's capital (2 Samuel 5:6–9). His first international ally, Hiram, king of Tyre, built his palace (2 Samuel 5:11). His family grew: exponentially (2 Samuel 5:13–16)! And he soundly beat his enemies (2 Samuel 5:17–25). David did all this because of God's favor, to bless the nation, not through his own skill or because of any good in him (2 Samuel 5:10, 12). First Chronicles 11:1–9 and 14:1–17 also record these events.

Second Samuel 5 is a pivot point for all of Israel's history. After Saul's son Ish-bosheth is killed, no opposition remains to David's kingship (2 Samuel 4:5–6). Convinced by Abner before his death to follow David (2 Samuel 3:17–19), the elders of Israel gather at Hebron to anoint David king over the entire nation. David moves his capital to Jerusalem and defends the nation against the Philistines. Now, he has enough security to bring the ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6:1–15). The following chapters seem to collectively describe David's accomplishments (2 Samuel 5:9—10:19) and his mistakes (2 Samuel 11—20).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.