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I then that I should build him an house, save only te burn sacrifice before him? Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and in crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide.

Send me also cedar-trees, fir-trees, and algum-trees, out of Lebanon; for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon: and behold my servants shall be with thy servants, even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build, shall be wonderfully great.

And behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand› baths of oil.

As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me.

And it came to pass when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and he answered in writing, saying, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them,

Blessed be the LORD GOD of Israel that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that he might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom.

I have considered the things that thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.

And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with un derstanding, of Huram my father's; the son of a woman VOL. III.

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of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre; skilful to work in gold and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father.

Now therefore the wheat, and the barley, the oil, and the wine which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants; and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea, to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem.

So Hiram gave Solomon cedar-trees, and fir-trees, according to all his desire.

And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his houshold, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.

And they two made a league together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.

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.

And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred.

And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six. hundred overseers to set the people to work.

And all the people that were left of the Amorites,

Hittites,

Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel, their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bond-service unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bond-men: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen.

And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.

And Solomon's builders, and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone-squarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

And Hiram king of Tyre furnished Solomon with gold according to his desire.

And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Eziongeber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon.' And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.

And the navy also of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir, great plenty of algum trees, and precious stones.

And Solomon had linen yarn brought out of Egypt; the king's merchans received the linen yarn at a price.

ANNOTATIONS AND REFLECTIONS.

It has been already mentioned, that Tyre and Sidon were famous trading cities: they lay near the sea, in the border

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border of Israel. Their inhabitants had never been at enmity with Israel, excepting when they. joined, the › general confederacy, and David was not commissioned to destroy them. It is said of Hiram their king, (who is supposed to have been the son of that monarch who supplied David with materials for his city) that he was ever a lover of David; and we have reason to think that he was a worshipper of the true GOD, though he might not have had power to reform his subjects.

Lebanon was a noble forest in the north of Canaan, included in the grant of that land to Israel, so that Solomon was a proprietor of all its products; but his subjects who had been mostly trained to war in David's time, were now chiefly employed in cultivating and dispensing the plenty of their land, and were not skilled like the Sidonians in arts and manufactures; but they were able to spare corn, and other valuable commodities, in return for the assistance they required from their neighbours.

The alliance with Hiram was convenient to Solomon in another particular of great consequence to his work; which was the skill of the Tyrians in maritime affairs, in which it seems the Israelites were deficient. No nation in those days was so well acquainted with navigation as we are at this time; for the use of the loadstone was as yet undiscovered, and having no compasses, ships could not venture far out to sea, but made only what are called coasting voyages.

Huram, the man who was sent by Hiram, seems like Bezaleel to have been endued with peculiar ingenuity, in order to qualify him for preparing the ornaments of the temple; his assistance must have been esteemed by Solomon a valuable acquisition.

Those among the Canaanites, who had embraced the true religion, were allowed to dwell with the Israelites,

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and there is no doubt but their lives were made comfortable to them; and by being employed in preparations for the temple, they were in some measure sanctified; for, though a laborious, it was an honourable business; and on this account the Israelites thought it no disgrace to hew timber, and cut marble and stone, to be wrought by the Tyrian Masons and carvers. Different workmen were employed in levelling mount Moriah, in order to prepare it for the foundation of the temple.

From the interchange of commodities between Solomon and Hiram, we may take occasion to observe the great advantages of COMMERCE. GOD has scattered his bounty among all lands; but every country produces some things peculiar to itself, and desirable to others, which lead men to travel from place to place, in order to :procure those conveniencies and delicacies which are not to be found at home: and as they carry with them what others wish to possess, they are joyfully received, and willingly supplied: by this means the earth might become one great family, receiving assistance from their brethren, and sharing amongst them the gifts of their HEAVENLY FATHER. Those nations who live secluded are generally savage, and ferocious; but commerce introduces the arts of civilization, and serves as a means of propagating true religion and humanity.

SECTION XXXIX.

THE BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S TEMPLE.

From 1 Kings, Chap. vi. 2 Chron. Chap. iii, iv.

AND it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel,

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