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Bible Dictionaries
Hiram
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or HIRAM. 1. King of Tyre, son and successor of Abihaal. When David was firmly established on his throne, Hiram, we are told, sent messengers to him, and, in order to show his goodwill, gave David materials for building his palace, sending at the same time workmen to assist in the building ( 2 Samuel 5:11 , 1 Chronicles 14:1 . This first mention of Hiram is somewhat abrupt, and leads to the supposition that there must have been some earlier intercourse between him and David, the details of which have not come down to us. A real friendship, however, undoubtedly existed between the two ( 1 Kings 5:1 ), and this was extended to Solomon after the death of David. A regular alliance was made when Solomon came to the throne, Hiram supplying men and materials for the building of the house of the Lord, while Solomon, in return, sent corn and oil to Hiram. Another sign of friendliness was their joint enterprise in sending ships to Ophir to procure gold ( 1 Kings 9:26-28; 1Ki 10:11 , 2 Chronicles 8:17-18; 2 Chronicles 9:10; 2 Chronicles 9:21 ). A curious episode is recounted in 1 Kings 9:10; 1 Kings 9:14 , according to which Solomon gave Hiram ‘twenty cities in the land of Galilee.’ Hiram was dissatisfied with the gift, though he gave Solomon ‘sixscore talents of gold.’ In the parallel account ( 2 Chronicles 8:1-2 ) it is Hiram who gives cities (the number is not specified) to Solomon.
There is altogether considerable confusion in the Biblical references to Hiram, as a study of the passages in question shows. When these are compared with extra-Biblical information which we possess in the writings of early historians, discrepancies are emphasized. While, therefore, the friendly intercourse between Hiram and Solomon (as well as with David) is unquestionably historical, it is not always possible to say the same of the details.
2. The name of an artificer from Tyre ‘filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning, to work all works in brass’ (see 1 Kings 7:18-47 ); he is also spoken of as ‘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 …’ ( 2 Chronicles 2:14 ). There is a discrepancy regarding his parentage: in 1 Kings 7:14 he is said to have been the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father a man of Tyre: according to 2 Chronicles 2:14 his mother belonged to the tribe of Dan, though here, too, his father was a Tyrian.
The form of the name is usually Hiram in the Books of Samuel and Kings, but the Chronicler adheres uniformly to the form Huram, while we find also Hirom in 1 Kings 5:10; 1 Kings 5:18; 1 Kings 7:40 .
W. O. E. Oesterley.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Hiram'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/h/hiram.html. 1909.
