I Kings 9

מלכים א׳ פרק ט׳

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: I Kings | Chapter: 9 of 22 | Day: 109 of 742

Date: May 31, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

I Kings 9 is the chapter of consequences. After the soaring height of chapter 8 — the dedication of the Mikdash, the descent of the Shechina, Shlomo’s great prayer, and the joyful dismissal of the people — chapter 9 brings a second divine revelation that is starkly different in tone. Hashem appears to Shlomo for the second time (the first was at Givon in chapter 3, where He granted the gift of wisdom) and offers a measured response to the dedicatory prayer. The response confirms that Hashem has heard the prayer and sanctified the Bayit, but it is not an unconditional blessing — it is paired with a sober warning, framed in the conditional language of Devarim’s covenant-curses. The chapter then turns to the practical aftermath of the twenty-year construction project: Shlomo’s relations with King Chiram (who is now visibly disappointed with payment), Shlomo’s massive labor and building program, and the operational structure of his trade and Temple service.

The first eleven verses contain the second divine revelation. Hashem confirms: ‘I have heard your prayer and your supplication; I have sanctified this House that you built to place My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there all the days.’ But the response immediately pivots. If Shlomo walks before Hashem in the integrity (tom levav) of his father David, his throne will be eternal — but if he or his sons turn away to serve other gods, then catastrophic consequences follow. Israel will be cut off from the land. The House Hashem has just sanctified will become a heap of ruins. It will become a byword among the nations — le-mashal ve-li-sheninah ba-amim — and passersby will hiss in shock, asking ‘Why has Hashem done this?’ The answer the nations themselves will provide: because Israel abandoned Hashem and served other gods. It is one of the most prophetic passages in Tanakh — Hashem essentially scripts the future churban and exile at the very moment of the Mikdash’s dedication. The blessing and the warning are inseparable; the height of the moment carries its shadow within it.

The middle section of the chapter (verses 10-14) handles unfinished business with Chiram of Tzor. Twenty years had passed: seven for the Mikdash, thirteen for the palace. Shlomo had received cedar, cypress, and gold throughout. In return, he now gives Chiram twenty cities in the Galil. Chiram inspects them and is unimpressed — he calls them ‘Eretz Cavul’ (‘worthless land’ or ‘land of restraint,’ per Radak). The exchange marks a subtle shift in the international relationships that had defined Shlomo’s reign. The friendship with Chiram persists (Chiram still sends 120 talents of gold), but a note of dissatisfaction has entered the record. Some commentators (Rashi citing Chazal) read this episode positively — the cities were given conditionally and later returned. Others read it as the beginning of Shlomo’s tilt toward burdening his own people and his foreign allies alike.

The chapter’s third section (verses 15-23) describes the mas — the corvée labor regime Shlomo imposed for the great building projects. He fortified Yerushalayim’s walls, the Millo, Chatzor (the northern frontier fortress), Megiddo (the strategic plain), Gezer (which Pharaoh had captured and given as Shlomo’s wife’s dowry), Bet-Choron, Ba’alat, Tamar in the wilderness, the store-cities, the cities for chariots and horsemen, and his palace and Mikdash and walls of Yerushalayim. The labor force is described in detail: Shlomo does not enslave Israelites — they serve as soldiers, ministers, captains, officers, and managers (verse 22) — but he imposes the heavy labor on the remnants of the Canaanite nations (Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivvites, Jebusites) who had not been driven out at the original conquest. This sets up the chapter’s careful distinction (and the broader tension that will define Shlomo’s later reign): Israelite supervision over foreign forced labor. The arrangement worked for now but planted seeds — by chapter 12, the issue of corvée burdens will trigger the kingdom’s split.

The chapter closes with vignettes of Shlomo’s reign at its operational peak (verses 24-28). Bat-Pharaoh moves into the palace he built for her. Three times a year Shlomo offers olot and shelamim on the new altar, sustaining the festival cycle of the Mikdash. He builds a fleet at Etzion-Gever on the Yam Suf (the Gulf of Aqaba), staffed by Chiram’s experienced Phoenician sailors alongside Shlomo’s own. The fleet sails to Ophir and returns with 420 talents of gold delivered to the king. Trade, gold, military power, Temple service, royal residence, and international diplomacy all converge in the closing tableau. The kingdom is at its zenith. But the warning of verses 6-9 hangs over it all — the chapter is a portrait of glory shadowed by a divine threat that Shlomo has just been told will, if certain conditions are met, become his nation’s history.

פרק ט׳ · Chapter 9

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַֽיְהִי֙ כְּכַלּ֣וֹת שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה לִבְנ֥וֹת אֶת־בֵּית־יְהֹוָ֖ה וְאֶת־בֵּ֣ית הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וְאֵת֙ כׇּל־חֵ֣שֶׁק שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר חָפֵ֖ץ לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ {פ}

English:

When Solomon had finished building the House of GOD and the royal palace and everything that Solomon had set his heart on constructing,

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וַיֵּרָ֧א יְהֹוָ֛ה אֶל־שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה שֵׁנִ֑ית כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר נִרְאָ֥ה אֵלָ֖יו בְּגִבְעֽוֹן׃

English:

GOD appeared toaappeared to Or “made contact with.” Solomon a second time, as before, at Gibeon.

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה אֵלָ֗יו שָׁ֠מַ֠עְתִּי אֶת־תְּפִלָּתְךָ֣ וְאֶת־תְּחִנָּתְךָ֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִתְחַנַּ֣נְתָּה לְפָנַי֒ הִקְדַּ֗שְׁתִּי אֶת־הַבַּ֤יִת הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּנִ֔תָה לָשׂוּם־שְׁמִ֥י שָׁ֖ם עַד־עוֹלָ֑ם וְהָי֨וּ עֵינַ֧י וְלִבִּ֛י שָׁ֖ם כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃

English:

GOD said to him, “I have heard the prayer and the supplication that you have offered to Me. I consecrate this House that you have built and I set My name there forever. My eyes and My heart shall ever be there.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וְאַתָּ֞ה אִם־תֵּלֵ֣ךְ לְפָנַ֗י כַּאֲ��ֶׁ֨ר הָלַ֜ךְ דָּוִ֤ד אָבִ֙יךָ֙ בְּתׇם־לֵבָ֣ב וּבְיֹ֔שֶׁר לַעֲשׂ֕וֹת כְּכֹ֖ל אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתִ֑יךָ חֻקַּ֥י וּמִשְׁפָּטַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹֽר׃

English:

As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked before Me, wholeheartedly and with uprightness, doing all that I have commanded you [and] keeping My laws and My rules,

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַהֲקִ֨מֹתִ֜י אֶת־כִּסֵּ֧א מַֽמְלַכְתְּךָ֛ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְעֹלָ֑ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבַּ֗רְתִּי עַל־דָּוִ֤ד אָבִ֙יךָ֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לֹֽא־יִכָּרֵ֤ת לְךָ֙ אִ֔ישׁ מֵעַ֖ל כִּסֵּ֥א יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

English:

then I will establish your throne of kingship over Israel forever, as I promised your father David, saying, ‘Your line on the throne of Israel shall never end.‘bYour line on the throne of Israel shall never end See note at 2.4.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

אִם־שׁ֨וֹב תְּשֻׁב֜וּן אַתֶּ֤ם וּבְנֵיכֶם֙ מֵֽאַחֲרַ֔י וְלֹ֤א תִשְׁמְרוּ֙ מִצְוֺתַ֣י חֻקֹּתַ֔י אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַ֖תִּי לִפְנֵיכֶ֑ם וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֗ם וַֽעֲבַדְתֶּם֙ אֱלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִיתֶ֖ם לָהֶֽם׃

English:

[But] if you and your descendants turn away from Me and do not keep the commandments [and] the laws that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them,

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וְהִכְרַתִּ֣י אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל מֵעַ֨ל פְּנֵ֤י הָאֲדָמָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָתַ֣תִּי לָהֶ֔ם וְאֶת־הַבַּ֙יִת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הִקְדַּ֣שְׁתִּי לִשְׁמִ֔י אֲשַׁלַּ֖ח מֵעַ֣ל פָּנָ֑י וְהָיָ֧ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל לְמָשָׁ֥ל וְלִשְׁנִינָ֖ה בְּכׇל־הָעַמִּֽים׃

English:

then I will sweepcsweep Lit. “cut.” Israel off the land that I gave them; I will rejectdreject Lit. “dismiss from My presence.” the House that I have consecrated to My name; and Israel shall become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וְהַבַּ֤יִת הַזֶּה֙ יִהְיֶ֣ה עֶלְי֔וֹן כׇּל־עֹבֵ֥ר עָלָ֖יו יִשֹּׁ֣ם וְשָׁרָ֑ק וְאָמְר֗וּ עַל־מֶ֨ה עָשָׂ֤ה יְהֹוָה֙ כָּ֔כָה לָאָ֥רֶץ הַזֹּ֖את וְלַבַּ֥יִת הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

And as for this House, once so exalted,eas for this House, once so exalted Targum and some other ancient versions read “and this House shall become a ruin.” everyone passing by it shall be appalled and shall hiss.fhiss An action performed at the sight of ruin to ward off a like fate from the observer; cf. note at Jer. 18.16. And when they ask, ‘Why did GOD do thus to the land and to this House?‘

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וְאָמְר֗וּ עַל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָזְב֜וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיהֶ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר הוֹצִ֣יא אֶת־אֲבֹתָם֮ מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַ֒יִם֒ וַֽיַּחֲזִ֙קוּ֙ בֵּאלֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֔ים (וישתחו) [וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲו֥וּ] לָהֶ֖ם וַיַּעַבְדֻ֑ם עַל־כֵּ֗ן הֵבִ֤יא יְהֹוָה֙ עֲלֵיהֶ֔ם אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הָרָעָ֖ה הַזֹּֽאת׃ {פ}

English:

they shall be told, ‘It is because they forsook the ETERNAL their God who freed them from the land of Egypt, and they embraced other gods and worshiped them and served them; therefore GOD has brought all this calamity upon them.’”

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֗י מִקְצֵה֙ עֶשְׂרִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־בָּנָ֥ה שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה אֶת־שְׁנֵ֣י הַבָּתִּ֑ים אֶת־בֵּ֥ית יְהֹוָ֖ה וְאֶת־בֵּ֥ית הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

English:

At the end of the twenty yearsgthe twenty years See 6.38–7.1. during which Solomon constructed the two buildings, GOD’s House and the royal palace—

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

חִירָ֣ם מֶֽלֶךְ־צֹ֠ר נִשָּׂ֨א אֶת־שְׁלֹמֹ֜ה בַּעֲצֵי֩ אֲרָזִ֨ים וּבַעֲצֵ֧י בְרוֹשִׁ֛ים וּבַזָּהָ֖ב לְכׇל־חֶפְצ֑וֹ אָ֡ז יִתֵּן֩ הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֤ה לְחִירָם֙ עֶשְׂרִ֣ים עִ֔יר בְּאֶ֖רֶץ הַגָּלִֽיל׃

English:

since King Hiram of Tyre had supplied Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber and gold that he required—King Solomon in turn gave Hiram twenty towns in the region of Galilee.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַיֵּצֵ֤א חִירָם֙ מִצֹּ֔ר לִרְאוֹת֙ אֶת־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָתַן־ל֖וֹ שְׁלֹמֹ֑ה וְלֹ֥א יָשְׁר֖וּ בְּעֵינָֽיו׃

English:

But when Hiram came from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מָ֚ה הֶעָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תָּה לִּ֖י אָחִ֑י וַיִּקְרָ֤א לָהֶם֙ אֶ֣רֶץ כָּב֔וּל עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃ {פ}

English:

“My brother,” he said, “what sort of towns are these you have given me?” So they were named the land of Cabul,hCabul Perhaps taken to mean “as nothing.” as is still the case.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁלַ֥ח חִירָ֖ם לַמֶּ֑לֶךְ מֵאָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים כִּכַּ֥ר זָהָֽב׃

English:

However, Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וְזֶ֨ה דְבַר־הַמַּ֜ס אֲשֶֽׁר־הֶעֱלָ֣ה ׀ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֗ה לִבְנוֹת֩ אֶת־בֵּ֨ית יְהֹוָ֤ה וְאֶת־בֵּיתוֹ֙ וְאֶת־הַמִּלּ֔וֹא וְאֵ֖ת חוֹמַ֣ת יְרוּשָׁלָ֑͏ִם וְאֶת־חָצֹ֥ר וְאֶת־מְגִדּ֖וֹ וְאֶת־גָּֽזֶר׃

English:

This was the purpose of the forced labor that Solomon imposed: It was to build the House of GOD, his own palace, the Millo,iMillo A citadel. and the wall of Jerusalem, and [to fortify] Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

פַּרְעֹ֨ה מֶלֶךְ־מִצְרַ֜יִם עָלָ֗ה וַיִּלְכֹּ֤ד אֶת־גֶּ֙זֶר֙ וַיִּשְׂרְפָ֣הּ בָּאֵ֔שׁ וְאֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י הַיֹּשֵׁ֥ב בָּעִ֖יר הָרָ֑ג וַֽיִּתְּנָהּ֙ שִׁלֻּחִ֔ים לְבִתּ֖וֹ אֵ֥שֶׁת שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃

English:

(Pharaoh king of Egypt had come up and captured Gezer; he destroyed it by fire, killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the town, and gave it as dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.)

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וַיִּ֤בֶן שְׁלֹמֹה֙ אֶת־גָּ֔זֶר וְאֶת־בֵּ֥ית חֹרֹ֖ן תַּחְתּֽוֹן׃

English:

So Solomon fortified Gezer, lower Beth-horon,

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְא��ֽת־בַּעֲלָ֛ת וְאֶת־[תַּדְמֹ֥ר] (תמר) בַּמִּדְבָּ֖ר בָּאָֽרֶץ׃

English:

Baalith, and TamarjTamar So kethib, cf. Ezek. 47.19; 48.28; qere Tadmor. in the wilderness, in the land [of Judah],

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וְאֵ֨ת כׇּל־עָרֵ֤י הַֽמִּסְכְּנוֹת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הָי֣וּ לִשְׁלֹמֹ֔ה וְאֵת֙ עָרֵ֣י הָרֶ֔כֶב וְאֵ֖ת עָרֵ֣י הַפָּרָשִׁ֑ים וְאֵ֣ת ׀ חֵ֣שֶׁק שְׁלֹמֹ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר חָשַׁק֙ לִבְנ֤וֹת בִּירוּשָׁלַ֙͏ִם֙ וּבַלְּבָנ֔וֹן וּבְכֹ֖ל אֶ֥רֶץ מֶמְשַׁלְתּֽוֹ׃

English:

and all of Solomon’s garrison towns, chariot towns, and towns for his riderskriders Or “horses”; see note at 1.5.—everything that Solomon set his heart on building in Jerusalem and in the Lebanon, and throughout the territory that he ruled.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

כׇּל־הָ֠עָ֠ם הַנּוֹתָ֨ר מִן־הָאֱמֹרִ֜י הַחִתִּ֤י הַפְּרִזִּי֙ הַחִוִּ֣י וְהַיְבוּסִ֔י אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹא־מִבְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הֵֽמָּה׃

English:

All the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites who were not of the Israelite stock—

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

בְּנֵיהֶ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר נֹתְר֤וּ אַֽחֲרֵיהֶם֙ בָּאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹא־יָכְל֛וּ בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לְהַחֲרִימָ֑ם וַיַּעֲלֵ֤ם שְׁלֹמֹה֙ לְמַס־עֹבֵ֔ד עַ֖ד הַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּֽה׃

English:

those of their descendants who remained in the land and whom the Israelites were not able to annihilate—of these Solomon made a slave force, as is still the case.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וּמִבְּנֵי֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל לֹא־נָתַ֥ן שְׁלֹמֹ֖ה עָ֑בֶד כִּי־הֵ֞ם אַנְשֵׁ֣י הַמִּלְחָמָ֗ה וַֽעֲבָדָיו֙ וְשָׂרָ֣יו וְשָׁלִישָׁ֔יו וְשָׂרֵ֥י רִכְבּ֖וֹ וּפָרָשָֽׁיו׃ {ס}        

English:

But he did not reduce any Israelites to slavery; they served, rather, as warriors and as his attendants, officials, and officers, and as commanders of his chariots and riders.

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

אֵ֣לֶּה ׀ שָׂרֵ֣י הַנִּצָּבִ֗ים אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־הַמְּלָאכָה֙ לִשְׁלֹמֹ֔ה חֲמִשִּׁ֖ים וַחֲמֵ֣שׁ מֵא֑וֹת הָרֹדִ֣ים בָּעָ֔ם הָעֹשִׂ֖ים בַּמְּלָאכָֽה׃

English:

These were the prefectslThese were the prefects Their names are not listed in the text. that were in charge of Solomon’s works and were supervising the people engaged in the work, who numbered 550.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

אַ֣ךְ בַּת־פַּרְעֹ֗ה עָֽלְתָה֙ מֵעִ֣יר דָּוִ֔ד אֶל־בֵּיתָ֖הּ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּֽנָה־לָ֑הּ אָ֖ז בָּנָ֥ה אֶת־הַמִּלּֽוֹא׃

English:

As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter went up from the City of David to the palace that he had built for her, he built the Millo.mMillo A citadel.

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וְהֶעֱלָ֣ה שְׁלֹמֹ֡ה שָׁלֹשׁ֩ פְּעָמִ֨ים בַּשָּׁנָ֜ה עֹל֣וֹת וּשְׁלָמִ֗ים עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֙חַ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּנָ֣ה לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה וְהַקְטֵ֣יר אִתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁ֖ר לִפְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וְשִׁלַּ֖ם אֶת־הַבָּֽיִת׃

English:

Solomon used to offer burnt offerings and sacrifices of well-being three times a year on the altar that he had built for GOD, and he used to offer incense on the one that was before GOD. And he kept the House in repair.nhe used to offer incense … kept the House in repair Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וׇאֳנִ֡י עָשָׂה֩ הַמֶּ֨לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹ֜ה בְּעֶצְיֽוֹן־גֶּ֨בֶר אֲשֶׁ֧ר אֶת־אֵל֛וֹת עַל־שְׂפַ֥ת יַם־ס֖וּף בְּאֶ֥רֶץ אֱדֽוֹם׃

English:

King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion-geber, which is near ElothoEloth Elsewhere called Elath. on the shore of the Sea of Reeds in the land of Edom.

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח חִירָ֤ם בׇּֽאֳנִי֙ אֶת־עֲבָדָ֔יו אַנְשֵׁ֣י אֳנִיּ֔וֹת יֹדְעֵ֖י הַיָּ֑ם עִ֖ם עַבְדֵ֥י שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃

English:

Hiram sent servants of his with the fleet, mariners who were experienced on the sea, to serve with Solomon’s men.

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ אוֹפִ֔ירָה וַיִּקְח֤וּ מִשָּׁם֙ זָהָ֔ב אַרְבַּע־מֵא֥וֹת וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים כִּכָּ֑ר וַיָּבִ֖אוּ אֶל־הַמֶּ֥לֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹֽה׃ {פ}

English:

They came to Ophir; there they obtained gold in the amount of four hundred and twenty talents, which they delivered to King Solomon.

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