11King Hiram of Tyre having supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress timber and gold, as much as he desired, King Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
The Hebrew, Latin and Greek that is transliterated as “Solomon” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “wise” referring to 1 Kings 3:12. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Cilician fir Abies cilicica grew abundantly in the forests of Lebanon along with cedars, evergreen cypresses, and Grecian junipers. The Hebrew word berosh probably included fir, cypress, and juniper. According to 1 Kings 5:8 and elsewhere, berosh was used in King Solomon’s building projects. The reference in Ezekiel 27:5 to the use of berosh for the timbers/planks of ships could well be talking about fir trees since they are very straight, but the association of berosh there with Mount Senir rather favors the Grecian juniper, which was abundant there.
The Cilician fir is a tall and almost perfectly straight evergreen tree, in the same family with pines, cedars, and cypresses. It can reach a height of 25 meters (82 feet). Its flat seeds are contained in cones that fall from the tree when mature. Firs are the major source for turpentine, used by painters to dilute paint and clean brushes.
The Abies genus is represented throughout the world in temperate climates at high altitudes (for example, in Kenya, Japan, and North America). Since there are no firs or anything quite like them in tropical Africa, translators can use a transliteration, for example, firi or pir. In Ezekiel 27:5 we recommend following Zohary by rendering berosh as “fir.” The majority of English translations are divided among “fir,” “cypress,” and “pine.” In 1-2 Kings and 2 Chronicles we recommend rendering berosh as “fir” or “juniper.” Elsewhere berosh may be considered a generic word referring to cypress, fir, pine, or all of them together. In those places a general word for this type of cone-bearing tree should be used.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of 1 Kings 9:11:
Kupsabiny: “he gave Hiram twenty cities/towns in the region of Galilee as payment for the cedar and cyprus timber plus the gold which Hiram had given.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “King Hiram of Tyre had given Solomon all the cedar wood, pine wood and gold that he needed. So Solomon gave King Hiram 20 cities in Galilee.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “he gave the 20 towns in Galilea to King Hiram of Tyre. He did this because Hiram had-supplied him all the cedar and pine trees, and gold that he needed.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Hiram, the king of Tyre had arranged for his workers to give Solomon all the cedar and pine logs and all the gold that he needed for this work. After it was all finished, King Solomon gave to Hiram 20 cities in the Galilee region.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Some languages do not have a concept of kingship and therefore no immediate equivalent for the Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin that is translated as “king” in English. Here are some (back-) translations:
Ninia Yali: “big brother with the uplifted name” (source: Daud Soesilio in Noss 2007, p. 175)
Nyamwezi: mutemi: generic word for ruler, by specifying the city or nation it becomes clear what kind of ruler (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific translation notes in Paratext)
Ghomála’: Fo (“The word Fo refers to the paramount ruler in the kingdoms of West Cameroon. He holds administrative, political, and religious power over his own people, who are divided into two categories: princes (descendants of royalty) and servants (everyone else).” (Source: Michel Kenmogne in Theologizing in Context: An Example from the Study of a Ghomala’ Christian Hymn))
Faye Edgerton retells how the term in Navajo (Dinė) was determined:
“[This term was] easily expressed in the language of Biblical culture, which had kings and noblemen with their brilliant trappings and their position of honor and praise. But leadership among the Navajos is not accompanied by any such titles or distinctions of dress. Those most respected, especially in earlier days, were their headmen, who were the leaders in raids, and the shaman, who was able to serve the people by appealing for them to the gods, or by exorcising evil spirits. Neither of these made any outward show. Neither held his position by political intrigue or heredity. If the headman failed consistently in raids, he was superceded by a better warrior. If the shaman failed many times in his healing ceremonies, it was considered that he was making mistakes in the chants, or had lost favor with the gods, and another was sought. The term Navajos use for headman is derived from a verb meaning ‘to move the head from side to side as in making an oration.’ The headman must be a good orator, able to move the people to go to war, or to follow him in any important decision. This word is naat’áanii which now means ‘one who rules or bosses.’ It is employed now for a foreman or boss of any kind of labor, as well as for the chairman of the tribal council. So in order to show that the king is not just a common boss but the highest ruler, the word ‘aláahgo, which expresses the superlative degree, was put before naat’áanii, and so ‘aláahgo naat’áanii ‘anyone-more-than-being around-he-moves-his-head-the-one-who’ means ‘the highest ruler.’ Naat’áanii was used for governor as the context usually shows that the person was a ruler of a country or associated with kings.”
Long ago the majestic cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) completely covered the upper slopes of the Lebanon Mountains on the western and northern sides. Now only a few pockets of these mighty cedars remain. At that time they were mixed, as they are today, with other trees such as Cilician fir, Grecian juniper, cypress, and Calabrian pine.
We know from 1 Kings that Solomon used cedar wood in his palace and in the Temple. Cedar was used for beams, boards, pillars, and ceilings. Historians tell us that the Assyrians also hauled cedars to their land for use in buildings. Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon also imported cedars from Lebanon. In some versions of Isaiah we read that people made idols of cedar and oak (44:14-20). Finally, when the Temple was rebuilt by the returning exiles (Ezra 3:7), they again cut down cedar trees to grace the house of God.
In 2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles and Ezra, when Lebanon is specifically mentioned, there can be no doubt that ’erez is Cedrus libani, the “cedar of Lebanon,” although it is possible that sometimes the word was used loosely to include various evergreen trees.
In the description of the purification rituals (Leviticus 14:4 at al.), the word ’erez probably refers to the Phoenician juniper tree, since that was the only cedar-like tree in the Sinai Desert.
Description Cedar trees can reach 30 meters (100 feet) high with a trunk more than 2 meters (7 feet) in diameter. The leaves of true cedars are not flat like those of most trees, but consist of tufts of dark green, shiny spines. (The cedars in North America have a flatter type of spine than the biblical cedar.) The wood is fragrant and resistant to insects. Cedars bear cones and can live to be two or three thousand years old.
The cedar of Lebanon is famous for its large size (see Isaiah 2:13 et al.), and for the fragrance of its wood. Psalm 92:12 links the cedar to righteousness, that is, presumably, to its straightness and height above other trees. The cedar is the national emblem of Lebanon.
Cedrus species are found in the mountains of North Africa, in the Himalayas, in India, and in North America. Translators in these places, should, of course, use the local name in nonfigurative references. In sub Saharan Africa, translators can transliterate from Hebrew (’erez), Greek (kedar), English (sedar), or another major language, or they can take a generic solution such as “large, beautiful tree.” In poetic passages (wisdom literature and prophecy), some translators may wish to use a cultural equivalent with these traits. In Africa, according to Burkhill (The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa, volume 4. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens, 1985), the Pink Mahogany Guarea cedrata is also called the pink African cedar because of the cedar-like scent of its timber. Likewise, some people in India and Australia use “cedar” to refer to the toon because of its reddish wood. I do not recommend such substitutes in historical passages, since the ’erez is not related to these trees. In some figurative passages, however, the substitution could be effective, since all are large trees with reddish wood. However, each passage has to be evaluated to determine the intended effect of the image.
Cedar and cypress: See the comments on 1 Kgs 4.33 and 5.8 regarding the identification of these trees.
The Hebrew says simply that Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee without indicating why. The most obvious reason would seem to be that this was in exchange for the timber and gold that Hiram had supplied to Solomon. Some scholars, however, suggest that Solomon sold these cities to Hiram in order to raise money.
The English word “villages” or “towns” (Good News Translation) is a more appropriate translation here for these cities, as Gray notes.
The land of Galilee refers most probably to the area along the northern border of Israel in the general vicinity of the territory belonging to Hiram. In languages that can make such distinctions, the word “region” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh) or “territory” (New Jerusalem Bible) is probably more suitable than land.
As noted in the discussion on verse 10, the end of verse 11 belongs with verse 10, since the first part of verse 11 is background information, explaining why Solomon gave these cities to Hiram. Revised English Bible reorders verse 11 as follows: “he made over to Hiram king of Tyre twenty towns in Galilee, for Hiram had supplied him with….” New Jerusalem Bible and Gray place the first part of verse 11 within parentheses, showing that these words are parenthetical, but this will not be effective when the text is being heard and not seen. These two verses may be combined and restructured to say:
• At the end of twenty years, King Solomon gave to King Hiram of Tyre twenty towns in the land of Galilee. Solomon did this because during those twenty years Hiram had supplied Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber and gold that he wanted in order to build the Temple and his own palace.
Quoted with permission from Omanson, Roger L. and Ellington, John E. A Handbook on 1-2 Kings, Volume 1. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2008. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
9:11a King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre,
Then Solomon gave twenty towns ⌊in/from the province of⌋ Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, -or-
At the end of that time Solomon gave Hiram king of Tyre twenty towns ⌊in the region of⌋ Galilee.
9:11b who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire.
because Hiram had provided King Solomon with ⌊all the building material he wanted, such as⌋ wood from cedar and juniper/cypress trees, and gold. -or-
For Hiram king of Tyre had given King Solomon ⌊all the material he wanted:⌋ cedar and juniper wood, and gold.
9:11a-b (reordered)
Hiram the king of Tyre helped Solomon by giving him cedar wood and cypress wood and gold, as much as Solomon wanted. So King Solomon gave Hiram twenty towns in ⌊the land of⌋ Galilee.
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