Discovery Box1 Kings 9:11-18 
Context9:11 King Solomon gave King Hiram of Tyre 1 twenty cities in the region of Galilee, because Hiram had supplied Solomon with cedars, evergreens, and all the gold he wanted. 9:12 When Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the cities Solomon had given him, he was not pleased with them. 2 9:13 Hiram asked, 3 “Why did you give me these cities, my friend 4 ?” He called that area the region of Cabul, a name which it has retained to this day. 5 9:14 Hiram had sent to the king one hundred twenty talents 6 of gold.
9:15 Here are the details concerning the work crews 7 King Solomon conscripted 8 to build the Lord’s temple, his palace, the terrace, the wall of Jerusalem, 9 and the cities of 10 Hazor, 11 Megiddo, 12 and Gezer. 9:16 (Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.) 9:17 Solomon built up Gezer, lower Beth Horon, 9:18 Baalath, Tadmor in the wilderness, 13
1 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
2 tn Heb “they were not agreeable in his eyes.”
3 tn Heb “and he said.”
4 tn Heb “my brother.” Kings allied through a parity treaty would sometimes address each other as “my brother.” See 1 Kgs 20:32-33.
5 tn Heb “he called them the land of Cabul to this day.” The significance of the name is unclear, though it appears to be disparaging. The name may be derived from a root, attested in Akkadian and Arabic, meaning “bound” or “restricted.” Some propose a wordplay, pointing out that the name “Cabul” sounds like a Hebrew phrase meaning, “like not,” or “as good as nothing.”
6 tn The Hebrew term כִּכָּר (kikkar, “circle”) refers generally to something that is round. When used of metals it can refer to a disk-shaped weight made of the metal or to a standard unit of weight, generally regarded as a talent. Since the accepted weight for a talent of metal is about 75 pounds, this would have amounted to about 9,000 pounds of gold (cf. NCV, NLT); CEV “five tons”; TEV “4,000 kilogrammes.”
7 sn The work crews. This Hebrew word מַס (mas) refers to a group of laborers conscripted for royal or public service.
8 tn Heb “raised up.”
9 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
10 tn The words “the cities of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
11 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
12 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
13 tn The Hebrew text has “in the wilderness, in the land.”
