KING OF TYRE · UNITED KINGDOM

Hiram. Cedar for David's house and for Solomon's temple.

REIGNEDi

Not given Scripture gives no length of reign.

CAPITAL

Tyre

HOUSE

Not stated

SCRIPTURE SAYS

“Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built…”

PROPHETS

None named

THE NATIONS: 4 RULERS HIRAM → CANDACE

ON THE WORLD STAGE

The powers of the day

ISRAEL

David · Solomon

SUCCESSION

Before and after

THE REALM

Tyre and the places of the account

The nations. Only places Scripture names are shown, each where the Atlas puts it.

WHAT SCRIPTURE SAYS

What Scripture says of him

  • “Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.” 2 Samuel 5:11
  • He sent his servants to Solomon at his anointing, “for Hiram was ever a lover of David”. 1 Kings 5:1
  • Hearing Solomon's request he said: “Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.” 1 Kings 5:7
  • “There was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.” 1 Kings 5:12
  • Of the twenty cities Solomon gave him: “What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother?” 1 Kings 9:13
  • Chronicles' Huram, writing to Solomon: “Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth.” 2 Chronicles 2:12

DEALINGS

Dealings with God's people

  • He blessed Israel's God: “Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son.” 1 Kings 5:7
  • Chronicles: “Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them.” 2 Chronicles 2:11
  • Cedar, carpenters and masons for David's house. 2 Samuel 5:11
  • Cedar and fir from Lebanon for Solomon's temple and house, and his builders working beside Solomon's. 1 Kings 5:10 1 Kings 5:18
  • A league with Solomon, paid in wheat and oil “year by year”. 1 Kings 5:11–12
  • Twenty cities of Galilee, which did not please him. 1 Kings 9:11–13
  • Joint fleets to Ophir and with the navy of Tharshish. 1 Kings 9:27 1 Kings 10:22
  • Solomon's levy of thirty thousand men worked in Lebanon “ten thousand a month by courses”. 1 Kings 5:13–14
  • Solomon asked for Hiram's hewers, “for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians”. 1 Kings 5:6

EVENTS

Wars, works and turning points

UNDATED IN SCRIPTURE

TWO ACCOUNTS

Where the accounts differ

What Solomon paid

1 KINGS

2 CHRONICLES

The cities

1 KINGS

2 CHRONICLES

The gold from Ophir

1 KINGS

2 CHRONICLES

DATES DIFFER

When was it?

Samuel's order is by topic, not date

Movers, as reported by Keil (1866)

2 Samuel 5 groups the building of Jerusalem with its capture, so Hiram's help may come years later. 2 Samuel 5:11 [23]

IN SCRIPTURE

Every passage

CHAPTERS · 8

2 Samuel 5 1 Chronicles 14 1 Kings 5 1 Kings 9 1 Kings 10 2 Chronicles 2 2 Chronicles 8 2 Chronicles 9

PASSAGES · 12

2 Samuel 5:11–12 1 Chronicles 14:1–2 1 Kings 5:1–18 1 Kings 9:10–14 1 Kings 9:26–28 1 Kings 10:11–12 1 Kings 10:22 2 Chronicles 2:3–16 2 Chronicles 8:1–2 2 Chronicles 8:17–18 2 Chronicles 9:10–11 2 Chronicles 9:21

WHAT SCRIPTURE DOES NOT SAY

  • Scripture does not name Hiram's father.
  • Scripture gives no length of reign and does not tell how his reign ended.
  • No prophet in Scripture speaks to or about this Hiram; the “prince of Tyre” of Ezekiel 28 is a later king.
  • Scripture does not say what Hiram did with the twenty cities, beyond naming them Cabul.

IDENTIFICATIONS THIS PAGE RELIES ON

  • From the textHiram king of Tyre, called Huram in Chronicles. Not Hiram the craftsman, “a widow’s son of the tribe of Naphtali”, whom Solomon fetched out of Tyre to cast the temple's brass (1 Kings 7:13–14); he has his own page. 1 Kings 7:13–14 2 Chronicles 2:3
  • Outside the BibleNot the “Hirummu (Hiram) of Tyre” who paid tribute to Tiglath-pileser III beside Menahem of Samaria, more than two centuries later.[7][21]
  • From the textThe page treats the Hiram of David's day and of Solomon's as one king, as Scripture's “Hiram was ever a lover of David” suggests; the question is shown with its holders. 1 Kings 5:1

SOURCES

Where this page comes from

  • Rodger C. Young, Chronological tables: Table 1, Chronology of the Kings of Israel; Table 2, Chronology of the Kings of Judah (Thiele's system as revised by McFall and Young; dates cited as facts only) (undated web tables, read 2026-10-07), Tables 1 and 2.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §553 (Shalmaneser III, 858–824 BC), §§568, 571, 575, 578 (Black Obelisk, years 11, 14, 18 and 21), pp. 199–206.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §611, p. 223 (Monolith Inscription from Kurkh, the battle of Karkar).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §§658–659 and 663, pp. 240–241 (annals from Calah, years 14 and 18).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §§679–681, pp. 245–246 (the statue inscription from Assur).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §735, p. 261 (the Saba’a stele) and §740, pp. 262–263 (the Nimrud slab) of Adad-nirari III.
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §761, p. 269 (on the order of the annal fragments); §769, p. 273; §772, p. 276 (Tiglath-pileser III's tribute lists).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 1 (Shalmaneser III to Tiglath-pileser III) (1926), §§776–779, pp. 278–280 (Tiglath-pileser III's annals: the war on Aram; Samsi, queen of Arabia).
  • D. D. Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, vol. 2 (Sargon to the end) (1927), §1198, p. 436 (the eponym list with notes, 733 and 732 BC).
  • R. W. Rogers, Cuneiform Parallels to the Old Testament (1912), p. 296, note 1 (the reading “Bir-idri”); p. 299 with note 1 (the statue inscription); pp. 305–306 (Adad-nirari III and Mari’).
  • A. Biran and J. Naveh, “An Aramaic Stele Fragment from Tel Dan” (1993) and “The Tel Dan Inscription: A New Fragment” (1995), Israel Exploration Journal 43 and 45 (facts only; copyrighted) (1993, 1995), IEJ 43 (1993) 81–98; IEJ 45 (1995) 1–18 (the articles were not read; facts taken from published summaries).
  • S. R. Driver, Notes on the Hebrew Text of the Books of Samuel (Appendix: the Inscription of Mesha) (1890), pp. lxxxv–lxxxvi (introduction), lxxxvii–lxxxviii (translation), lxxxviii–xcii and xciv (Driver's notes).
  • A. H. Sayce, “Moabite Stone”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 3 (1915), pp. 2071–2072 (discovery of the stone; “forty” and the date of the revolt on p. 2072).
  • W. Ewing, “Mesha”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 3 (1915), pp. 2037–2038, section (3).
  • T. Nicol, “Benhadad”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 1 (1915), pp. 435–437.
  • T. Nicol, “Hazael”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 2 (1915), pp. 1345–1346.
  • T. Nicol, “Rezin”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 4 (1915), p. 2588.
  • David Francis Roberts, “Queen of Sheba”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 4 (1915), s.v. (sections 1 and 4).
  • Thomas Hunter Weir, “Sheba” (1), International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 4 (1915), p. 2752, sections 1 and 3.
  • (unsigned article), “Candace”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 1 (1915), p. 552.
  • Edward Mack, “Chronology of the Old Testament”, International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol. 1 (1915), pp. 639–640 (Menahem's tribute in 738 BC).
  • C. F. Keil, tr. J. Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Books of the Kings (Keil and Delitzsch) (1872), pp. 221 (1 Kgs 15:18), 259–260 (1 Kgs 19:15), 261 and 266–267 (1 Kgs 20), 307 (2 Kgs 3:27), 334–336 (2 Kgs 8:10–15), 402–403 (2 Kgs 16:6); read in the archive.org scan text.
  • C. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, tr. James Martin, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel (Clark's Foreign Theological Library; translation first published 1866, this printing 1876) (1866), pp. 318–321 (Hiram).
  • John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament (1748–1763), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • J. R. Lumby, The Second Book of the Kings (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1887), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 3:27 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Kgs 8:15 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 8:15 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Kgs 16:6 (read on Bible Hub).
  • John Gill, An Exposition of the Old Testament (1748–1763), note on 2 Kgs 16:6 (read on Bible Hub).
  • E. A. Wallis Budge (tr.), The Queen of Sheba and Her Only Son Menyelek (the Kebra Nagast) (1922), Introduction, pp. xxx (the colophons date the Arabic version AD 1314–1344) and xxxiv (the names Makeda and Balkis; Saba “far more probable”).
  • Pliny the Elder, tr. John Bostock and H. T. Riley, The Natural History (1855), book 6, chapter 35 (Bostock and Riley's numbering; 6.29 in older editions).
  • Strabo, tr. H. C. Hamilton and W. Falconer, The Geography of Strabo (1854–1857), book 17, chapter 1, section 54.
  • Eusebius, tr. A. C. McGiffert, Church History (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 1) (1890), book 2, chapter 1, section 13.
  • Irenaeus, tr. A. Roberts and W. H. Rambaut, Against Heresies (Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1) (1885), book 3, chapter 12, section 8.
  • Geneva Bible translators, Geneva Bible marginal notes (1599), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • H. D. M. Spence and J. S. Exell (eds.), The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1897), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • W. E. Barnes, The Books of Chronicles (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) (1899), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).
  • C. J. Ellicott (ed.), A Bible Commentary for English Readers (c. 1878–1884), note on 2 Chr 8:2 (read on Bible Hub).

Rooted in Scripture. Open for discovery.

A place to read slowly, ask deeply, and follow the connections. Scripture, study and the voices of Christian history, brought together for a lifetime of learning.

SPEND TIME IN THE WORD

  • Open the reader
  • Books & reading progress
  • Compare Scripture editions
  • Find a passage

FOLLOW YOUR QUESTIONS

  • Study collections
  • People & places
  • Faith & apologetics
  • Stories of faith

A library with a paper trail.

Meet the authors. Explore the collection. Trace each work to its source.

Download the code.

Open source on GitHub.