And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day— Houbigant thinks that Cabul is derived from an Arabic word, signifying to defer the payment of a debt; perhaps because he had not given them to king Hiram before he had finished all his buildings. The Arabic word signifies also to refuse, to be short in; which signification may imply, that those cities were either too small, or such as a Tyrian king should refuse. Some think, that the word כבול Cabul should here be considered as a compound of כ caph, (like, as,) and בל bal, or בול bul, (nothing:) thus well expressing king Hiram's dislike, as signifying that those cities were worthless, next to nothing. See Parkhurst on the word. It is uncertain why Hiram so much disliked these cities. Bedford thinks it was because the Tyrians were wholly addicted to trade and merchandize, and therefore would not remove from the sea-shores to live in a soil which required a great deal of labour to cultivate it; a business to which they were little accustomed. See Calmet.
Related Commentaries of 1 Kings 9:13
1 Kings 9:13
13 And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabulb unto this day.