Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
Command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon х 'ªraaziym (H730)] - trees very like deal in appearance, but their special scent and great durability show them to be very superior to firs. х 'erez (H730), a name expressing the firmness of its roots, was the Cedrus conifera, a very tall and widespreading tree.] Nowhere else could Solomon have procured materials for the woodwork of his contemplated building. The forests of Lebanon, adjoining the sea in Solomon's time, belonged to the Phoenicians, and the timber being a lucrative branch of their exports, immense numbers of workmen were constantly employed in the felling of trees, as well as the transportation and preparation of the wood. It is, however, the opinion of some that the cedars pointed to by Solomon lay within his, own dominions (see Stanley, 'Sinai and Palestine,' p. 139, note).
My servants shall be with thy servants. The operations were to be on so extensive a scale that the Tyrians alone would be insufficient. A division of labour was necessary; and while the former would do the work that required skillful artisans, Solomon engaged to supply the labourers.
Thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.
Josephus ('Antiquities,' b. 15:, ch. 4:, sec. 1) says that although Sidon and Tyre were appropriated to the tribe of Asher, 'they were, from their ancestors, free cities.' The Sidonians were, as Strabo informs us, distinguished for their attainments in philosophy, geometry, astronomy, navigation-in short, in all sciences and arts (see Rawlinson's 'Herodotus,' 2:, p. 178; Hooker, p. 153; Bartlett's 'Pilgrimage,' p. 37). Hiram stipulated to furnish Solomon with as large a quantity of cedars and cypresses as he might require; and it was a great additional obligation that he engaged to render the important service of having it brought down, probably by the Dog River, to the seaside, and conveyed along the coast in floats - i:e., the logs being bound together-to the harbour of Joppa (2 Chronicles 2:16), whence they could easily find the means of transport to Jerusalem.