2 Samuel 5:11
ESV
And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house.
NIV
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
NASB
Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, carpenters, and stonemasons; and they built a house for David.
CSB
King Hiram of Tyre sent envoys to David; he also sent cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
NLT
Then King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar timber and carpenters and stonemasons, and they built David a palace.
KJV
And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters, and masons: and they built David an house.
NKJV
Then Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and carpenters and masons. And they built David a house.
What does 2 Samuel 5:11 mean?
Now that David has established his capital city, he begins to build a house or a palace. During this era, a king's palace stands as a representation of his greatness and strength. In one of David's first alliances, the king of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre, Hiram, provides David with both timber and skilled construction workers to build the palace. The cedars of Lebanon are famous in the ancient Near East as the highest quality building material.Tyre is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea. King Hiram may want to maintain a good relationship with Israel to be able to freely move goods between Tyre and Egypt to the south. King Hiram will also provide cedar trees for the temple Solomon will build (1 Kings 5:1–18), perhaps meaning that Hiram's son will continue in good relationship with Israel.
Ironically, the closer a nation is to Israel and the more they know Israel's God, the more strictly God will judge them. When God exiled the Jews to Babylon, Tyre saw their chance and looted the homes of the Jews (Ezekiel 26:2–3). Tyre's king compared himself to a god (Ezekiel 28:6–10). In return, God compared him to Satan (Ezekiel 28:11–19). God judged Tyre by allowing first Babylon and then Alexander the Great to destroy it.
