1 Kings 9:13

And he said,.... By letter to him: what cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother?

And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. No JFB commentary on these verses.

The land of Cabul, i.e. of dirt, as most interpret it. Not that it was a barren soil, as some imagine; for they who describe those parts commend them as fruitful; nor would Solomon have made him so unworthy a return: but because it was not pleasant, nor agreeable to his nor to his people’ s humour; because, though the land was very good, yet being a thick and stiff clay, and therefore requiring great pains to manure and improve it, it was very unsuitable to the disposition of the Tyrians, who were delicate, and lazy, and luxurious, and wholly given to merchandise.

1 Kings 9:13 And he said, What cities [are] these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day.Ver. 13. What cities are these?] i.e., Quanti putas esse? How much dost thou hold them worth? And he called them the land of Cabul,] i.e., Displeasing or dirty; or, by transposition of a letter, terra canina, a land for my dogs. Oh that we could have as light an esteem of all things here below, looking upon this world as a great dunghill! Vatab.

(13) Cabul.—The derivation of this word is uncertain. Josephus evidently did not know it as a Hebrew word; for he expressly says, that in the Phænician language it signifies “what is unpleasing.” (Ant. viii. 100:5, sect. 3). A city Cabul is mentioned in Joshua 19:27, in the territory of Asher, evidently on the Tyrian frontier, and in the neighbourhood in question. Hiram, it is thought, takes up this name, and applies it to the whole territory, and by a play of words on it signifies his discontent with Solomon’s gift. Ewald supposes a Hebrew derivation for the word (“as nought”); others take it to be “like that which vanishes.” Either would suit the sense indicated in the text well; but unless these derivations represent something cognate in the Tyrian language, they hardly accord with the requirements of this passage, which (as Josephus says) implies a Phoenician origin for the word.

Verse 13. Called them the land of Cabul] Whether this epithet was given to this land by Hiram as a mark of disapprobation, or what is its proper meaning, the learned are not agreed. That there was a country of this name in the promised land in the time of Joshua, is evident enough from Joshua 19:27, as it was one part of the boundary of the tribe of Asher; hence some interpret the word border or boundary, and so, the Septuagint understood it, for they have translated the Hebrew word οριον, which signifies the same. The margin gives another meaning.

13. What cities are these which thou hast given me?] No doubt spoken with a tone of reproach and disappointment. The language of Josephus is ‘he said to Solomon that he did not want the cities.’ They are just alluded to in Chronicles (2 Chronicles 8:2) as ‘the cities which Huram restored to Solomon.’ my brother] This form of address between persons of royal rank has been always common. Cf. 1 Kings 20:32-33; 1Ma 10:18; 1Ma 11:30; 2Ma 11:22. It need not necessarily imply friendly feeling. And he called them] Or the Hebrew may mean ‘and one called them’ which was a common form to signify ‘they were called.’ We need not therefore of necessity impute the contemptuous name to Hiram. Josephus gives προσηγορεύθησανthe land of Cabul] This appellation was given to indicate, what is stated in the text, that they were unsatisfactory. But it is not easy to know whence the name comes. There is a town so called in Joshua (Joshua 19:27) which was situated in the tribe of Asher. This tribe was in North Galilee but there would be no significance in the name, if it were already that of one of the twenty cities given to Hiram. The LXX. appears to have taken λαεμ (Cabul) to be the same as παεμ (gebul) for they render the name Ὅριον, a boundary. Josephus transliterates by Χαβαλών, and adds that this word in Ph�nician means ‘not pleasing,’ an interpretation, as it seems, which he evolved from the context. Some of the Hebrew commentators have connected the name with a verb which in Aramaic signifies ‘to bind,’ and have explained that the district was sandy or muddy, and that the feet were always deep sunk in the mire. A later derivation has taken the word to mean ‘worth nothing,’ as if from λ = as, and αεμ = αμ = nothing. There are many other attempts at explanation but none that can be pronounced satisfactory.

Cabul is said to be a Phoenician word, and signified “displeasing” (see margin).

13. My brother — Used here and in 1 Kings 20:33, as often at the present day in the East, as a term of friendly intercourse. Compare 1 Macc.1 Kings 10:18; 1 Kings 11:30; 2Ma 11:22.