1 Kings 5:18Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
The setting
Jerusalem and Tyre, ~966 BC. Hebrew stoneworkers collaborate with Phoenician craftsmen and Gebalite timber specialists. Three nations, different languages, one sacred project.
The emotion here: amazement at witnessing unprecedented international cooperation for God's house
The original word
Giblî (גבלי) — the Gebalites, master shipbuilders from Byblos who knew how to work cedar
Why it matters
Gebal (modern Byblos, Lebanon) was famous for skilled craftsmen who built ships for Mediterranean trade
Read with care
What most readers miss in 1 Kings 5:18
This was the ancient world's first major international construction partnership
Common misconceptionPeople assume Solomon hired foreign workers because they were cheap labor, but he chose them because they had specialized skills Israelites lacked
The thread continues
Verses that echo 1 Kings 5:18
Bible Genome reading
1 Kings 5:18 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
1 Kings 5:18 comes from the book of 1 Kings, written during the United Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Narrator. The dominant emotion in this verse is growing, with a comfort power of 40% and a tone that is celebratory. It belongs to the narrative genre of biblical literature. Key themes include collaboration, preparation. Notable phrases: Solomon's builders; Hiram's builders; prepared.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same growing
“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”
— Proverbs 22:6
“So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
— Romans 10:17
“He must increase, but I must decrease.”
— John 3:30
“Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
— Galatians 6:2
“He believed in Yahweh; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness.”
— Genesis 15:6
Your reflection
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