1 Kings 5

King Hiram of Tyre, a long-time friend of David, sends a proposal to Solomon to supply him with the necessary materials to build the Temple. Solomon accepts the offer, sending King Hiram thousands of measures of wheat and oil annually. Solomon drafts a massive labor force—thirty thousand men to cut timber in Lebanon, eighty thousand stonecutters in the hill country, and seventy thousand men for transport. This vast organization and provision illustrate the magnitude of the project and the wealth of Solomon’s kingdom.