et. But now the Lord my God hath given me rest on every
side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. And,
behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the Lord my
God, as the Lord spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom
I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house
unto my name. 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. And
it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he
rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord this day, which
hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram
sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou
sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber
of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring
them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea
in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will
cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them:
and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my
household. So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees
according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty
thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty
measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. And
the Lord gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was
peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league
together.[424]

Hiram also sent skilled workers to Jerusalem to assist in the work of
building the temple and Solomon's palace, including his famous
namesake, "a widow's son of the (Hebrew) tribe of Naphtali", who, like
his father, "a man of Tyre", had "understanding and cunning to work
all works in brass".[425]

Solomon must have cultivated good relations with the Chaldaeans, for
he had a fleet of trading ships on the Persian Gulf which was manned
by Phoenician sailors. "Once in three years", the narrative runs,
"came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and
apes, and peacocks."[426] Apparently he traded with India, the land of
peacocks, during the Brahmanical period,