9:10-14 In Solomon’s business agreement with King Hiram, he exchanged wheat and olive oil for timber and gold (5:10-11). When Solomon became indebted to Hiram, he gave him twenty towns in . . . Galilee as compensation. However, Hiram was dissatisfied with the towns, so he returned them to Solomon’s control (see 2 Chr 8:2). The two friends settled upon other means of compensation and remained active allies and trading partners (1 Kgs 9:26-28; 10:22).

9:15 Solomon strengthened the supporting terraces, which were on a slope of the southeastern ridge in the traditional City of David area of Jerusalem (see 2 Sam 5:9), and the wall of Jerusalem. He also fortified the key cities of Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. Archaeological research shows that the walls and gates of all three cities have distinctive traits attributable to Solomon’s time. Hazor, in the north, was a first line of defense against invasion. Megiddo, in the Plain of Sharon, also had strategic military importance (2 Kgs 23:29-30; Rev 16:12-16).

9:16 Gezer, west of Jerusalem, was not previously occupied by Israelites. It was conquered by the Egyptian pharaoh and given to his daughter as a wedding gift when she married Solomon. An inscription in the Amon Temple in Tanis, apparently depicting a victory by the 21st dynasty Pharaoh Siamun (978–959 BC) against a Philistine campaign, suggests that Siamun was the pharaoh involved.