This page gives you ready-to-use study questions for 1 Kings 5, the chapter where King Solomon arranges with King Hiram of Tyre to gather cedar and cypress timber and organize the labor force for building the temple of the LORD. It is written for small groups, Sunday school classes, and personal reading who want questions with leader’s notes already worked out.
1 Kings 5 at a Glance
The chapter opens with Hiram sending servants to Solomon after hearing of his succession. Solomon then explains why he is able to build what David could not: the LORD has given him rest on every side. He asks Hiram for cedar and cypress, offers wages for Hiram’s workers, and Hiram agrees with joy, sending timber by sea and receiving food and oil in return.
The second half turns to Israel’s own workforce: a levy of thirty thousand men rotating in shifts, seventy thousand burden bearers, eighty thousand stone cutters, and thousands of officers. The chapter ends with the stones being cut and prepared for the house of the LORD.
Observation Questions
Use these first to make sure everyone has read the same text and can point to what it actually says. Ask people to find the answer in the chapter before anyone offers an interpretation.
1 Kings 5:4-5
4 But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side. There is no enemy and no evil occurrence. 5 Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place shall build the house for my name.’
(WEB)
Read this passage to set the reason for the temple: Solomon’s account of the LORD’s rest and his promise to David. It anchors the rest of the chapter in God’s faithfulness.
1 Kings 5:7
When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed is the LORD today, who has given to David a wise son to rule over this great people.”
(WEB)
Hiram’s joyful blessing of the LORD is short and memorable. Reading it aloud lets the group hear a foreign king’s recognition of God’s wisdom given to Solomon.
1 Kings 5:12
The LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty together.
(WEB)
This verse links the LORD’s gift of wisdom with peace and a treaty between two kings. Reading it helps the group see wisdom as something that shapes relationships.
1 Kings 5:13-14
13 King Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. 14 He sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses; for a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home; and Adoniram was over the men subject to forced labor.
(WEB)
The rotation of the workforce is easy to skim past, so read it deliberately. It shows the organized, shared effort that made the project possible.
1 Kings 5:17-18
17 The king commanded, and they cut out large stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with worked stone. 18 Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
(WEB)
These verses describe the cutting and preparing of the stones for the house. Ending on this image helps the group picture the temple taking shape.
Memory Verse for 1 Kings 5
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you gave Solomon wisdom and gave your people rest, just as you promised. Help us to notice the gifts you have placed in our lives, both the quiet seasons and the hard ones. Teach us to share what we have with others, as Hiram and Solomon did, and to honor the rhythms of work and rest you have set for us. Where you have given us a calling, give us courage to take the first step and faithfulness to keep going. Guide our conversations today so that your word shapes what we think and how we live. Amen.
