Who is…
Hiram
also known as: Chiram, Hirom, Huram, Horam
Hebrew: חִירָ֨ם —meaning: “high-born” or “my brother is exalted”
This is the name of 3 biblical men, 2 of which are royalty and the 3rd a master workman for the king.
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Hiram (aka Huram), son of Bela
He is one of the sons Bela, the firstborn of the patriarch Benjamin (1 Chronicles 8).
His brothers are Addar, Gera, Abihud, Abishua, Naaman, Ahoah, Gera, and Shephuphan.
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King Hiram I of Tyre, also called “Huram” and “Horam”
According to Josephus, his father was King Abibaal.
Under King Hiram’s rule, Tyre grew to become the most important of Phoenician cities.
He entered into an alliance with King David of the United Kingdom of Israel, and assisted him in building his palace by sending him able workmen, and also cedar and fir trees from Lebanon (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Chronicles 14:1).
Hiram also sent masons and stonecutters (quarrymen) to Jerusalem to assist Solomon’s workmen in building the Temple.
See: Solmon’s Quarries
After the death of David he entered into a similar alliance with his on Solomon, and assisted him greatly in building the First Temple in Jerusalem—sending Solomon architects, workmen, cedar wood, and gold for the project (1 Kings 5:1; 9:11; 2 Chronicles 2:3).
Through the alliance with Solomon, Hiram ensured himself access to the major trade routes to Egypt, Arabia and Mesopotamia. The two kings also jointly opened a trade route over the Red Sea, connecting the Israelite harbour of Ezion-Geber with a land called Ophir (1 Kings 9:27; 10:11; 2 Chronicles 8:18; 9:10).
According to the Bible, both kings grew rich through this trade.
Hiram was succeeded as king of Tyre by his son Baal-Eser I. According to the ancient historian Josephus, Hiram lived for 53 years and reigned 34 years.
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Huram (aka Hiram), the master craftsman of King Hiram I (above) sent to Solomon
also known as: Huram-abi, Hiram, Hiram-abi or Hirom
Huram was “filled with wisdom, with understanding and with knowledge to do all kinds of bronze work,” “a man of great skill” (2 Chronicles 2:13–14). He was skilled in gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, wood, and various dyed fabrics and fine linen, and in engraving and executing any design.
In 2 Chronicles 2:13 “Huram my father” should be Huram Abi, the word “Abi” (rendered here “my father”) being regarded as a proper name, or a title of distinction given to Huram, and equivalent to “master.” (Compare 1 Kings 7:14; 2 Chronicles 4:16.)
In clay-beds in the valley of the Jordan, between Succoth and Zarthan, he cast the magnificent brass works for Solomon’s temple.
His mother was by birth from the tribe of Dan, married a man of Naphtali (who died, making her a “widow of Naphtali”), and later married a Tyrian bronze-worker. She may have lived in the northern border region where Danite and Naphtalite territories met. Chronicles’ emphasis on Dan also creates a deliberate parallel with Oholiab (aka Aholiab) of Dan, one of the 2 chief craftsmen of the Tabernacle (Exodus 31; 35–38). His mixed Israelite–Phoenician parentage is presented as advantageous: Israelite maternal lineage plus Tyrian technical expertise.
He has no recorded independent biography, death, family beyond his parents, or later career. After finishing the assigned Temple work he disappears from the Biblical narrative.
Tyre—What does the Bible say about it?More information