Hebrew word · H2438

חִירָם

chiram

Hiram

A personal name, probably a short form of Aḥiram ('my brother is exalted'). It is borne by the king of Tyre and by a Tyrian bronze-worker (1 Kings 7:13).

Appears 22 times in 18 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

A man living at the time of United Monarchy, first mentioned at 2Sa.5.11

Also named: chu.ram (חוּרָם "Hiram" H2361)

§ Hiram, Huram = "noble"

1) the king of Tyre who sent workmen and materials to Jerusalem to build both the palace for David and the temple for Solomon

2) the chief architect and engineer of Solomon's temple sent by King Hiram to Solomon

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Samuel 5:11

Range of meaning

A personal name, probably a short form of Aḥiram ('my brother is exalted'). It is borne by the king of Tyre and by a Tyrian bronze-worker (1 Kings 7:13).

Against the English

All versions read 'Hiram'. Chronicles spells it 'Huram' in places.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus (Against Apion 1.117–126; Antiquities 8.144–149), citing the historians Menander of Ephesus and Dius, names Hiram son of Abibaal as a king of Tyre who reigned 34 years, enlarged the city and rebuilt its temples, and corresponded with Solomon. The name Aḥiram also appears on the sarcophagus of a king of Byblos (around 1000 BC).

Where it appears

2 Samuel · 1
  1. 2 Samuel 5:11 חִירָ֨ם Hiram

    Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.

    Here: Hiram I of Tyre, a Phoenician king also known from Josephus' extracts of Tyrian records. He is the same king who later supplies Solomon for the temple (1 Kings 5). The name is probably short for Aḥiram, 'my brother is exalted'.

1 Kings · 21
  1. 1 Kings 5:1 חִירָ֨ם חִירָ֛ם Hiram

    Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.

    Here: Hiram I of Tyre. The name is a short form of a Phoenician name (Ahiram, roughly 'my brother is exalted'). The same chapter also spells it Hirom, and Chronicles calls him Huram.

  2. 1 Kings 5:2 חִירָ֖ם Hiram

    And Solomon relayed this message to Hiram:

  3. 1 Kings 5:7 חִירָ֛ם Hiram

    When Hiram received Solomon’s message, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the LORD this day! He has given David a wise son over this great people!”

    Here: Hiram I, king of Tyre, the leading Phoenician port city. The name is probably short for Aḥiram, 'my brother is exalted'. Here he is a foreign king who had been David's ally.

  4. 1 Kings 5:8 חִירָם֙ Hiram

    Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying: “I have received your message; I will do all you desire regarding the cedar and cypress timber.

    Here: Hiram (Phoenician ʾḥrm, probably "my brother is exalted"), king of Tyre. Tyre was the leading Phoenician port city and controlled access to the timber of Lebanon. Hiram had already been on friendly terms with David (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:1).

  5. 1 Kings 5:10 חִיר֜וֹם Hiram

    So Hiram provided Solomon with all the cedar and cypress timber he wanted,

  6. 1 Kings 5:11 לְחִירָ֜ם לְחִירָ֖ם to Hiram

    and year after year Solomon would provide Hiram with 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, as well as 20,000 baths of pure olive oil.

  7. 1 Kings 5:12 חִירָם֙ Hiram

    And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as He had promised him. There was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.

  8. 1 Kings 5:18 חִיר֖וֹם Hiram

    So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.

  9. 1 Kings 7:13 חִירָ֖ם Hiram

    Now King Solomon sent to bring Huram from Tyre.

  10. 1 Kings 7:40 חִיר֔וֹם חִירָ֗ם Hiram

    Additionally, Huram made the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. So Huram finished all the work that he had undertaken for King Solomon in the house of the LORD:

  11. 1 Kings 7:45 חִירָ֛ם Hiram

    and the pots, shovels, and sprinkling bowls. All the articles that Huram made for King Solomon in the house of the LORD were made of burnished bronze.

  12. 1 Kings 9:11 חִירָ֣ם לְחִירָם֙ Hiram, to Hiram

    King Solomon gave twenty towns in the land of Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, who had supplied him with cedar and cypress logs and gold for his every desire.

  13. 1 Kings 9:12 חִירָם֙ Hiram

    So Hiram went out from Tyre to inspect the towns that Solomon had given him, but he was not pleased with them.

  14. 1 Kings 9:14 חִירָ֖ם Hiram

    And Hiram had sent the king 120 talents of gold.

  15. 1 Kings 9:27 חִירָ֤ם Hiram

    And Hiram sent his servants, sailors who knew the sea, to serve in the fleet with Solomon’s servants.

  16. 1 Kings 10:11 חִירָ֔ם Hiram

    (The fleet of Hiram that brought gold from Ophir also brought from Ophir a great cargo of almug wood and precious stones.

  17. 1 Kings 10:22 חִירָ֑ם Hiram

    For the king had the ships of Tarshish at sea with Hiram’s fleet, and once every three years the ships of Tarshish would arrive bearing gold, silver, ivory, apes, and peacocks.

    Here: Hiram king of Tyre, Solomon's treaty partner (1 Kings 5). He supplied timber, craftsmen and now seamanship.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.