The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-07-27

ated.
KING HIRAM.
Hiram, the First, assembled the
throne Of Tyre in $50 before Christ at
the age of twenty, or eigth years be-
fore the death of the great Israelite
king, David. Phoenica was in condi-
ton where her affairs needed only to
be more firmly moulded and secured. A
similarity existed between the Phoeni-
clan and Israelites states whose rul-
ers, Hiram and Solomon, were friends
and had so much in common in char
acter and taste. Hiram was man
of fine artistic taste and understood
how to erect the great and wonderful
buildings in Tyre Solomon, who in
tended to build a great temple in Jer-
usalem, found interest in Hiram for
his assistance in erecting it for him.
The religious ceremonies under Hi
rams reign took on quite a new form.
Some of the old sanctuaries already in
existence he rebuilt Others he replac-
ed with entirely new ones. According
to the records, the latetr was the case
with the temple of the two guardian
ldeities, Melkarth and Astarte, The
records also mention the restoration OF
the cedar roofs of other temple not
named. But in regard to the magni-
| tude of these later buildings they re-
Hate that Hiram went to Lebanon and
HAD a whole wood of cedar trees cut
down for the work The third great
temple, that of Baalsamin, was adorn-
ed with golden votive offerings often
mentioned in later times and on view
| in Tyre until the last centuries of its
independence. Through these enter
prises, indicative of the love of SPLEEN
dor and the great wealth Of the king
provision was made for the magnif-
cence of the new royal city and its re-
lIigious services.
Hiram was the first to have the
"Awakening Of Hercules celebrated in
| the month of Peritius when he was
starting forth in the war against the
! Cypriotes.
Soon after the beginning of his reign
Hiram sent an embassy to David
which resulted in his dispatching
Phoenician workmen to Jerusalem to
build the Jewish king a palace. There
lis no mention of compensation for
these services. 1t SENS that the Pho
enician ruler had the building erected
simply in order to show himself well
disposed towards the Israeite. There
lmay have been some consideration in
the commercial relationships and alli-
lances of Hiram and David as we find
these in greater extent during the
lreign of Solomon.
After the death of David Hiram
sought to maintain the cordial rela-
tons between the two countries under
solomon's rule and therefore took oe-
casion, upon the latter's accession to
| the throne, to send an embassy to
Jerusalem with congratulations and to
request the continuance of the friend
Eship. Solomon was then cherishing
the project of building the temple
which David had desired to erect after
the completion Of the palace which Hi
Tram workmen had built for him in
Jerusalem towards the end of his reign
FLOR the pious king considered it unfit
ting that he should dwell in q cedar
lpalace" While the dwelling of Jehovah
| was q tent.
Solomon made a treaty with the Ty-
Irian king to furnish him Phoenician
/ worklnen and aftihcers. According 70
the more ancient version Of this treaty,
Hiram was to furnish cedar and cy7
press wood together with carpenters
land stone masons for the building, and
1 to send materials, shaped, on RATS to
Judah In return, Hiram stipulated
that he should receive yearly, as long
las the work continued, twenty thous-
land measures of wheat as food for
Ibis house." that Is for the royal house,
hold, and twenty or, according to the
reading of the Septuagint and accord
ling to Josephus, twenty thousand
measures of oil Of olives. After the
! temple of Jerusalem had been COM
pleted with these Phoenicians, other
compacts were made by the pomp low
Ing solomon with the Tyrian king. For
we learn that the supplies Of cedar
and fir trees and gold continued for
twenty years. According to some
Phoenician stories, Solomon sent the
gold that was not used in the building
of the temple to the Tyrian king and
the latter is said to have had that fam
GUS column made as a setting for the
statue of his daughter who was mar
Tried to Solomon Tyrian legend and
history take pains to honor Hiram for
Ibis connection with Solomon who was
learly a respendent figure IN eastern
tradition, but on the other hand we
Unjust not overlook similar effort In
IJewish Autobiography which tells us
with pleasure of the friendship or the
1.-TWO Israehtish rulers with Hiram, and
ldoes not conceal the fact that the
Iexternal brilliancy and wealth of Solo
lmon We're in consequence of the con-
Injection with the rich and artistic
lneighboring nation. Even later Jewish
tradition relates many a strange thing
Iabout this famous Tyrian king. He is
Esaid to be that prince of Tyre who, In
Ezekiel xviii 2, walks amid the precl-
Ious stones of Paradise and in accord
lance with a further Interpretation OF
lEzekiePs prophecy, he is said TO have
Iperished at the siege of Tyre by Ne
buchadrezzar, after having lived fol
500 years. According to another moi
lquite unfounded tale, Hiram had 8
temple buflt at Tyre like that at Jeru-
Esalem and introduced Jewish customs
in it, in which respect Hiram may be
compared to the Emperor Julian whC
transferred Christian usages to heath
lendom. This story is allied to anoth-
Ter Syrian tradition that the ecclesiasti-
cal translation of the Old Testamen'
(which the Syrians used is that which
IIi,,a m Yenuae+ad Solomon to have