In 1 Kings 7:13 and to the end of the chapter, the writer directs his readers' attention to the temple building project. 1 Kings 7:13–14 tells of Solomon’s bringing a worker in bronze from Tyre to do that kind of work in the temple. Lest the reader should be concerned that a Gentile should be given such responsibility, we are told that while his father was a Phoenician, his mother was a widow of the tribe of Naphtali. This relationship meant that by custom in Israel, he was considered within the covenant of the Lord.

It was not Hiram’s physical relationship with Israel that made him an acceptable workman for the bronze work of the temple, but the gift of wisdom in that area that he received. Since previously Solomon’s wisdom was given to him by the Lord, it is not impossible that we are meant to understand the same dynamic as true in the case of this man, though we do not suggest that its receipt took place in similar supernatural circumstances. In any case, wisdom and skill are always divine gifts, although those gifts can be perverted for trivial, petty, or wicked purposes. The proper use of God-given gifts brings glory to him; the misuse of those gifts is shameful.

There are a couple of uncertainties here. First, there is the possible confusion of the name of this workman with the name of the king of Tyre. These were two distinct persons. The second uncertainty is whether Hiram worked on both the temple and Solomon’s palace. 1 Kings 7:14 concludes with the words, He did all of Solomon’s work. Was there bronze work to be done for the royal complex? We do not know.