1 Chronicles 14:1–7, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
1 Chronicles 14:1–7
Tyrian builders and David's growing household
Tyre builds David's house while he reads his kingship
Hiram king of Tyre sends messengers, timber of cedars, masons, and carpenters to build David a house. David perceives that the LORD has confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom is lifted up on high because of his people Israel.
International skill arrives before the next Philistine war. Cedar and craftspeople are named as Tyrian labor, not as anonymous royal magic. David's interpretation is theological and political: confirmation is 'because of his people,' not a private entitlement.
More wives and named children fill Jerusalem
David takes more wives at Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters are born. The list names Shammua, Shobab, Nathan, Solomon, Ibhar, Elishama, Eliphelet, Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Beeliada, and Eliphelet.
A growing household is part of royal consolidation in this chapter. It does not prove moral innocence, justify polygamy, or make the unnamed women secondary to the sons. Chronicles does not narrate here the family violence Samuel records; omission is not a clearing of the record.
How this should shape us
Credit the workers who actually build a house, and do not treat a leader's palace, marriage expansion, or children's names as proof of righteousness. Skill from outside the community is still skill; it does not make those workers props.
Teach it back
Explain 1 Chronicles 14:1–7 in your own words. Include its movement, placement in Chronicles, one Samuel-Kings comparison, one material uncertainty, one affected person or group, and one modern use the complete context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Chronicles omits Samuel's surrounding family conflict; names, sequence, and David's theological interpretation should not be expanded into a complete biography.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
1 Chronicles 14:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 14:1–7
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 14:1–7, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Chronicler's God, worship, Israel, kingship, retribution, and hope, used only within the stated access limit.
Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles (2009), officially exposed introduction pp. 1–8, worship pp. 156–208, Israel pp. 209–307, kingship pp. 308–383, and redemption pp. 384–394; detailed chapter bodies were not available
Supports: Only the exposed late-Persian and alternative-history framing plus the fact of deliberate rewriting; not uninspected detailed claims.
Levin, 'The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?' (2020), pp. 173–188; official opening, XML metadata, and chapter record
Supports: Complete article tracing named and unnamed women, kinship functions, initiative, vulnerability, and postexilic significance in Chronicles' genealogies.
Olojede, Acta Theologica 33.1 (2013), pp. 158–174, especially pp. 161–173
Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.
Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage for this thought unit.
Exact location: 1 Chronicles 14:1–7, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: 1 Chronicles
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Hebrew wording, morphology, names, clauses, regnal formulas, temple vocabulary, older-English controls, and translation limits.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/1Chr.xml, Masoretic words and morphology for 14:1–7
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible Full Notes: 1 Chronicles
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press; STEP Bible presentation, 2019 edition; current web presentation
Supports: Unit-bounded translation comparisons and only those lexical, textual, grammatical, numerical, historical, and parallel-passage notes attached to these verses.
Exact location: STEP Bible NET2full, 1 Chronicles 14:1–7, verse-attached translation and translator notes
Open source ↗modern scholarly monograph limited access
The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles and Its Place in Biblical Thought
Sara Japhet
Eisenbrauns / Penn State University Press, English edition 1989; reprint 2009
Supports: Publisher-visible framing of the Chronicler's God, worship, Israel, kingship, retribution, and hope, used only within the stated access limit.
Exact location: Japhet, The Ideology of the Book of Chronicles (2009), officially exposed introduction pp. 1–8, worship pp. 156–208, Israel pp. 209–307, kingship pp. 308–383, and redemption pp. 384–394; detailed chapter bodies were not available
Open source ↗peer reviewed scholarly book chapter limited access
The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?
Yigal Levin
Writing and Rewriting History in Ancient Israel and Near Eastern Cultures, Mohr Siebeck, 2020
Supports: Only the exposed late-Persian and alternative-history framing plus the fact of deliberate rewriting; not uninspected detailed claims.
Exact location: Levin, 'The Chronicler's Rewriting of the History of Israel: Why and How?' (2020), pp. 173–188; official opening, XML metadata, and chapter record
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
Chronicler's Women: A Holistic Appraisal
Funlola Olojede
Acta Theologica 33(1), pp. 158-174, 2013
Supports: Complete article tracing named and unnamed women, kinship functions, initiative, vulnerability, and postexilic significance in Chronicles' genealogies.
Exact location: Olojede, Acta Theologica 33.1 (2013), pp. 158–174, especially pp. 161–173
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
1 and 2 Chronicles as a Discourse of Power
Ananda Geyser-Fouche
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 79(1), article 8011, pp. 1-13, 2023
Supports: Complete article on genealogical inclusion and exclusion, Davidic legitimation, temple personnel, worship ordering, and discourse of power.
Exact location: Geyser-Fouché, HTS 79.1 (2023), article 8011, pp. 1–13, especially pp. 3–11
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access scholarly article
History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility: Chronicles in Its Ancient Context
Isaac Kalimi
Poznan Theological Studies repository edition, pp. 7-25, 2019 repository edition
Supports: Case-sensitive distinction between events and literary presentation in ancient historiography, including credibility limits and rhetorical shaping.
Exact location: Kalimi, 'History, Historiography, Historical Evaluation and Credibility,' repository PDF pp. 7–25
Open source ↗