9:4-9 God appeared to Solomon a second time; the first had been at Gibeon (3:4-15). For more on the conditions of God’s great promise to David and his descendants, see the note on 2:3, 4.
9:11-14 Was Solomon being unfair to Hiram? It is not clear from these verses whether Solomon gave these cities to Hiram, or they were collateral until he could repay Hiram for the gold he had borrowed. Second Chronicles 8:1, 2 implies that the cities were returned to Solomon. In either case, Hiram probably preferred a piece of land on the coast more suitable for trade (the name he gave these cities, Cabul, sounds like the Hebrew word for “worthless”). In the end, Hiram was repaid many times over through his trade partnerships with Solomon (2 Chronicles 9:10, 21). Because Phoenicia was on friendly terms with Israel and dependent on it for grain and oil, Hiram’s relationship with Solomon was more important than a feud over some cities.
9:16 At this time Israel and Egypt were the major powers in the Near East. For many years Egypt had retained control of Gezer, even though it was in Israelite territory. In Solomon’s time the Pharaoh gave the city to his daughter, whom Solomon married, putting Gezer under Israelite control. Intermarriage among royal families was common, but it was not endorsed by God (Deuteronomy 17:17).
9:24 Millo was an older section of Jerusalem already in use by the Jebusites before David captured the city (2 Samuel 5:9). It was rebuilt by Solomon and again restored by Hezekiah over two centuries later (2 Chronicles 32:5).