11 Solomon rewarded Hiram king of Tyre with a gift of twenty villages in the district of Galilee. Hiram had provided him with all the cedar and cypress and gold that he had wanted. 12 But when Hiram left Tyre to look over the villages that Solomon had given him, he didn't like what he saw. 13 He said, "What kind of reward is this, my friend? Twenty backwoods hick towns!" People still refer to them that way. 14 This is all Hiram got from Solomon in exchange for four and a half tons of gold!
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Kings 9:11-14
Commentary on 1 Kings 9:10-14
(Read 1 Kings 9:10-14)
Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities. Hiram did not like them. If Solomon would gratify him, let it be in his own element, by becoming his partner in trade, as he did. See how the providence of God suits this earth to the various tempers of men, and the dispositions of men to the earth, and all for the good of mankind in general.