Israel was a small nation that was distinguished from her neighbors by her special covenant relationship with the true and living God (Num. 23:7–10), and the Jews were warned not to form alliances with their neighbors that would compromise their testimony. Unless his successor bore the same name, Hiram was probably just beginning his reign as king of Tyre, for he befriended both David and Solomon during their reigns (1 Kings 5).
It’s likely that David’s palace was built for him after his successful wars against the Philistines (5:17–25), and this may have been Hiram’s way of recognizing David’s accession to the throne. No doubt the Phoenician king also appreciated the fact that David had defeated his warlike neighbors, the Philistines. From a practical point of view, it was necessary for the Phoenicians to be on good terms with the Jews because Israel could easily block the trade route to Tyre, and the Phoenicians depended on Jewish farmers for their food. (See Acts 12:20.) David interpreted Hiram’s kindness as another evidence that the Lord had indeed established him on the throne of Israel.
The mention of David’s palace and his alliance with Hiram offered the writer opportunity to mention David’s family, the “house” that the Lord was building for him (Ps. 127). Deuteronomy 17: prohibited Israel’s king from taking many wives, but David seems to have ignored this law, as did Solomon after him (1 Kings 4:26; 11:1–4). At least one of David’s wives was a princess (3:3), which suggests that the marriage was for the sake of political alliance, and no doubt there were other similar marriages. This was one way to cement good relationships with other nations.
There are four lists of David’s children in Scripture—those born while he reigned in Hebron (2 Sam 3:2–5) and those born after he moved to Jerusalem (5:13–16; 1 Chron. 3:1–9; 14:4–7). His first wife was Saul’s daughter Michal (1 Sam. 18:27), who was childless (2 Sam. 6:23). In Hebron, Ahinoam of Jezreel gave birth to Amnon, David’s firstborn (2 Sam. 3:2); Abigail the widow of Nabal gave birth to Chileab, or Daniel (2 Sam. 3:3); princess Maacah bore Absalom (3:3) and his sister Tamar (2 Sam. 13:1); Haggith gave birth to Adonijah (3:4); Abital bore Shephatiah (3:4); and Eglah bore Ithream (3:5). In Jerusalem, Bathsheba bore David four children (1 Chron. 3:5): Shimea (or Shammah), Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon. His other wives, who are not named (1 Chron. 3:6–9), bore David Ibhar, Elishua, Eliphelet (or Elpelet), Nogah, Nepheg, Japhia, Elishama, Eliada (or Beeliada, 1 Chron. 14:7), Eliphelet.
David also had children by his concubines, so he had a large family to manage. It’s no wonder that some of them got involved in various court intrigues and brought sorrow to the king. The law clearly stated that the king was not to multiply wives, but both David and Solomon ignored this law, and both paid dearly for their disobedience. It’s likely that some of the wives, like Maacah, represented alliances that David made with neighboring kings to help guarantee the security of Israel.