For fear a wrong construction should be put upon this act of Jezebel, and the cause of letters affected thereby, it may be well to state that she was allowed to do so by him, and that his name and seal were to be used as she pleased. She, however, used both for a bad purpose: hence the name of Jezebel is synonymous with deceit and treachery.
Letter-writing is also alluded to in Nehemiah ii. 7: “Moreover I said unto, the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah.” Also, in Esther i. 22: “For he sent letters into all the king’s provinces, into every province according to the writing thereof, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house; and that it should be published according to the language of every people.”
Hiram, King of Tyre, when he heard that Solomon succeeded to his father’s kingdom, was very glad of it; for he was a friend of David’s . So he sent ambassadors to him, and saluted him, and congratulated him on the present happy state of his affairs. Upon which, Solomon sent an epistle, the contents of which here follow:—
SOLOMON TO KING HIRAM.
“Know thou that my father would have built a temple to God, but was hindered by wars and continual expeditions; for he did not leave off to overthrow his enemies till he made them all subject to tribute. But I give thanks to God for the peace I at present enjoy, and on that account I am at leisure and design to build a house to God; for God foretold to my father that such a house should be built by me. Wherefore I desire thee to send some of thy subjects with mine to Mount Lebanon, to cut down timber; for the Sidonians are more skillful than our people in cutting of wood. As for wages to the hewers of wood, I will pay whatsoever thou shalt determine.”
When Hiram had read this epistle he was pleased with it, and wrote back this answer:—
HIRAM TO KING SOLOMON.
“It is fit to bless God that he hath committed thy father’s government to thee, who art a wise man and endowed with all virtues. As for myself, I rejoice at the condition thou art in, and will be subservient to thee in all that thou sendest to me about; for when by my subjects I have cut down many trees of cedar and cypress wood, I will send them to sea, and will order my subjects to make floats of them, and to sail to what place soever of thy country thou shalt desire, and leave them there; after which, thy subjects may carry them to Jerusalem. But do thou take care to procure us corn for this timber, which we stand in need of because we inhabit an island.”[14]
Josephus says:—“The copies of these epistles remain at this day, and are preserved not only in our books, but among the Tyrians also.” They were at that period among the records in the city of Tyre. Other epistles are also there recorded, among which were those written by Xerxes, King of the Persians, to Ezra; Artaxerxes to the Government of Judea; Antiochus the Great to Ptolemy Epiphanes; and of the Samaritans to Antiochus, Alexander Balas to Jonathan, Onias to Ptolemy and Cleopatra, and many others.[15]