מלכים א, פרק ט׳, פסוק י״ב

Hiram, the King of Tyre, travels from his city to personally inspect the compensation granted to him by King Solomon. This royal visit ends in deep disappointment, as the provided cities fail to meet his expectations and find no favor in his eyes [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The primary purpose of Hiram's journey is not a simple tour of the territory, but a strict economic evaluation. He wants to determine if this region can actually produce the massive annual quantities of wheat and oil that Solomon promised him [מלבי״ם, אברבנאל].

Upon examining the area, Hiram realizes that the cities are entirely incapable of sustaining such a high agricultural output. This reveals the true nature of Solomon's gift: he is not transferring actual ownership of the land, but rather granting the rights to its agricultural yield. Because the soil proves to be so infertile, the disappointed king later names the region "Kabul," a term denoting a land that cannot produce fruit [אברבנאל].

This profound dissatisfaction clarifies a later historical account, which records Hiram as giving cities to Solomon that Solomon then rebuilds. In reality, because the cities are so unappealing to Hiram, he simply returns them. In response, Solomon takes it upon himself to build and develop the region, determined to prove that the land is not as worthless as Hiram assumes. Since Hiram's men refuse to settle in the area to plow and plant, Solomon settles Israelites there to work the soil. Consequently, to meet his ongoing diplomatic obligations, Solomon is forced to provide the promised annual supply of wheat and oil out of his own personal wealth [אברבנאל].