Hiram, the King of Tyre, Solomon's friend, supplied cedar and cypress wood. The trees were felled on Lebanon, for which purpose Hiram placed skilled workmen at Solomon's disposal. The trunks were forwarded from Lebanon to Tyre or to the other harbours, whence they were conveyed in rafts to the port of Jaffa, and from there with much toil over hills and dales to Jerusalem, a distance of at least a ten hours' journey. As the Canaanite slaves were not sufficiently numerous to remove the cedar and cypress trees, and to convey them to their destination, Solomon employed Israelites to assist in the work, thirty thousand being impressed for the duty. Each ten thousand were sent for a month to work in the forests, to fell the trees, and convey them to their destination. After a month had passed, the workmen were relieved by another body of ten thousand. These thirty thousand Israelites were not enslaved--they remained free, and even received wages--but they were not allowed to withdraw voluntarily from the work. It was not to be expected that Hiram would cut down his cedar and cypress forests, or that he would place carpenters and builders at Solomon's disposal without receiving some return. So long as the buildings were in course of erection, Solomon sent him annually a certain amount of corn, wine and oil, with the raising of which tribute the people were probably taxed. But Hiram was also obliged to advance gold for the adornment of the interior of the temple. Solomon's fleet had not yet imported the precious metal. In return for the supply of gold, Solomon yielded up to Hiram twenty towns of the borderland, in the tribe of Asher, between Phœnicia and the territory of Israel. Though these were not important, and did not please Hiram, still it was a transference of Israelitish territory to the Phœnicians. Hiram permitted various races to colonise the towns, from whom the territory received the name "Gelil Haggoyim" (the district of nations), later Galilee. As soon as the stones and blocks of wood had been removed to the building site of the temple, the erection of which was to occupy three years, the work was commenced.