Now Solomon made a treaty with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and married Pharaoh’s daughter; then he brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall all around Jerusalem.
Parallel translations
- WEB Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into David’s city, until he had finished building his own house, Yahweh’s house, and the wall around Jerusalem.
- KJV And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
- BSB Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem.
- NASB Now Solomon formed a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her to the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem.
- NLT Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and married one of his daughters. He brought her to live in the City of David until he could finish building his palace and the Temple of the Lord and the wall around the city.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Solomon allies with Egypt by marrying Pharaoh's daughter while building his palace, the temple, and Jerusalem's wall. The marriage signals both prosperity and a seed of future spiritual compromise.
Overview
A treaty marriage with Egypt's royal house marks Solomon's rising international stature, yet such foreign alliances and wives would later draw his heart from the LORD (11:1-4). The mention of his building projects, especially Yahweh's house, frames the early reign as one of devotion and grandeur. The verse holds promise and warning together, reminding readers that even great wisdom must guard against compromise.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- 1 Kgs 9:24But Pharaoh’s daughter came up out of David’s city to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built Millo.
- 1 Kgs 11:1Now king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites;
- 2 Chr 2:1–4Now Solomon decided to build a house for Yahweh’s name, and a house for his kingdom.
- 1 Kgs 6:1In the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, he began to build Yahweh’s house.
- 2 Chr 8:11Solomon brought up Pharaoh’s daughter out of David’s city to the house that he had built for her; for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places where Yahweh’s ark has come are holy.”
- 2 Sam 5:7Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion. This is David’s city.
- 1 Kgs 9:15–19This is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised, to build Yahweh’s house, his own house, Millo, Jerusalem’s wall, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.
- 2 Chr 18:1Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance; and he allied himself with Ahab.
- 1 Chr 11:7David lived in the stronghold; therefore they called it David’s city.
- Ezra 5:11Thus they returned us answer, saying, “We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and are building the house that was built these many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.
- Ezra 9:14shall we again break your commandments, and join in affinity with the peoples that do these abominations? Wouldn’t you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there would be no remnant, nor any to escape?
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Christ at the center
Solomon's glory, wisdom, and temple where God's presence dwells are a shadow of the greater Son of David — 'one greater than Solomon is here' — and of the true Temple, Christ himself.
How 1 Kings 3:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.