1 Kings 3:1
in 1 Kings 3Later, 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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 Jehovah, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.
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.
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This verse in 1 Kings 3
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt,.... Pharaoh was a common name of the kings of Egypt, of whom no mention is made in Scripture from the times of Moses until this time; which may seem strange, when it is considered that that kingdom was a potent one, and near the land of Canaan; but it was governed by a race of kings in this period of time, of whom, as Diodorus Siculus (i) says, there is nothing worthy of relation.
This site's exposition
formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt
on 1 Kings 3:1-3
Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter opens the reign before any act of wisdom is named. The alliance points toward the many wives Deuteronomy 17:17 forbade. The people, and Solomon too, sacrifice on the high places “because a house for the Name of the LORD had not yet been built”.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Some wonder why Solomon made alliances with the Gentiles through marriages without being blamed, even though [the Law] forbade [the Hebrews] mixing with them. The reason for that prohibition was "lest" [the Scripture says], "[their daughters] might make your sons also prostitute themselves to their …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Pharaoh - As being a powerful neighbour, whose daughter doubtless was first instructed in, and proselyted to the Jewish religion. It seems, this was designed by God to be a type of Christ, calling his church to himself, and to the true religion, not only out of the Jews, but even out of the Gentile world.
Unequal matches of the sons of God with the daughters of men have often been of pernicious consequence; yet some think that he did this with the advice of his friends, that she was a sincere convert (for the gods of the Egyptians are not reckoned among the strange gods which his strange wives drew him in to the worship of, ch. xi.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
What Pharaoh is meant is uncertain. It must have been a predecessor of Shishak (or Sheshonk), who invaded Judaea more than 40 years later 1Ki 14:25; and probabilities are in favor, not of Psusennes II, the last king of Manetho’s 21st dynasty, but of Psinaces, the predecessor of Psusennes. This, the Tanite dynasty, had become very weak, especially toward its close, from where we may conceive how gladly it would ally itself with the powerful house of David. The Jews were not forbidden to marry foreign wives, if they became proselytes.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh--This was a royal title, equivalent to "sultan," and the personal name of this monarch is said to have been Vaphres. The formation, on equal terms, of this matrimonial alliance with the royal family of Egypt, shows the high consideration to which the Hebrew kingdom had now arisen.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh - This was no doubt a political measure in order to strengthen his kingdom, and on the same ground he continued his alliance with the king of Tyre; and these were among the most powerful of his neighbors. But should political considerations prevail over express laws of God? God had strictly forbidden his people to form alliances with heathenish women, lest they should lead their hearts away from him into idolatry. Let us hear the law: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son; for they will turn away thy son from following me, etc. Exo 34:16; Deu 7:3, Deu 7:4. Now Solomon acted in direct opposition to these laws; and perhaps in this alliance were sown those seeds of apostacy from God and goodness in which he so long lived, and in which he so awfully died. Those who are, at all hazards, his determinate apologists, assume, 1. That Pharaoh’s daughter must have been a proselyte to the Jewish religion, else Solomon would not have married her. 2. That God was not displeased with this match. 3. That the book of Song of Solomon, which is supposed to have been his epithalamium, would not have found a place in the sacred canon had the spouse, whom it all along celebrates, been at that time an idolatress. 4. That it is certain we nowhere in Scripture find Solomon blamed for this match. See Dodd. Now to all this I answer, 1. We have no evidence that the daughter of Pharaoh was a proselyte, no more than that her father was a true believer. It is no more likely that he sought a proselyte here than that he sought them among the Moabites, Hittites, etc., from whom he took many wives. 2. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Shlomo became the son-in-law. As long as Shim’i, his teacher, was alive, he did not enter into marriage [with Pharaoh’s daughter]. From here, [our Sages derived and] declared, that a person should always live in the vicinity of his teacher.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּתְחַתֵּ֣ן | vaiyitchaten | and he became son-in-law | H2859 → | |
| שְׁלֹמֹ֔ה | shelomoh | Solomon | H8010 → | 291 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | with | H854 → | 929 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֖ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַיִּקַּ֣ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֗ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וַיְבִיאֶ֙הָ֙ | vayvieha | and he brought her | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עִ֣יר | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| דָּוִ֔ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| עַ֣ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| כַּלֹּת֗וֹ | kaloto | finished he | H3615 → | 208 times |
| לִבְנ֤וֹת | livnot | to build | H1129 → | 376 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּיתוֹ֙ | beito | house his | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חוֹמַ֥ת | chomat | [the] wall of | H2346 → | 133 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| סָבִֽיב׃ | saviv | all around | H5439 → | 336 times |
וַיִּתְחַתֵּ֣ןand he became son-in-law
vaiyitchatenH2859 →
שְׁלֹמֹ֔הSolomon
shelomohH8010 →291 times
אֶת־with
ʾet-H854 →929 times
פַּרְעֹ֖הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַיִּקַּ֣חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
פַּרְעֹ֗הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
וַיְבִיאֶ֙הָ֙and he brought her
vayviehaH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עִ֣יר[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
דָּוִ֔דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
עַ֣דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
כַּלֹּת֗וֹfinished he
kalotoH3615 →208 times
לִבְנ֤וֹתto build
livnotH1129 →376 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בֵּיתוֹ֙house his
beitoH1004 →2046 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
חוֹמַ֥ת[the] wall of
chomatH2346 →133 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
סָבִֽיב׃all around
savivH5439 →336 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Kings 9:24As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 7:8
And the palace where Solomon would live, set further back, was of similar construction. He also made a palace like this hall for Pharaoh’s daughter, whom he had married.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 32:5
Then Hezekiah worked resolutely to rebuild all the broken sections of the wall and to raise up towers on it. He also built an outer wall and reinforced the supporting terraces of the City…
- 2 Samuel 5:9
So David took up residence in the fortress and called it the City of David. He built it up all the way around, from the supporting terraces inward.
- 1 Kings 11:27
and this is the account of his rebellion against the king. Solomon had built the supporting terraces and repaired the gap in the wall of the city of his father David.
- 1 Kings 7:8
Through
1 Kings 11:1King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 17:17
He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.
- Proverbs 6:24
to keep you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress.
- Deuteronomy 17:17
Through
2 Chronicles 8:11Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace he had built for her. For he said, “My wife must not live in the house of David king…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 9:24
As soon as Pharaoh’s daughter had come up from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her, he built the supporting terraces.
- 1 Kings 9:24
Through
1 Kings 6:1In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt, in the month of Ziv, the second month of the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over…
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 3:1–2
Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David. This was the place that David had prepared on the…
- 2 Chronicles 3:1–2
Where this verse is studied
About 1 Kings
Who and where
4 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonUnited MonarchyDavidSecond king of united Israel, shepherd-turned-monarch, ancestor of the Messiah, and traditional author of many Psalms.
- PersonSolomonDavid's son and the third king of Israel; the temple-builder and wisdom-king, to whom Psalms 72 and 127 are ascribed.
- PlaceThe NileEgyptThe land where Joseph rose, where Israel grew into a nation in bondage, where the Passover lamb was slain and the sea opened, and…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 3:1; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.